Since August thousands of armed soldiers, police and security forces have been trying to ‘wipe out’ Christians who refuse to join a state-approved church. The security forces have been ‘strategically placed’ to watch Christians in 23 villages in Vietnam's mountainous Gia Lai province to ensure no one is still worshipping God or attending an independent church for worship. The security police are ordered to arrest, torture and send to prison any one who violates this religious law. There was no immediate comment from Vietnamese officials, but the Foreign Ministry has in the past denied reports of wrongdoing. Vietnam's Communist government allows Christians to join the official Evangelical Church of Vietnam but many Degar Christians prefer to worship in house churches.‘The Vietnamese government has created a new religion and built a new church but it is not religion and church that we need.’ said a local Christian. Pray: for Vietnamese Christians to have the right to worship Jesus Christ in the church of their hearts.(Jn.4:23)