CHINA: EVANGELIST RELEASED AFTER SIXTH 2021 DETENTION
Officials in Hunan Province, China released the man known to his friends as the “Gospel Warrior”, Chen Wensheng, on October 11th after he served 15 days in a detention center, for public evangelism. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, the detention was Chen’s sixth in 2021. He was also the first Christian detained in China in 2021, according to Representative Foley.
Evangelist Chen wrote on his WeChat Moments, a Chinese social media outlet, following his release:
“Hallelujah! Thank you, God, for your grace and presence. Thank you for your prayers. After being detained at Hengyang detention center for 15 days, police officers and officials of the Unit-Front Department accompanied me home. They have left. Now I can go out to spread the Gospel again.”
Representative Foley says that Chen Wensheng returned to the streets the same day he was released in order to continue to spread the Gospel. Among those he met, according to Representative Foley, was the police officer who sent him to the detention center on September 26th.
Evangelist Chen expressed gratitude to God for his detention on his WeChat account, saying, “Thank you, God, for giving me the mission to spread the Gospel on earth, which is the meaning of my life…God can save people if we spread the Gospel. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.”
Chinese street evangelist Chen Wensheng. The street evangelist often holds a cross with the inscription: “Glorify the Lord. Repent, Trust, and Be Redeemed.”
According to Representative Foley, officers of Qingshan police station took Evangelist Chen to the police station early on the morning of September 26 to prevent him from attending the Sunday worship service. “They hoped he would give up spreading the Gospel, but then Chen shared the Gospel with them as well,” she said.
Representative Foley says that Evangelist Chen is a member of Hengyang Xiaoqun church.
“Before he became a Christian, he was a drug addict,” she said. “He managed to quit drugs with the help of the Gospel, so he spreads the good news zealously. Following the example of disciples in the Bible, he traveled to many cities and towns to spread the Gospel, holding crosses with slogans with sayings like: ‘Glorious Savior’, ‘Repent’, ‘Believe’, and ‘Saved’.” He traveled as far as Tibet, according to Representative Foley.
Representative Foley says that in June, a national security agent told Chen that he had spread the Gospel out of his home to more than 1,000 people, an average of 4 to 5 times each month. “He also showed Chen a foreign organization’s news report about his evangelism,” says Representative Foley. “The agent asserted there must be a legal team behind Chen.”
According to Representative Foley, Evangelist Chen responded with Luke 21:15: “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”
Evangelist Chen Wensheng’s detention certificate for his most recent detention, his sixth of 2021.
Screenshot of Evangelist Chen Wensheng’s WeChat account following his release from his most recent detention.
Representative Foley says that in spite of numerous threats and warnings from police officers and officials, he does not plan to quit evangelizing. “Evangelist Chen is ready to share the Gospel in prison if CCP authorities sentence him there.”
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