On 9 October Chinese authorities launched coordinated raids on churches across the large, unregistered Zion Church network. More than thirty pastors and church staff in at least seven cities were detained, disappeared or placed under house arrest and their homes and worship venues were ransacked, families harassed and property confiscated, including computers and mobile phones.

Some of the detained Christians have been released following interrogation but around twenty remain in custody and several have been charged with “illegal dissemination of religious information online” and placed in criminal detention at Beihai Detention Centre in Guangxi province, including senior pastor and church founder Jin (Ezra) Mingri.

Zion Church is one of the largest unregistered church networks in China, with at least 5,000 members in more than one hundred branches in over forty cities. Zion Church refuses to join the official Three-Self Church and in 2018 Chinese authorities shut its central church venue in Beijing. Since then members have continued to meet in small groups or online, with up to 10,000 participating in online services.

Pastor Jin (56) was detained at his home in Beihai following a raid that began on the evening of 10 October. His home was searched throughout the night and he was taken away in handcuffs the following morning. The pastor suffers from diabetes and his family is concerned about his health in detention, as he requires medication and has been hospitalised in the past. He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement.

The charges against Zion Church leaders may be linked to the new “Regulations on the Online Behaviour of Religious Clergy” introduced by China’s National Religious Affairs Administration last month. These regulations severely restrict how religious leaders use the internet, which Zion Church relies on for its gatherings.

Background

Jin Mingri grew up in northeast China and became a Christian in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square massacre left him disillusioned him with the communist regime. He met his future wife Chunli Liu (also known as Anna) at university in Beijing, where she was studying psychology and he was studying geophysics.

Jin Mingri spent several years serving in the official Three-Self Church before moving to work in the US, where he and Chunli Liu joined a Korean church (both are ethnic Korean) and he completed his doctorate in ministry.

Returning to Beijing in 2007 Pastor Jin founded Zion Church, which became one of the largest unregistered house churches in China over the next decade, with up to 1,500 people attending services at a venue on the third floor of a Beijing office building. A seminary was established, as well as a café and bookshop, and many prominent intellectuals and dissidents were baptised and joined the church. Pastor Jin became one of the most influential house-church pastors in China, with a highly educated pastoral team.

The authorities shut down Beijing Zion Church on 9 September 2018 after it refused to install 24 surveillance cameras in its sanctuary. The church could no longer rent a venue so members turned to mobile gatherings of “walking worshippers”, walking around with headphones on listening to pre-recorded 40-minute worship services. Starting Zoom services led to huge growth and the establishment of one hundred local churches in over forty cities, but church members have faced ongoing harassment from the authorities.

In 2018 Pastor Jin, Chunli Liu and their daughter and two sons moved to the US, hoping that in his absence the government would ease its pressure on the church, but when he heard that it was still facing huge pressure he decided to go back to China alone. After his return the Chinese authorities put him on an exit control list, meaning that he has not been able to visit his family for seven years.

Pastor Jin continued to expand the ministry of Zion Church and in the summer of 2022 he moved to Beihai. Since early 2025, branches in multiple cities have been investigated and members have been summoned for questioning, leading to this month’s wave of arrests.

Dr Bob Fu issues statement

Following the wave of arrests of Zion Church leaders Dr Bob Fu, the founder and president of China Aid, issued a statement on 11 October in which he commented, “Today, we are witnessing the most extensive and coordinated wave of persecution against urban independent house churches in China in over four decades…

“This new nationwide campaign echoes the darkest days of the 1980s, when urban churches first re-emerged from the Cultural Revolution. Yet, unlike four decades ago, today’s persecution is aided by digital surveillance, nationwide coordination, and ‘fraud’ charges manipulated to criminalise peaceful worship.

“China Aid condemns in the strongest possible terms this blatant violation of both China’s own Constitution (Article 36) and international norms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We call on the Chinese government to immediately release all detained pastors, ministers, and believers and to cease the nationwide suppression of house churches.”

Zion Church leaders issue statement

The pastoral team of Zion Church issued a statement on 12 October in which it said, “All detained pastors and members of Zion Church are innocent Christians. Their only ‘offence’ is worshipping God peacefully, preaching the Gospel faithfully, shepherding their flock, and serving their neighbours. These acts of faith are protected under both the Constitution of China and international human rights law.

“This latest campaign of repression flagrantly violates Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, which guarantees freedom of religious belief, and blatantly contravenes Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which affirm freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.”

The statement calls for the immediate cessation of all arrests, intimidation, and harassment against Zion Church and other house churches in China; the unconditional release of all detained and disappeared Christians; protection of Chinese citizens’ right to freedom of religion and belief; and condemnation by the international community, governments and religious freedom organisations of these abuses.

(Bitter Winter, China Aid, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Chunli Liu, Dr Bob Fu, Radio Free Asia,  UCA NEWS, Zion Church Pastoral Team)

Photo: Zion Church (via China Aid)