Prayer Requests Update of Fuyang Maizhong Reformed Church
We are providing the latest updates on the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang, Anhui.
Brother Yang Zhiyan was released on the afternoon of July 3, 2025.
Pastor Chang Shun has been placed under criminal detention and is being held at the Fuyang Detention Center.
On July 4, 2025, a lawyer met with Elder Ma Tao at the Fuyang Detention Center. He has been charged with “organizing and financing unlawful assemblies,” a serious offense under Article 290, Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Law. This charge typically applies to repeated organization or financing of illegal assemblies that disrupt social order and are deemed to involve serious circumstances.
If broadly applied, this charge could affect many house church leaders across China.
Recent Cases Involving Pastors Accused of Similar Crimes
According to Kingdom Prayer Network, in recent years, there have been multiple cases in which church leaders faced similar charges:
- Liang Ziliang and Li Yinxiu (Heshan City, 2018): This married couple were leaders of the Shaping Street Baptist Church in Heshan and were criminally detained for leading Christians in a park to protest abortion and preach the gospel. Their current situation remains unclear.
- Geng Zejun (Shizuishan City, 2021): Pastor of the Church of the Rock (Panshi Church) in Shizuishan, Ningxia. Initially administratively detained, then criminally detained for the charge of “organizing and financing unlawful assemblies,” and ultimately sentenced to one year and three months in prison.
- Wang Shunping, Nu Sangdeng, San Luobo, and two female Christians (Nujiang, 2022): These five individuals from Fugong County, Nujiang Prefecture, were criminally detained on suspicion of “organizing and financing unlawful assemblies.” With legal assistance, they were all released on bail pending trial on May 7, 2023.
- Chen Wensheng (Hengyang, 2023): A Christian from Hengyang, Hunan, was at first administratively detained for evangelizing. He was later criminally detained on suspicion of “organizing and financing unlawful assemblies” and sentenced on June 20, 2024, to one year and seven months in prison.
- Ma Yan (Yinchuan, 2024): He was a pastor in Yinchuan, Ningxia, who was detained during a Sunday service. Initially given 10 days of administrative detention for “disturbing social order,” he was then criminally detained on August 20, 2024. On March 24, 2025, he was sentenced to nine months in prison and released on April 17, 2025.
Potential Impact and Calls for Prayers:
While the known penalties in these cases are not the harshest available under the law, but the charge of “organizing and financing unlawful assemblies” carries significant weight. Principal offenders may face three to seven years in prison, while other active participants may be sentenced to up to three years, or receive criminal detention, restriction, or deprivation of political rights. If this charge continues to be widely applied, many house church leaders across China could be arrested and imprisoned.
ChinaAid urges all to continue praying for Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang and all house churches across China.
(China Aid Association)