On Christmas Day, a prosecutor’s office in the Tibet Autonomous Region filed criminal
charges against 10 Christians from the Chinese house church “All Ranges Church.” This is the latest case of nationwide crackdown against this banned Christian group following the arrest of 8 Christians in Hubei Province last September.
The 10 indicted believers were all charged with violating Item 1, Article 300 of the “Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China”, a notorious and controversial charge: “Sabotaging the enforcement of laws by organizing and utilizing cult organizations.”
According to the indictment, half of the 10 accused “All Ranges Church” believers came from Heilongjiang, Jilin, Ningxia, and Henan provinces, where they conducted business while carrying out evangelical activities; the other half were from Bayi District, Nyingchi City, Tibet, where the incidents occurred. Among them, Yao Xilin, Zhang Wei, and Ren Xiaoyun are currently detained at the Nyingchi City Detention Center; 3 were initially released on bail before being re-arrested, and 7 are currently out on bail.
The indictment alleges that since 2019, Yao Xilin, Zhang Wei, Ren Xiaoyun restored the “All Ranges Church” and established the “Nyingchi Church” in Nyingchi City and other locations, organizing and implementing “pioneer evangelism,” spreading cult doctrines, and developing church members. Yao Xilin, Zhang Wei, Ren Xiaoyun, and Wang Haiying were identified as principal offenders; Yao Xilin, Zhang Wei, Ren Xiaoyun were the main “preachers.” Others were responsible for the church group’s youth ministries, choir members, and church logistics. These believers held various meetings multiple times and used Zoom platform and WeChat groups for prayer.
Among them, Ren Xiaoyun was appointed as “one of the eight Deacons” by the Ningxia pastoral district of the “All Ranges Church” in 2018, responsible for evangelism work. He later crossed provinces to conduct missionary work in the Tibet Autonomous Region. According to the indictment, Zhang Wei and Ren Xiaoyun confessed to their actions, which constitutes a confession and can result in lighter punishment under Chinese law.
The other 6 people – Li Chunjie, Qin Chenglan, Li Xiaolin, Xiao Mingzhi, Wang Ying, and Li Yan – were identified as accomplices and may receive lighter punishments or reduced sentences.
Yao Xilin from Heilongjiang, who serves as the general director of the “All Ranges Nyingchi Church,” may become the main target of this crackdown.
Arrest in 2023
It is reported that at the end of the year before last, Chinese authorities arrested 13 house church leaders belonging to the “All Ranges Church” in Ningxia. Due to the lack of timely intervention by lawyers, government-appointed lawyers forced the defendants to plead guilty, after which they were sentenced. According to inside sources, the CCP is planning to use the same persecution model from Ningxia for these 10 house church leaders in Tibet, forcing them to plead guilty.
The “All Ranges Church”
These “All Ranges Church” believers facing criminal charges were primarily targeted because they belong to the “All Ranges Church,” which was designated as a cult organization in November 1995 by a notice from the General Office of the Central Committee and the State Council Office titled “Notice on Forwarding the Ministry of Public Security’s Work Opinions Regarding the Investigation and Ban of the ‘Shouters’ and Other Cult Organizations,” which declared it would be “banned according to law.”
Charges against the Evangelism by All Ranges Church
The charges listed in the indictment are limited to speech, thought, and belief. The indictment claims that the “All Ranges Church” conducts “evangelism” by promoting and spreading “heterodox teachings” such as “everyone has sin and needs to confess and repent,” “believing in Jesus can heal diseases,” and “crying born again,” seriously disturbing the national religious management order and undermining the implementation of state laws.
The indictment charges that “Nyingchi Church” personnel and short-term missionaries spread heterodox teachings to local people and minors through methods such as “free medical consultations” and “custodial services.” Some believers used the Minor Protection Service Center and Ma Da Housekeeping Service Co., Ltd. to spread heterodox teachings to some minors within their respective institutions, and invited other pastoral districts of the church group to conduct short-term missions in the area, holding meetings in believers’ homes and companies in the area.
