Chinese Government increases fine for pastor running house church, says watchdog.

Chinese Pastor and Wife Face Doubled Fines for Leading House Church

Authorities in China have recently doubled the fines for a Christian pastor and his wife who lead a house church in the communist nation, according to a report from ChinaAid, a Christian nonprofit focusing on persecution in China.

Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife Wang Xiaofei run the Xunsiding Church in Xiamen, southeast China. Xunsiding is an underground church that operates independently from the state-controlled protestant churches. The pastor and his wife now face a hefty fine of 400,000 yuan, approximately $55,100, according to the watchdog.

“Thank God for allowing us to have a part in His affliction, and especially thankful that on Earth we have no property for the court-enforced implementation, which is definitely a great grace of God,” Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife posted to social media in response to the hefty fine.

Xunsiding is the largest house church in Xiamen. In May 2019, it was initially fined 25,000 yuan, or roughly $3,400. In response to the fine, the Chinese government sent police to “surround” the venue, according to ChinaAid. The police reportedly “besieged” the church venue for a month and constantly surveilled congregants.

“As a result, the church changed meeting spaces frequently only to be met with more raids and bans,” ChinaAid wrote in its report. “During raids, authorities demolished private property and forced members to send their children to public schools.”

Pastor Yang and his wife have been fighting to overturn the fine since 2021, but all appeals have been rejected by Communist Party bureaucracies in the country. In a recent update, ChinaAid reported that an administrative lawsuit ordered the couple to pay $25,000, accusing them of “organizing illegal gatherings.” The total number of fines has now surpassed $50,000, but the couple has vowed not to pay.

House churches in China are popular because state-sanctioned churches are heavily censored and controlled by the government, according to The Gospel Coalition. These underground churches, like Xunsiding, are considered illegal and often operate in undisclosed or ever-changing locations.

The persecution of Christians in China has been a longstanding issue. China ranks 16th for Christian persecution according to the 2023 World Watch List by Open Doors USA, a Christian organization dedicated to serving persecuted Christians. Surveillance is a significant problem, allowing the state to monitor and shut down churches. Pastors and Christian leaders are often detained and subjected to re-education programs.

Prior to the National Party Congress in October, the Communist Party intensified its persecution of Christians by charging church leaders with “fraud,” as reported by The Christian Post.

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