Below is an excerpt from a recent Seattle Times article telling the story of one underground Chinese church. It’s hard to think of a more effective way of growing the church: persecution faithfully handled.

According to church members, the pastor, the Rev. Jin Tianming, and other church leaders were blocked by police from leaving their homes Sunday. Some church members were seized as they emerged from the subway station at Zhongguangcun plaza, where the services were to be held.

By 8 a.m., hundreds of police officers swarmed the area. They questioned passers-by and corralled church members on to buses, dragging and shoving those who r

At one point, a group of plainclothes police officers kicked and beat a group of four young people. As one of the buses pulled away, the congregants pulled out a prayer sheet and began to sing.

Church leaders said 169 people were detained throughout the day, with most taken to a nearby elementary school, where they were briefly questioned and photographed; most were released later in the day, although church leaders said at least three people, including a pastor, were still being held Monday morning.

After years of tolerance by the religious authorities, unregistered churches, known as house churches, have faced pressure to either disband or join the system of state-controlled congregations.

The government first forced Shouwang, which means watchtower, out of its rented quarters in 2008. In 2009, the church paid $4.1 million for a floor in an office building, but the owner, under pressure from the authorities, has refused to hand over the keys. Until last week, church members had been meeting in a restaurant.

The congregation made no secret of its plans to gather outdoors, announcing the service on the Internet. During his final sermon last week, Jin warned his congregants they would likely meet resistance.

“At this time, the challenges we face are massive,” he said. “For everything that we have faced, we offer our thanks to God. Compared with what you faced on the cross, what we face now is truly insignificant.”