(Hohhot, Inner Mongolia – July 24, 2024) It has been reported that on July 19, 2024, at noon, preacher Zhang Jiale from Xuan’en Church in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and his wife Ran Yilian were taken away by local police for a 12-hour summons, returning home only in the evening.
Two days earlier, on the morning of July 17, while several Christians from Xuan’en Church were studying the Bible together, they were suddenly interrupted by relevant departments including the United Front Work Department, National Security Brigade, Religious Affairs Bureau, local police station, and community management office. The officials entered the church hall, recorded the names and phone numbers of the Christians present, and ordered them to cease the gathering. The police and staff accused them of illegal assembly and demanded that they attend Three-Self churches instead. They stated that since this was the first occurrence, they would only issue a warning, but it should not happen again.
Preacher Zhang Jiale, due to his insistence on maintaining the position of house churches and firmly standing with other persecuted churches, has frequently visited Christians from the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu and participated in the “China at Five PM” kingdom prayer service. As a result, he has faced frequent persecution from the local government in the past two years. Zhang Jiale and Ran Yilian have three young children.
After the Bible study group was raided on July 17, Zhang Jiale sent a pastoral letter to the church. In one section, he emotionally confessed:
Dear brothers and sisters of Xuan’en Church, this world wants us to submit to it, to bow down to it, and even the little worship space we have left is to be taken away. This makes us deeply understand Christ’s words: ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ Our Lord, for our sake, came to the world He created and was deprived of everything. The path He walked, shall we not walk it? The cup He drank, shall we refuse it?
Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church included a prayer for Zhang Jiale’s family in their public prayer letter this week, praying God to watch over preacher Zhang Jiale’s family, strengthen his faith, support his wife and three young children, and make their path increasingly sweet.