Hebei, Inner Mongolia and other provinces and regions have successively announced the ban on the emerging civil Christian organization “Berea Church”.

March 11, 2025

Home » Uncensored News » Hebei, Inner Mongolia and other provinces and regions have successively announced the ban on the emerging civil Christian organization “Berea Church”.

Authorities Ban Berea Church as an Illegal Social Organization

(Inner Mongolia – March 1, 2025) The Civil Affairs Bureau of Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, and the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of Yixian County, Hebei, have banned the emerging Civil Christian organization “Berea Church” under the designation of an “illegal social organization” and have issued an official announcement of the ban.

Government’s Legal Basis for Banning Berea Churches

On October 14, 2024, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Tongliao City issued an announcement regarding the ban on illegal social organizations:

“Upon investigation, ‘Changzi Church of Tongliao City’ and ‘Tongliao Local Church’ have been carrying out activities in the name of a social group without authorization, without registration and approval from the registration and administration department; violating the relevant provisions of the ‘Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations.’ They have been identified as illegal social organizations. In accordance with Article 32 of the ‘Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations’ and Article 9 of the Ministry of Civil Affairs ‘Interim Measures for Banning Illegal Civil Organizations,’ they are hereby banned according to the law.”

On February 24, 2025, the website of the Tongliao Civil Affairs Bureau published another announcement stating:

“Upon investigation, ‘Guidao Berea Church’ and ‘Tongliao Unity Church’ have been carrying out activities in the name of a social group without authorization, without registration and approval from the registration and administration department; violating the relevant provisions of the ‘Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations.’ They have been identified as illegal social organizations. In accordance with Article 32 of the ‘Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations’ and Article 9 of the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ ‘Interim Measures for Banning Illegal Civil Organizations,’they are hereby banned according to the law.”

Bans of Berea Church

The Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of Yixian County, Hebei Province, banned the Berea Christian Church in Shunyi on January 24 of this year. According to the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of Yixian County’s announcement, based on leads provided in the “Explanation on the Illegal Religious Activities organized by the Shunyi Berea Christian Church,” the Shunyi Berea Christian Church carrying out activities in the name of a social group without authorization and did not undergo registration, and has been identified as an illegal social organization.

In accordance with Article 32 of the State Council’s “Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations” and Articles 2(2) and 9 of the Ministry of Civil Affairs “Interim Measures for Banning Illegal Civil Organizations,” the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yixian County banned the illegal social organization and issued a public announcement.

The Civil Affairs Bureau of Tongliao City banned these four churches, while the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of Yixian County banned one church, primarily based on Article 32 of the “Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations” and the “Interim Measures for Banning Illegal Civil Organizations” issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on April 10, 2000. However, the latter is about to be repealed, and the “Measures for Banning Illegal Social Organizations” issued by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs will come into effect on May 1, 2025.

Berea Church’s Controversial Teachings and Expansion in China

The public has little knowledge of the details concerning these five churches.

According to publicly available information, the Berea Church originates from the Berea Movement initiated by Sungrak Church in Seoul, South Korea. The founder, Kim Ki-dong, denied the traditional doctrine of the Trinity, asserted that Jehovah is not the name of God but the name of an angel, and claimed that Adam was not the first human created by God. These teachings were rejected by mainstream Korean churches, and in 2014, the Korea Christian Association classified it as a heresy.

The sect rapidly expanded in China in 2019, prompting local Chinese governments to shut down related organizations. Articles published by China’s state-backed Christian associations and the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, titled “Defending the Truth and Resisting Cults,” also classified this sect as a heresy.

Coordinated Government Crackdown on Berea Church

Over the past three years, various regions in China have reported the banning of this religious sect. Civil affairs departments in provinces such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Anhui, Fujian, and Zhejiang have taken legal action to ban the organization.

On July 15, 2021, the Changchun Civil Affairs Bureau in Jilin Province issued an “Announcement regarding the legal ban of the illegal social organization Changchun Joy Berea Church.”
On October 12, 2022, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County in Liaoning Province issued a notice stating that the “Fuxin Rock Berea Church” was banned on October 2.
On September 26, 2022, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Putian City, Fujian Province, issued an “Announcement regarding the legal ban of the Berea Church.”
On April 3, 2023, the Hebei Provincial Civil Affairs Department released a notice titled “Announcement on the list of the First Batch of Illegal Social Organizations Banned or Dissuaded in 2023,” in which “Shijiazhuang Joy Church” appeared on the list of illegal social organizations that had been legally banned.
On March 10 2023, the Xi’an Civil Affairs Bureau issued an “Announcement regarding the ban of Xi’an Joy Church.”
On September 23, 2024, the Wuhan Civil Affairs Bureau in Hubei Province banned the “New Testament Berea Church.”
On September 14, 2024, the Hohhot Civil Affairs Bureau in Inner Mongolia banned the “Holy Joy Church,” “Berea Church,” and “Hohhot Yongfu Berea Church.”

The numerous cases of Berea Church bans by local governments across China indicate a continuous and coordinated effort by the Chinese government to comprehensively suppress this emerging religious organization.

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)