Pastor Bike Forced to Vacate Home for National Celebration

The following is a press release from our friends at China Aid.  Click here to read the full article.  Please remember Pastor Bike in your daily prayers.

BEIJING--Beijing PSB and Religious Affairs officers continue to crack down on house churches as the Oct. 1 National Day celebrations approach. Four authorities "escorted" Pastor Zhang Mingxuan (Pastor Bike) and his wife from his home on a "forced vacation" at 9:30 AM Wednesday morning, September 23. Concerned with suppressing any negative reports on the communist party during the festivities, the officials reportedly detained Pastor Bike in order to "preserve stability in the province."

Pastor Bike was warned not to speak or communicate with anyone, especially with foreign media, for fear of jeopardizing the operation and raising awareness of his removal. He was taken to an undisclosed location in the mountainous area of Henan, and will allegedly be held there until after October 1st.

On the morning of September 24, President of ChinaAid Bob Fu spoke with him secretly on his cell phone, the sound of the guards playing cards loudly in the background masking their soft speech. Pastor Bike confirmed the incident, and informed Bob that the Beijing PSB officials had placed them under house arrest and were supervising all movements.

Pastor Bike currently serves at the President of the Chinese House Church Alliance (CHCA), and has issued many statements on behalf the Chinese house churches, calling for the protection of religious freedom according to the law. Most recently, the CHCA issued a statement denounces the brutal attack on Fushan House Church in Shanxi. He has attended trials for persecuted believers, and even issued a letter to President Hu Jintao in August, calling for the President to uphold rule of law in China.