The Temperature is Rising for Chinese Christians

Christianity Today reports on growing persecution of Chinese Christians by the government:

Incidents of persecution of Christians rose by about 42 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the report by human rights group China Aid. Many of these incidents involved groups of Christians. In total, the number of individual persecuted Christians rose by roughly 14 percent and total individual detentions increased by nearly 12 percent. China Aid said overall total persecution in six categories was about 13 percent worse than in 2011—though China Aid termed its statistics just “the tip of the iceberg.”

At least 132 incidents of persecution affecting 4,919 Christians—442 of whom were clergy—were reported in the country last year, according to China Aid’s annual report. The Texas-based group tracked detention of at least 1,441 Christians, the sentencing of nine of them, and the abuse (verbal, mental and physical, including beatings and torture) of 37 Christians.

Read the whole thing (HT: Jim Hamilton).

Let’s pray for the Chinese church–it very much needs our prayers and God’s blessing. The Lord will not abandon his people, but will strengthen and preserve them all the way to glory. The gospel is storming China–and Satan is not pleased.