The U.S. State Department has issued its findings on religious persecution in China, stating unequivocally that China engages in organized, severe persecution of religious activity that is not officially registered with the government. Such activities are subject to government oppression and intimidation.

The Annual Report on Religious Freedom (issued September 2000) findings are consistent with the assertions of The Bible League, an Illinois-based, world-wide ministry that is the leading supplier of Scriptures to the house churches of China, almost all of which are unregistered.

“We at The Bible League have one of the most extensive network of contacts with house churches,” says Rev. Dennis Mulder, President of The Bible League. “We have worked with trusted and committed partners in this ministry who have been imprisoned, beaten, fined, harassed, and even tortured by Chinese government officials. As the State Department report shows, these events have increased, rather than decreased, in the past two years. Our faithful brothers and sisters in China continue to face persecution.”

As persecution intensifies, Christianity continues to spread, and the need for Bibles increases. Last year The Bible League supplied 905,470 Bibles to China’s house churches, a 47% increase over the previous year.