BANGKOK, THAILAND – A few many years back, 62 associates of the China’s Shenzhen Reformed Holy Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, fled to South Korea to escape persecution from the Communist authorities. They requested political asylum in South Korea, but were being denied.
The church is now in Thailand, the place customers hope to acquire refugee status, and ultimately resettle in the United States. Right until then, they encounter numerous issues, together with probable arrest by Thailand immigration law enforcement and becoming despatched again to China.
14-calendar year-previous Paul Pan is the son of Mayflower Church’s chief, Pastor Yongguang Pan. He can continue to vividly don’t forget how Chinese law enforcement barged into their residence church and harassed his mom when he was only 6.
“They took a ton of brothers – took them away. I don’t forget my mom, 3 policemen caught her and try to toss her away. She try out to cease them. They recognized she failed to want to transfer so they capture her toes and carry her away,” Paul explained to CBN Information.
Paul claims he was not concerned then mainly because he realized his dad and mom would be unveiled in a few hrs. As he grew older, nonetheless, dread began to creep in.
“I have that dread that someday they may be taken away and me and my sister will go to a different family’s household,” he explained.
Paul is now extra concerned about his father, Pastor Youngguang Pan. Pastor Pan led the Shenzhen congregation out of China in 2019, taking them to South Korea in pursuit of spiritual liberty.
They left China mainly because of growing threats in opposition to the church by the communist government. In 2018, the communist government imposed revised rules that provided limiting the appointed place of worship, who could serve as leader, and in which Christians could legally evangelize.
***Please signal up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN Information application to guarantee you hold getting the latest information from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Pastor Pan explained to CBN Information, “Authorities authorities arrived and threatened my landlord. They requested him not to prolong our lease and forced us to go away. They posted law enforcement ideal outside the house our residence and I was being adopted. Law enforcement stopped us in the middle of worship and purchased us to cease conference.”
Guangbo You, an elder of the church, mentioned, “The law enforcement took me, Pastor Pan and a brother in Christ whom the law enforcement beat up. Police persecution was becoming more really serious and we felt the house where we can dwell was getting to be more compact. Our only hope is that our household can are living in a spot the place we can worship God and educate this to our youngsters. For them to freely worship God their complete everyday living.”
Soon after two and a half yrs, on the other hand, the South Korean governing administration denied the Mayflower families’ request for asylum. They then fled to Thailand, in which they are seeking refugee position in order utilize for political asylum in the U.S.
The Mayflower Church thinks that they are like the Israelites in Exodus who God brought out of Egypt. Most Christian church buildings in the Western planet assistance this plan, but the Christian church buildings inside China believe otherwise.
Pastor Tim Conkling of China Ministries International discussed the contradictory views.
“The Chinese dwelling church Christians have a self-identity of becoming a patriotic martyr. They are ready to experience and be martyred for their religion. So when a group decides to go away persecution and martyrdom, that produces some rigidity in what has turn out to be a cultural and spiritual id of the overall residence church Protestant movement in China.
Conkling pointed out, having said that, that if you examine the reserve of Functions in the Bible, the Apostle Paul fled persecution as perfectly.
“American Christians who have a tradition and record of religious freedom and an knowledge of the concepts on which their state was started. They have an understanding of why the Mayflower pilgrims remaining and arrived to the United States and they will be in aid of folks who would depart their nation mainly because of spiritual persecution to check out and uncover a region where they can knowledge religious liberty,” he explained.
While church members nevertheless face restrictions and prospective deportation, they delight in the flexibility they have to worship.
“I struggle with lots of uncertainties in my heart like most of my congregation. But we come across energy each and every time we working experience how God has been faithfully furnishing for our day-to-day desires and how He is continuously safeguarding us from the evil men who want to harm us,” Pastor Pan explained.
“Whether or not we go are living in the US or are taken again to China, we will regard this encounter as listening to God’s contact and continuing to be a vibrant testimony of His goodness and faithfulness.”