A prominent Chinese pastor, Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of the influential Zion Church, has been detained in Beihai, Guangxi province, as part of a sweeping crackdown on underground Christian congregations across China. His arrest, confirmed by his daughter and fellow church leaders, comes alongside the detention of dozens of other pastors in at least five provinces.
According to Pastor Sean Long, a Zion Church leader currently studying in the United States, the pastors may face charges related to the “illegal dissemination of religious content via the internet.” Long described the arrests as “a brutal violation of freedom of religion,” urging Chinese authorities to release the detained church leaders immediately.
Founded in Beijing, Zion Church is one of China’s largest unregistered, or “house,” churches—congregations that operate independently of the state-sanctioned religious system. Despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, Chinese authorities under President Xi Jinping have intensified efforts to “Sinicize” religion, demanding loyalty to the Communist Party and eradicating perceived threats to its authority.
Pastor Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin, who lives in the U.S., believes the renewed crackdown stems from Zion Church’s growing influence. “Zion grew rapidly after COVID, and that likely irked the government,” she said. The church’s membership has reportedly surged from around 1,500 in 2018 to over 5,000 today, meeting in homes, restaurants, and other informal spaces across 40 cities.
This latest wave of arrests follows similar detentions of underground church leaders in recent months. In May, the pastor of Light of Zion Church in Xi’an was detained, while in June, ten members of the Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi were sentenced to prison.
Grace Jin said her father returned to China despite knowing the risks. “He felt that as a pastor, he had to be with the flock,” she said through tears. “He was always prepared for something like this.”
