HANOI, Vietnam — A gang of men attacked leaders of a Baptist house church network near Hanoi on Nov. 13, leaving one pastor unconscious and seriously injuring several others, including women and teenage children.
Leaders of the Agape Baptist Church were participating in a spiritual renewal meeting at the home of Pastor Nguyen Danh Chau in Lai Tao village, Bot Xuyen commune, My Duc district, when the gang intruded at 9:30 a.m., sources said. Beating people and smashing property, the gang seriously injured more than a dozen participants and warned Nguyen Danh Chau that they would kill him if he continued gathering Christians, the sources in Vietnam said.
The seriously injured Christians included five male pastors, four female pastors and other church leaders and several of the leaders’ teenage children. The worst wounded, Nguyen Danh Chau, lay unconscious for many hours, and as of midnight Nov. 15, he was still suffering severe chest, stomach and head pain. One pastor’s wife, Nguyen Thi Lan, was still unable to walk and function normally at press time after she was struck in the stomach and groin.
The denomination’s top leader, Nguyen Cong Thanh, said in a statement Nov. 15 that he had met with the injured. “All they could do was weep and I also could not prevent my tears from flowing,” he said. “Why do they gratuitously beat servants of the Lord like this? What crime have they committed, what enemies have they made?”
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