Chinese Officials Seek to Drive Lighthouse Church Underground
Jennifer Marshall /
On Easter Sunday in Washington, D.C., thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the annual sunrise service. The freedom to gather at this public monument and for churches across America to hold outdoor sunrise services is a freedom we often take for granted.
Not so in China. The Shouwang (“Lighthouse”) Church in Beijing is one of the most well-known of “house” churches, which are not officially sanctioned by the communist government. Started in 1993, the church now has 1,000 members. As The New York Times recently reported:
Shouwang, according to China’s officially atheist Communist Party leadership, is technically illegal. … Evicted yet again from its meeting place by the authorities, Shouwang announced this month that its congregants would worship outside rather than disband or go back underground. Its demands were straightforward but bold: allow the church to take possession of the space it had legally purchased. Officials responded with a clenched fist.