Intercultural Ministries highlights Chinese house church persecution in week-long prayer effort

Texas Baptists Intercultural Ministries is again highlighting an area of special emphasis for the upcoming International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), which will occur on Sunday, Nov. 3.

A video, seven-day prayer guide and accompanying social media graphics posted to txb.org/weekofprayer highlight the severe persecution faced by house churches in China. 

Texas Baptists churches are encouraged to engage in seven days of prayer in conjunction with Sunday’s international emphasis.

What we can do for brothers and sisters in prison

In the materials posted on the website, Minister Sue, a church planter presently serving in the Houston area, recounts her story of coming to faith in 2003 and planting her first house church in China in 2005. 

She’d accepted Christ in the U.S. as an international student and then returned to China with a deep call to plant churches there. She established four house churches ranging from 50 to 80 members, though it was not allowed in the city where she lived.

On two separate instances, in 2014 and 2016, worship services were interrupted, and worshippers, including Sue, were detained. They were told they needed to worship in the government church and not in house churches.

Sue witnessed the imprisonment of six house church members.

“We don’t know why or what happened. We don’t know. We didn’t know. But we believe in God. We thought God controls everything,” Sue said in the video testimony.

“I think this is what I can do for our brothers and sisters who are in prison,” she said, fighting back tears. “I also was encouraged by their faith. They are so strong. Their faith was so strong. They didn’t deny their belief. They keep on going, keep on fighting.”

International persecution ‘felt deeply’ in Texas Baptists congregations

Mark Heavener, director of Intercultural Ministries for Texas Baptists, spoke to the prevalence and tragic nature of instances of persecution internationally and the way those instances connect back to congregations in Texas.

“I wake up some mornings with a text from one of our intercultural pastors with pictures of what happened the night before in their home country. It can be stories of refugees fleeing persecution, villages burning, friends and family killed. All for the same reason, the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Heavener said.

“What is happening around the world is felt deeply here in Texas. My heart weeps, as does Jesus. As I try to comfort our pastors, they always express, in the hope of Jesus, [the] work of the salvation of souls and God's coming justice.”

Salvation is reflected in the first of seven prayer points in the downloadable prayer guide.

Prayer points call for China's lost to repent and accept salvation, for imprisoned believers to preach with confidence and strength, and for persecuted churches to preserve unity amid persecution and “grow in grace and knowledge” during dark times.

Points also call for the Lord to provide “righteous and merciful Christian lawyers” to help persecuted churches through the country’s social justice system and to have mercy on “officers, prosecutors and judges” engaged in persecution.

Inspiration to maintain ‘kingdom vision’ and ‘first love’

Through his ministry at Texas Baptists, Heavener connects with and resources approximately 350 intercultural congregations speaking more than 80 languages. Congregants represent countries and regions including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Haiti and Brazil, in addition to Native American and Deaf Culture churches.

Heavener estimates that about two-thirds of those he serves through Intercultural Ministries are in the U.S. as a result of some form of persecution, be it religious or otherwise. Many of these individuals know loved ones who still face persecution outside of the U.S., he said.

In 2023, Heavener oversaw a thirty-day prayer emphasis in conjunction with IDOP. During that emphasis, Texas Baptists pastors from Houston, Plano, and Dallas shared stories of persecution faced by believers in Eritrea, Burma/Myanmar, India and the Congo. Videos and a prayer guide for those countries are also available online at txb.org/weekofprayer.

The final prayer point, shared by Minister Sue in the video testimony, is that churches in North America would maintain a “kingdom vision” and be inspired by those suffering for their faith to “reclaim their first love, preach the true gospel, save souls and fight for the heavenly King.” 

To learn more and access IDOP resources, visit txb.org/weekofprayer. Connect with Mark Heavener at mark.heavener[at]txb.org.