Eight Chinese church leaders who have been held since October 2025 are set to face trial for the alleged crime of “illegally using information networks”.
A pre-trial hearing is set to take place on 10 August, with the trial date set for 14-18 August.
The eight are all members of Zion Church, a network of unofficial “house churches”. They were among around 30 members of the church arrested on 10 October.
A service at Zion Church in Beijing [Image credit: Zion Church/X]
The highest profile detainee, Pastor Jin Mingri, was released from prison and taken to the United States in early July.
This latest update was reported by his daughter Grace Jin Drexel on X (formerly known as Twitter).
If found guilty, the eight church leaders face a possible three-year prison sentence.
Pastor Jin (also known as Ezra Jin) founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007. The church has grown to become one of the largest unofficial churches in China.
While unofficial churches are often overlooked by the Chinese authorities, they are technically illegal and members run the risk of arrest and imprisonment.
More than 200 leaders of unofficial churches are currently either imprisoned, under house arrest or otherwise detained.
How you can pray
Please intercede for these eight church leaders, asking that their faith will remain firm as they suffer for the Name of their Saviour. Pray that the trial will show that they have done nothing worthy of punishment. Pray also for all of our Chinese brothers and sisters, especially those in unofficial churches who remain at risk of arrest and imprisonment.
