China (MNN) — The Southern Baptists have awarded China Aid's Bob Fu the 2007 John Leland Religious Liberty Award.
Fu won the award "for courageously defending the right of all people to exercise freely their religious faith."
The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the cause of religious liberty. It was presented on February 7th at the Library of Congress by Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Fu is a leading advocate for the persecuted church in China. The group he founded, China Aid, monitors and reports on religious persecution by the Chinese government, especially of the unregistered church. The organization also seeks to aid persecuted believers in the world's most-populous country.
In his speech after receiving the award, he said, "My hope is that the Chinese government will recognize that Christianity and other true peaceful religious groups do not need to be controlled and are not a threat to the government but, rather, are one of the needed building blocks for stability and can provide much-needed help for promoting non-violence during this time of transition in China's history."
Pray for spiritual and physical strength for the thousands of imprisoned Christians. Pray, too, for their boldness in sharing the Gospel.
