🔥🕊️ Persecution Escalates in China

EMERGING TRENDS

CCP Intensifies Persecution of 'All Ranges Church' in China

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified its campaign against the "All Ranges Church," launching a large-scale crackdown that threatens religious freedom in China. This targeted persecution reflects a broader pattern of hostility toward unregistered churches and independent Christian communities.

The Crackdown Unfolds

Authorities have arrested multiple leaders from the All Ranges Church, including prominent figures such as Pastor Dai Zhichao. Reports indicate that church members have faced harassment, detainment, and pressure to renounce their faith or align with state-controlled religious organizations.

According to eyewitnesses and local sources, Chinese authorities have deployed various tactics in this campaign, including:

• Forced Confessions: Detainees are subjected to psychological pressure to denounce their religious practices and disclose church information.

• Surveillance and Threats: Congregants report intensified monitoring, with government agents intimidating families and workplaces linked to church members.

• Property Seizure: Church facilities have been raided, with Bibles, resources, and financial assets confiscated.

Why the All Ranges Church?

The All Ranges Church is known for its independent stance, refusing to register under the state-controlled "Three-Self Patriotic Movement," a requirement imposed by the CCP to control religious groups. Its refusal to compromise on theological and political independence has made it a target for persecution.

REGIONAL THREAT UPDATES

Africa

• NYANYA, NIGERIA – On March 10, 2025, bandits attacked the Divine Majesty Worship Ministry’s church camp, killing three worshippers and abducting several others. The assailants targeted the hostel area during a nighttime prayer vigil. The abducted individuals were rescued within 48 hours and reunited with their families.

• ABUJA, NIGERIA — Sunday Jackson, a Christian farmer, has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing a Fulani attacker in self-defense during a farm invasion. Despite evidence that Jackson was stabbed and unable to flee, the court ruled he should have escaped rather than fight back. Religious leaders and advocates have condemned the ruling as a miscarriage of justice and are calling for clemency from the Adamawa State governor.

Middle East & Central Asia

• DAMASCUS, SYRIA – The Syrian Ministry of Interior has arrested members of an ISIS cell planning to assassinate interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and conduct bombings at a church in Maaloula and the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus. Key figures, Arkan Saeed Fadl (“Abu al-Harith al-Iraqi”) and Muhammad Ali al-Hussein (“Abu Walid al-Homsi”), confessed to orchestrating these attacks to incite sectarian strife and destabilize Syria.

South & Southeast Asia

• SAHARANPUR, INDIA – Ravi Kumar Azad, also known as Ravi Pastor, was arrested for allegedly offering financial incentives to individuals from Scheduled Caste and other communities to convert to Christianity. Accused of violating the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021, Azad had been evading arrest since August 2024; five of his associates were previously detained.

• UPPER BUKIT TIMAN, SINGAPORE – Basnayake Keith Spencer, 37, initially charged with attacking Father Christopher Lee at St. Joseph’s Church in November 2024, now faces three additional charges, including possession of weapons such as a 14.5cm penknife, a flip knife, and a fishing gaff. The prosecution has labeled him a “highly dangerous person” with a high risk of reoffending.  Spencer remains in custody without bail, with a pretrial conference scheduled for April 14, 2025.

Latin America & Caribbean

• No current updates.

North America

• FLINT, MICHIGAN – A local man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for defacing a predominantly Black church with racist graffiti. The incident, which occurred in 2023, involved spray-painting swastikas and racial slurs on the church’s exterior. The perpetrator pleaded guilty to charges of vandalism and hate crimes, acknowledging his intent to intimidate and spread fear within the community.

• WICHITA, KANSAS – St. Patrick Catholic Church was vandalized on March 14, 2025, with significant damage including beheaded statues, broken windows, and hate speech graffiti. Authorities arrested 23-year-old Michael Angel Gonzalez, who faces charges of burglary, criminal desecration, theft, and criminal damage to property. The FBI and ATF are assisting in the investigation, considering the incident a potential hate crime.

• SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – On March 14, 2025, Dawn Nicole Wagner, 50, was fatally shot in the parking lot of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church after attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The suspect, 64-year-old John Binion, who was also at the meeting and known to Wagner, surrendered to authorities and has been charged with homicide.

• HOUSTON, TEXAS — Aaron Suppes, 33, has been indicted on a federal terrorism charge after making a false bomb threat at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church on Christmas Eve 2024. Suppes claimed he planned to release sarin gas at the church, prompting emergency response efforts. No hazardous materials were found, and Suppes was arrested without incident. He had been unhoused for six months and exhibited signs of mental instability.

Europe

• SUNZHA, RUSSIA – On March 14, 2025, three minors were arrested for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on the Orthodox Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary. Authorities report that the teenagers joined a terrorist organization in August 2024, acquired weapons and ammunition, and intended to target the church. These arrests follow the detention of six individuals in August 2024 for similar plans against the same church.

Australia & Oceania

• No current updates.

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