Detained Chinese pastor writes of true freedom

A letter from Wang Yi, pastor of the Chinese church that was the subject of a government crackdown Sunday, was released and translated Wednesday, explaining his faithful disobedience to the Communist regime and expressing hope for his jailers’ salvation. Wang’s letter included instructions for it to be published if he was detained for more than 48 hours. Beginning Sunday night, Chinese authorities arrested more than 100 members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, including Wang and his wife, Jiang Rong. They have not been heard from since Sunday. Church members reported that authorities sent 47 students from the church’s liberal arts college and seminary to the Xinjin County Legal Learning Center, which they believe is a reeducation camp, but the students reportedly were later sent back to their hometowns.

In his letter, Wang called the persecution of Chinese Christians “wicked,” saying he would serve his sentence but not plead guilty. He prayed his persecution would allow him to preach the gospel. “I hope God uses me, by means of first losing my personal freedom, to tell those who have deprived me of my personal freedom that there is an authority higher that their authority, and that there is a freedom they cannot restrain, a freedom that fills the church of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ,” he said.