A half-dozen Christian families who fled China due to persecution have been adopted by East Texas churches, but another 10 families need resettlement sponsors.
Deana Brown, founder and CEO of Freedom Seekers International, is working in partnership with Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, to help the Christians in Thailand who fear deportation back to China, where they escaped persecution.
Midland-based ChinaAid is providing assistance to the 65 Chinese Christians living in Thailand, while Freedom Seekers International in Tyler is seeking sponsors for their resettlement to the United States.
Members of the Shezhen Holy Reformed Church—nicknamed the “Mayflower Church” because of their desire for religious freedom—fled China after being subjected to repeated threats and interrogation by Chinese police.
They first sought refuge in South Korea. After being denied asylum there, they relocated to Thailand on tourist visas, but the Thai government has refused to renew their visas.
Seeking refugee status
Members of the church are in the process of seeking refugee status from the United Nations, and each has been issued a “refugee-seeker” identification.
“So far, only two of the 16 families have been granted a second refugee determination interview with the U.N.,” said Brown, a former Southern Baptist missionary to Eritrea.
Members of the Mayflower Church in Thailand have “trauma-bonded” since their departure from China, and they will “do better together, at least at first,” when they are resettled, Brown said.
Texas Baptist congregations that have pledged to help sponsor the persecuted Christians from China include First Baptist Church and South Spring Baptist Church of Tyler.
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Other East Texas churches that have made commitments include Flint Baptist Church in Flint, Sylvania Church in Tyler, Grace Community Church in Tyler and Rose Heights Church in Tyler.
The financial commitment for sponsorship is about $50,000 per family, depending on size of the household, Brown said. Cost is less if in-kind donations of furniture, appliances and other supplies are available.
Advocating for persecuted church
In December, faith leaders—including Elijah Brown, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, and Katie Frugé, director of Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission—signed a letter to congressional leaders, urging them to advocate for the persecuted Chinese Christians.
Rep. Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, recently sent a letter to Rashad Hussain, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and to Julieta Valls Noyes, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, on behalf of the Mayflower Church.
“The United States must intervene to help ensure the safety of the group, protect them against refoulment and continued harassment by [the People’s Republic of China], and support their prompt assessment for protection as refugees, including consideration by the United States Refugee Admission Program,” McCaul said.
He urged Hussain and Noyes to “work to ensure prompt assessment and status determination for those connected to the Mayflower Church seeking protection as refugees.”
McCaul also asked that the issue be raised with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and that the international agency “condemn the Chinese government’s transnational repression.”
Organizations advocating for the Mayflower Church, including 21Wilberforce, also are exploring the option of securing humanitarian parole from the United States as a temporary measure until they can be granted asylum or other permanent legal status.
In early January, President Joe Biden announced the United States is expanding the humanitarian parole processalready in effect for Venezuela and Ukraine to allow up to 30,000 nationals per month from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba. However, persecuted religious minorities in China were not included.
Encouraging the Mayflower Church
In addition to contributing to the resettlement of Mayflower Church members, praying for them and advocating on their behalf, Christians in the United States also can encourage the persecuted Christians through visits, Brown said.
Members of Green Acres Baptist Church and South Spring Baptist Church in Tyler have traveled to Thailand recently with Freedom Seekers International’s ambassador program, she noted.
The Mayflower Church has reported continued harassment and threats of abduction by Chinese agents in Thailand. So, their freedom of movement typically is limited outside the “safety zone” where they are living, Brown said.
However, when accompanied by visiting American citizens, they are able to shop, go to appointments and enjoy recreation without harassment, she explained.
In the past eight months, 23 Americans have traveled to Thailand to encourage members of the Mayflower Church. Estimated cost for a weeklong ambassador trip to Thailand is about $2,500, she added.
The next trip to Thailand is planned in April, and participants will hand-deliver letters of encouragement to the Mayflower Church from Christians in the United States, Brown said.
To contact Deana Brown, call (903) 262-6536 or email [email protected].
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