Photo: Pastor Pan of the Mayflower Church was interviewed by VOM Radio (ChinaAid)
(Thailand—March 15, 2023) Todd Nettleton, the host of VOM Radio, interviewed Mayflower Church pastor Pan Yongguang. The exiled church numbers 65 as they wait to receive UN refugee status.
Voice of the Martyrs Radio is produced and hosted by Todd Nettleton. He interviews persecuted Christians, telling their stories of faith to encourage Christians around the world. In the most recent episode, VOM Radio traveled to Thailand to visit and interview the Mayflower Church.
Interview in Thailand
At an undisclosed location, Todd Nettleton asked Pastor Pan many questions about his background and the Mayflower Church’s journey.
“What was your belief before you chose to follow Christ?” Todd asked.
“No beliefs,” Pastor Pan responded, “Maybe I believed in money.”
Pastor Pan’s background
Like many in China, Pastor Pan did not have a religious background before Christianity. Pan was an atheist until 23 years ago. Unfortunately, one day, Pan’s father suffered an extreme accident that put him in the hospital. Christians began to visit, and Pastor Pan decided to join them at their house church. Over the course of one year, Pan converted and got baptized in 2003.
Persecution
Even before Pastor Pan became a believer, he knew there would be persecution for being a Christian. He had to hide to visit a house church, after all.
“Chinese Christians know that they have to pay [a] price,” Pan answered, “everything costs something in China.”
Involvement with Pastor Wang Yi
Many, including himself and close friends like Pastor Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church, paid a heavy price for pastoring a church in Communist China. Pan knew, though, he and his church would have to leave China. He and many others signed Pastor Wang Yi’s public joint statement: A Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith.
Police came and arrested Wang Yi on December 9, 2018. Around the same time, they came to Pan’s church and asked them to shut down right away. For the next year, Pastor Pan began telling his congregation every week: “This Sunday might be our last Sunday together.”
Journey to South Korea
Initially, according to Pastor Pan, his church initially just wanted to send the children to South Korea so they could continue to receive a religious education. At the time, Pastor Pan believed it was possible for all the church members to live on Jeju island. “Some of us [had] a strong feeling that we should leave as soon as possible,” Pan explained. “It’s a very strong feeling [from the] Holy Spirit.”
Listen to the entire interview here!
