Local Officials in Laos Stop Worship, Expel Christians

Family barred from returning to village.

(Morning Star News) – A month after a Christian family in Salavan Province, Laos lost their home and were expelled for their faith, officials in another province on Sunday (Oct. 1) disrupted the worship service of a house church and threatened to arrest them, according to a rights group. In Savannakhet Province’s Khampou village, Assaphone […]

Muslim Mob Forces Christians Out of Building in Indonesia

Protest results in agreement to temporarily leave worship site.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A Muslim mob protesting a church site outside Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday (Sept. 16) has forced the congregation to temporarily move worship services online, sources said. The Indonesia Bethel Church (Gereja Bethel Indonesia, or GBI) reached a police-brokered agreement to forego worship services at their building in Depok, just south […]

Muslims with Machete, Club Halt Worship in Indonesia

Police dismiss case, saying assailant was insane.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A machete-wielding Muslim threatened to kill members of a house church in Indonesia as he and family members on Aug. 29 broke up a worship service, sources said. In West Sumatra Province, the Sola Gratia congregation of Bethel Indonesia Church (Gereja Bethel Indonesia, or GBI) was meeting the evening […]

3-Month Jail Term Given for Halting Christian Worship in Indonesia

A Christian would have received harsh punishment for same crime, rights advocate says.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A court in Indonesia last week sentenced a Muslim to three months in jail for halting a Christian worship service. Sources said reducing the charge from blasphemy to disrupting a worship service, combined with an agreement the Muslim reached with the church, resulted in a lighter sentence than would have […]

Mobs Impede Christian Worship at Two Churches in Indonesia

Building under construction damaged.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Mobs in northern Indonesia this month blocked a church from its Sunday service venue in one town and damaged a worship building under construction in another, sources said. In Riau Islands Province, about 30 people on Wednesday (Aug. 9) used hammers and clubs to break huge holes in the walls […]

Muslims Again Break Up Worship of Church in Indonesia

Presence of Christian service in Muslim-majority area questioned.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – As police looked on, a group of Muslims in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, on July 2 asked why a church should be present in a Muslim-majority area as they broke up its worship service, a video shows. The disruption was the second in two months suffered by the Mawar Sharon Church […]

Churches in Indonesia Fight to Regain Worship Venues

Seal removed, but congregation cannot yet use building.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Christians broke into joyful celebration when local officials in East Jakarta, Indonesia removed the seal on their church building on June 26, three months after it was closed. Citing lack of a permit, the East Jakarta City Planning Office on March 20 had sealed with a banner the building of […]

Christians Fear Implication in Attack on Government in Vietnam

Long oppressed Montagnard evangelicals could be targeted.

(Morning Star News) – Ethnic Christians in Vietnam are bracing for potential fallout should they be blamed for recent anti-government violence. In the pre-dawn hours of June 11, four policemen, two government officials and three bystanders were killed by camouflage-clad armed groups. This rare anti-government violence took place in Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes, […]

Muslims Block Worship at Two Churches in Indonesia

Home fellowship told to obtain permit.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A local official and other Muslims on Sunday (June 18) stopped worship at a house church outside Jakarta, Indonesia, and a church site in Central Java Province was temporarily blocked, according to local reports. In West Java Province, a group of Muslims said to be led by a neighborhood official […]

Muslims Stop Christian Services in Two Cities in Indonesia

Worship disrupted on Sumatra Island.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Muslim mobs on May 19 stopped Christians from worship in two cities of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, sources said. Muslims reportedly disrupted Christians as they worshipped in a café in a village in Binjai, 13 miles from Medan, capital of North Sumatra Province. In Riau, capital of Pekanbaru Province in […]