The pastor of a prominent underground church in China is among 30 Christians arrested in a crackdown on unofficial churches.
Pastor Jin Mingri was arrested at his home in the southern region of Guangxi on 10 October on “suspicion of the illegal use of information networks”.
Several other pastors working for Zion Church – a network of unofficial congregations – were also arrested in cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Shandong, Sichuan and Henan, and taken into custody the same night.
Pastor Jin Mingri (centre-right) is among 30 Christians connected with the Zion network of churches arrested by the Chinese authorities [Image credit: China Aid]
Police searched their homes, confiscating their computers and mobile phones.
Some of those arrested have since been released, but around 20 pastors and church leaders remain in detention. According to a statement from Zion Church, which Pastor Jin founded in 2007, at least seven of the pastors may face criminal charges for “illegal dissemination of religious information via the internet”.
“A blatant attack on religious freedom”
Jin’s daughter Grace confirmed that police barred lawyers from meeting detained church members in the city of Beihai in Guangxi on 13 October. She called the arrest of the church members and pastors “a blatant attack on religious freedom”.
Grace and her mother, who are based in the United States, have not been able to contact Jin since 10 October. She said that her family was worried and scared for her father, but not surprised at his arrest.
“In my mind, we've played out this scenario since I was a kid,” she said. “Being a Christian in China, I think you just know that something like this could happen.”
Caption: A service at Zion Church in Beijing [Image credit: Zion Church/X]
Jin founded Zion Church, a popular unregistered church that has members in many cities, in Beijing in 2007, where it grew to around 1,500 members. Authorities shuttered the church in 2018, pressuring hundreds of people to stop participating in it.
But instead of depleting, Zion Church’s membership grew rapidly online, with services held on Zoom alongside smaller offline gatherings in 40 cities throughout China.
Restrictions and arrests
This crackdown is the latest in a string of arrests which have targeted unofficial churches (also known as “house churches”) in China.
In May 2025, Pastor Gao Quanfu of the Light of Zion Church was detained on charges of “using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of justice”. The following month, multiple members of Golden Lampstand Church were jailed for fraud, and their pastor Yang Rongli was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Human rights groups have criticised these convictions as false.
Although China’s constitution guarantees its citizens religious freedom, only China’s official churches, including the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), are permitted to operate.
Read more: Why are Christians persecuted in China?
In TSPM churches, Christian symbols are sometimes replaced with communist images. Christians who do not want to participate in these closely monitored services must attend unofficial “house churches” such as Zion, where they run the risk of being arrested.
In 2022, China banned all online religious services without official licences.
In September 2025, new rules were unveiled which further restrict online religious activity. These rules ban preaching “via livestreams, short videos, online meetings, WeChat groups or WeChat Moments”. WeChat is China’s most popular social media platform.
How you can pray
Pray for the detained members of Zion Church and their families. Ask that God will grant them strength and steadfastness in their faith to see them through this challenging time. Pray that China’s Christians will be able to worship freely in their churches of choice without fear of arrest.
