Story number 1 for 7 Jan 2002

(China)–Our newscast begins today in China. Word from Open Doors confirms a court in Hubei Province sentenced the pastor of an underground evangelistic church to death. Although the execution was slated to take place on Saturday, we were unable to confirm that it happened. An appeal to the U-S administration on the pastor’s behalf was also made on the same day. Open Doors’ Terry Madison. “Our initial contact suggests that this is a brother in the Lord, who was falsely accused of being a cult leader, and also of this terrible moral perversion. I think the first line of defense and offense is always prayer.” Madison says this move is China’s latest crackdown on unauthorized religious groups. “About a month ago, the Chinese government did hold meetings dealing with the church, and the house church movement in China. It’s our understanding that the end result of those meetings was an increased restriction of the church in China.” Please continue to pray for believers in China as the persecution is expected to intensify over the next few months.