The church group’s documents such as “Basic Church Building Proposal” and “Cross Salvation” and other books and electronic documents were identified by the Tibet Autonomous Region Public Security Department as materials used by the “All Ranges Church” cult organization to restore and develop the organization.
Background of the “All Ranges Church”
The “All Ranges Church” (also known as the “Word of Life Church” or “Born Again Movement”) was founded by Pastor Xu Yongze in Pingdingshan, Henan in 1984. The church’s name, according to Pastor Xu Yongze’s explanation, comes from “all ranges” meaning “large, broad, deep,” referring to including all born-again saved people on earth. The church group’s highest institution is the “All Ranges Council,” with 7 pastoral districts under it. Its evangelical activities quickly spread to some neighboring provinces.
The “Basic Church Building Proposal” authored by Pastor Xu Yongze advocates the “threefold vision” proposed by Pastor Jonathan Chao, a historian of Chinese house churches: “Christianization of culture, evangelization of China, and Kingdomization of Church.” The church group refuses to join the officially supported and recognized “Three-Self” Patriotic Movement.
The church group believes in Christian eschatology. For a considerable period, they placed relatively high importance on evangelical born-again doctrine, emphasizing emotional external expressions in the born-again experience, particularly viewing crying during repentance as a sign of salvation, which was questioned by other house churches, leading some to call the “All Ranges Church” the “Crying Born Again Faction.”
Officials claim that the strategy of “All Ranges Church” is to “use life as its base, church building as its center, co-worker training as its breakthrough point, using local areas as foundation, expanding to surrounding areas, radiating to all parts of the country, promoting the development of domestic work.” They aim to implement the “global mission strategy of the universal church” primarily in China’s coastal areas, actively training key personnel to send to various places for “pioneer evangelism.”
“All Ranges Church”in the face of increasing persecution
Due to China’s severe crackdown on house churches, the “All Ranges Church” adopted closed meetings to avoid arrest, and in some meeting venues, members used spiritual names for communication.
The church group operates “Wilderness Theological Seminary,” conducting Bible training classes to cultivate and develop core members, emphasizing basic doctrines of soteriology including born-again salvation and assurance of eternal life. Graduates are sent to various places for “pioneer evangelism.”
In recent years, the “All Ranges Church” has continuously strengthened its theological training, participating more in theological exchanges with other house churches. Their doctrinal organization, mission strategies, and pastoral practices have become increasingly similar to traditional house churches and even contemporary urban house churches, leading to broader understanding and acceptance of this faith group.
Chinese Official’s “Cult” accusation against All Ranges Church
In 1995, before China’s first official list of cults was published, the Chinese government had designated this church group as a “cult” in 1988. The true reason for listing this church group as a “cult” remains unclear. Pastor Xu Yongze himself was arrested in 1997 but was released in 2000 and successfully fled to the United States, where he received asylum.
The Chinese government has taken long-term suppression measures against this church group. In 1990, Gong Shengliang, one of the leaders of the All Ranges Church, established the “South China Gospel Mission” (also known as “South China Church”) in Hubei, and by 1991, the church’s activities involved 88 counties across 15 provinces and autonomous regions. Gong Shengliang was sentenced to life imprisonment. China Aid Association has paid close attention to this case.
In 2000, Chinese police took severe suppression measures against the “All Ranges Church” in Anhui Province, detaining 47 members of the church.
On June 25, 2014, 22 “All Ranges Church” believers were meeting in a factory building in Cao County, Heze City, Shandong Province when more than 50 police officers from the Cao County National Security Brigade broke in carrying machine guns. Among those arrested, 10 were released that day, 11 were criminally detained, and on July 23, 10 were released on bail. The pregnant women, children, and infants who were arrested were detained for two days, and 2 of those arrested were sentenced to 4 years in prison, serving their sentences at Weibei Prison.
From August to September 2023, over 20 people from the “All Ranges Church” in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, were arrested by the Suizhou City Public Security Bureau in a coordinated action. In September 2024, 8 were formally charged, with 4 receiving bail out pending trial.
The latest case involves a major criminal crackdown on the church group while conducting pioneer evangelism in Bayi District, Nyingchi City, Tibet. — ChinaAid
