The pastor of one of China’s largest underground evangelical congregations was arrested on Friday in what seems to be an organized detention of Christian leaders, according to his family and followers who are worried about his well-being.
Pastor Ezra Jin, associated with Zion Church, was apprehended by Chinese authorities, Grace Jin, his daughter, relayed to Fox News Digital. Zion Church was once Beijing’s most significant place of worship. Documentation shared with Fox News Digital by Grace mentions Jin’s detention occurred as nearly 30 pastors and church staff from Zion Church were either detained or disappeared across cities like Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beihai, Jiaxing, and Huangdao.
The Associated Press reported that numerous other church figures in Beijing and across at least five other Chinese provinces were also arrested on the same day.
“They were taken one after the other, detained,” Grace shared with Fox News Digital, reporting that individuals were mentioning there were people outside their doors before being individually taken in by authorities.
Jin’s family urges the U.S. State Department to demand his “immediate and unconditional” release by the Chinese Communist Party, enabling him to reunite with his family in the United States before suffering further persecution by the Chinese government.
The future of Jin and the other detained church leaders remains unknown, yet China Aid, a U.S.-based religious organization, communicated that “house churches,” which include Zion, are undergoing “unprecedented pressure.”
“Xi Jinping has waged a war against God’s Church, such as the Zion Church, that he will never win. The level of persecution against religious freedom has reached the worst [level] in 40 years,” China Aid founder and President Bob Fu told Fox News Digital. “Faith is not a crime. Worship is not a crime. Prayer is not a crime.
“The courage of China’s urban pastors and believers will be remembered in history as a living testimony that the light of Christ cannot be extinguished by tyranny,” Fu added. He also called on President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to speak out and condemn the CCP’s crackdown.
