At least 20 Christians arrested for holding a public worship service continued to share their faith — even while in prison, a persecution watchdog has revealed.



China Aid reports that a number of Christians were arrested and detained in two separate police stations on Oct. 2 in China's southern Sichuan province for proselytizing on a public street and holding a worship service in a public park.



The detained Christians were part of a street evangelism team from the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, one of the area's most well-known unregistered churches. The Christians were reportedly imprisoned because rules ban evangelism outside of registered religious sites.



While in detention, the Christians took turns sharing their faith, while their fellow church members prayed that they would "be filled with the power of joy, peace, and grace," notes China Aid. Those who were not arrested either continued to preach in the streets or gathered outside of the police stations to wait for news.



"The Gospel has been proclaimed. We gave out all the leaflets. Those brothers and sisters [in Christ] who were waiting at the police station brought more and distributed them all," Early Rain Covenant Church pastor Wang Yi was quoted as writing in a message on social media. "We encountered another police station and got to know a group of people who believe in Christ. May the Lord's love be with these law enforcement officers."

