Authorities in China have arrested the founder of one of the country’s most well-known underground churches, along with dozens of pastors and members, as part of a sweeping crackdown across several cities.
Jin Mingri, founder of the Zion Church—a house of worship operating independently of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control—was detained at his home in Beihai, Guangxi, on Friday evening, according to his daughter, Grace Jin, and church spokesperson Sean Long.
Grace Jin expressed deep concern for her 56-year-old father’s health and legal rights, noting that he suffers from diabetes and requires regular medication. “We’re worried since he requires medication,” she said. “I’ve also been notified that lawyers are not allowed to meet the pastors, which is very concerning to us.”
According to a detention notice viewed by family members, Jin is being held on suspicion of the “illegal use of information networks.” Since Thursday, police have conducted coordinated raids and arrests targeting church leaders and members in multiple provinces, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Shandong, Sichuan, and Henan.
Zion Church, which has nearly 5,000 regular worshippers across 50 cities, operates without official registration or oversight from local religious affairs bureaus. Worshippers often attend services via Zoom or in small in-person gatherings.
The crackdown comes shortly after China’s National Religious Affairs Administration introduced new rules prohibiting unauthorized online preaching and tightening control over digital religious content deemed inconsistent with Party ideology. Supporters of Zion Church fear that the detained pastors may face charges under these new regulations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the arrests, urging Beijing to release the detained pastors. “This crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches,” Rubio said in a statement.
Unregistered “house” churches have long faced persecution in China, with authorities intensifying control through the government’s “sinicization” campaign, which seeks to align religious practices more closely with Communist Party doctrine. Thousands of worshippers continue to face arrest each year for practicing their faith outside the state-approved framework.
