'All-Out War Against Religious Minorities': Faith Leaders Expose China's Brutal Persecution of Christians

China is tightening its grip on the country's Christians through repeated efforts to persecute and silence the Church.

Chinese believers are being rounded up, imprisoned and some even tortured for their faith. In addition, government officials are removing crosses from churches, burning Bibles and demolishing church buildings.

"Churches have been forced to shut down. China has banned the online sale of the Bible as it works to rewrite the scriptures to include pro-government messaging," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.

Sekulow says it's part of an all-out campaign to eradicate the faith of Chinese who choose to follow Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, the ACLJ has launched a petition drive to fight for the freedom of one Christian pastor, John Cao, who Sekulow reports is behind bars in a "crowded Chinese prison cell" and has been "in a Chinese prison for nearly two years."

"After decades of peacefully serving the impoverished, providing much-needed supplies and building schools in China and Myanmar, Pastor John – a US permanent resident – was arrested and convicted of absurd charges," Sekulow said.  

The ACLJ is working on an international level to pressure China to stop the focused persecution of Christians, which includes setting Cao free.

Other Christian leaders are also speaking out against religious persecution in China. Dr. Bob Fu, the founder and president of China Aid, issued the following statement to CBN News:

"In 2018, President Xi's regime declared an all-out war against religious minorities, children's religious education and the rule of law," he wrote. "With at least a million Uygurs in concentration camps, thousands of churches shut down, hundreds of thousands of arbitrary detention of Christian believers and long-time enforced disappearances of human rights lawyers such as Wang Quanzhang and Gao Zhisheng – Christian churches and human rights lawyers had entered the most chilling winter since the end of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution."

The Trump administration is calling on leaders of its largest base, evangelicals, to help in its battle with China – especially when it comes to religious persecution.

CBN News' Efrem Graham spoke with our international reporter George Thomas for more on this issue, which is important for not only Christians but all people of faith. Watch above.