January-February 2020 – On October 5, 2019, Pastor Bryan Nerren of International House of Prayer Ministries in Shelbyville, Tennessee, was arrested upon landing in Bagdogra, India. Nerren runs the Asian Children’s Education Fellowship, a non-profit ministry which has trained Sunday school teachers in India and Nepal for almost two decades.
Nerren’s attorney, CeCe Heil, of the American Center for Law and Justice, believes Nerren was purposely targeted, since the arresting custom agent specifically asked if Nerren was a Christian. Heil has petitioned for the pastor’s release on the grounds of religious persecution. At press time, Nerren had been released from jail but had not been given his passport or permission to leave the country.
