A Speech Given in the US Capitol on Behalf of Persecuted Chinese Christians
The following is a speech by Luke Alliance President Corey Jackson to given at the US Capitol on Behalf of Persecuted Chinese Christians
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—Thank you Chairman Gallagher and honorable members of the Select Committee for allowing me to address you today.
—My name is Corey Jackson and I’m the senior pastor of Trinity Park Church in Cary, NC. Before I planted and pastored this church, I was a missionary in China for 7 years and led various missions initiatives within SW China. During that time, I also became connected to a group of unregistered house churches that was just starting then and which has grown substantially over the past 2 decades up to today. I’ve now walked alongside this growing affiliation of churches for 21 years and currently serve as a strategic advisor to this nationwide group which is now in over 150 cities.
—To stand up for the oppressed is a deep and distinct value found within Christianity. In Psalm 82:3 the Bible says “Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
—That is why we are here today - that through the important work of government – we may stand up for the rights of the oppressed in China.
—This is not just a competition between countries but a competition between ideals – with China seeking to advance ideas that allow for strong state control over nearly all aspects of life, including religion. As you will hear from others today, under Xi Jinping, repression has grown more widespread and severe for not just Christians but also to other religious groups.
—This is a matter we should collectively care about and stand up for. The church I pastor and hundreds of other American churches are supportive of, care about and pray for the unregistered “house” churches in China and other religious groups facing persecution.
—The churches I am connected to in China are largely located in urban areas, comprised of educated, upwardly mobile, well-resourced citizens.
—Within these churches, one particularly egregious example of religious repression took place on December 9, 2018 against Early Rain Covenant Church and their well-known pastor, Wang Yi. Prior to this time of being brutally targeted by the CCP, membership in the church was around 800.
—In mid-December 2018 the news of this persecution against Pastor Wang Yi, his wife Jiang Rong, and others in their church was trending worldwide, with people in over 140 countries reading a statement Wang Yi wrote entitled “My Declaration of Faithful Disobedience.”
—Over 300 Early Rain church members have faced various forms of persecution, with 27 serving in criminal detention, some lasting up to 9 months. They were denied due process and legal representation. Members of the church are still facing various forms of persecution four years after that incident. Wang Yi’s wife and son are still under house arrest.
—Members have been and are beaten, many stripped naked at different points. Those in detention were intentionally dehumanized on a daily basis. Children are often arrested with their parents. They use children as bargaining chips, and will even separate nursing mothers from their babies.
—The Bible does not mince words when this kind of evil is being perpetrated upon those who are made in God’s image. Proverbs 14:31 says “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors [God].” The oppression of the image of God, and the church of God, is an insult to God as their Creator and Redeemer.
—And though the case of Early Rain is prominent, it is not an anomaly - we are seeing repression growing across unregistered house churches. Yet the church continues to faithfully, courageously follow God in China - in fact it continues to grow - even under these conditions.
—We have seen many various forms of evil perpetrated against pastors and Christians. One Christian was charged with illegal border crossing while having a legal visa, another was arrested for homeschooling his children to then be sentenced to two years because they found “politically sensitive” material on his computer, and one other prominent pastor we know has had 24/7 police presence outside his home daily since 2019. These are just three examples. Every week we learn of new churches and different pastors facing injustice from police and religious affairs officials.
— The list goes on and on. This increasing repression is happening everywhere with churches I am familiar with. If the global community does not speak up and does stand for religious freedom, then the situation will likely continue to worsen.
— If you are a pastor or Christian in China you wonder each Sunday whether it will be your turn to face the fires of persecution. And quite remarkably, they are willingly facing the fires. They stand up for their rights and use lawyers when able to, but they accept these trials as an opportunity to follow the way of Jesus – the way of the cross.
—Thank you for considering how the United States’ Congress can continue to take a stand against the CCP’s desire to control the religious freedom of its citizens.