Police in Heilongjiang province, China, raided a church house gathering on April 29th, and demanded those in attendance go to a government-sanctioned church.

“When we were gathering on April 29, people from the domestic security protection squad (DSPS), the local police station and the religious affairs bureau entered our building and demanded that we stop the worship service,” said a female leader, Yu, from the Home of Bodani church in the city of Yichun.

“When they entered the room, one church member was delivering a sermon. I told them that we were worshiping and that they could tell us whatever they wanted after our gathering was over. A man said no and that he wanted to talk to the person in charge.”

“Our leader is an elderly man named Dong Shiyun. He couldn’t do anything but follow the officers out of the building in order to not disturb the gathering,” Yu said. “I followed, too, and heard them say that our gathering is illegal because we don’t have a ‘site registration permit.’”

Yu said that the church has been meeting in the house for over 20 years and that the majority of the 10 worshippers inside were elderly and lived close to the house.

Xilin District Religious Affairs Bureau of Yichun and the Xilin District Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that the church was illegal because it did not have a permit and that all religious activity had to immediately stop.

The officials said if the church continued to meet, they would be classified as a cult and further legal action would be taken against them.