SEOUL, South Korea — July 1, 2025 — The Voice of the Martyrs Korea (VOM Korea) is calling on Christians worldwide to pray for Pastor Lian Changnian, a Chinese house church leader recently released on bail but suffering serious mental and physical effects from prolonged government interrogation.
According to ChinaAid, a U.S.-based partner of VOM Korea, Pastor Lian was detained by Chinese authorities in August 2022. The government charged him with “fraud” for receiving tithes and offerings from church members—a practice considered illegal for unregistered house churches in China, where only state-approved Three-Self Churches are permitted to collect donations.
Lian serves as a pastor at Xi’an Church of Abundance, which is part of the Chinese Gospel Fellowship (CGF) house church network. VOM Korea President Hyun Sook Foley reported that a prayer letter issued last month by the Xi’an church revealed that Pastor Lian was released on bail in April 2025 but was immediately hospitalized due to severe psychological and physical conditions stemming from interrogations.
“Pastor Lian and the Xi’an Church of Abundance have endured years of persecution,” Foley stated. “He has been imprisoned multiple times, most recently on August 17, 2022, alongside his son, Pastor Lian Xuliang, and Evangelist Fu Juan. All three were detained at a secret government location and subjected to harsh interrogations.”
The prayer letter described alarming conditions: long periods without food, beatings, forced consumption of unidentified drugs, and restrictions on basic needs such as restroom use. Pastor Lian was reportedly denied the ability to lie down to sleep for nearly two years and eight months.
According to Foley, signs of psychological trauma were first identified by Lian’s lawyer in early 2023. By September 2024, his mental health had significantly deteriorated. “He developed extreme fear of sleeping, believing he might be injected with drugs or even strangled to death,” Foley said.
Though the case has not yet proceeded to trial, legal efforts led to the bail release of all three detained church workers in April. Upon release, Pastor Lian was reunited with his family but required immediate medical evaluation. Initial medical assessments revealed not only severe psychological issues but also serious spinal damage, prompting his hospitalization last month.
The Xi’an Church of Abundance has asked believers around the world to pray for Pastor Lian’s full healing—physically, mentally, and spiritually—and for divine justice in the ongoing legal proceedings against him and his co-workers.
*This article is translated and organized version of the Christian Today.
