In October 2025, Chinese authorities launched a sweeping, coordinated crackdown on Zion Church, one of the largest and most influential underground Protestant church networks in China. Police actions unfolded across at least ten cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and regions in Guangxi. Officers disrupted Sunday worship services, detained pastors during church retreats for elderly members, and arrived at private homes late at night to make arrests. Activists and church leaders describe the operation as the most extensive crackdown on Christians in years, with many fearing it marks the beginning of a broader campaign against underground churches nationwide.
Nearly 30 pastors, church leaders, and members connected to Zion Church were detained in early October. Those targeted ranged from longtime Christians to recent converts and included professionals such as lawyers, physicists, and music students, most in their 30s to 50s. As of mid November, 18 of those detained had been formally arrested, clearing the way for possible prison sentences of up to three years.
Among those arrested was the church’s founder, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, also known as Mingri Jin, who was taken from his home in Beihai, Guangxi Province. Others were detained at airports, rural retreats, and private residences. Families received brief detention notices listing only the alleged crime and the facility where their relatives were being held. Some detainees were later released, but many remain in custody, with several held in the same prison as Jin.
Authorities accused church leaders of offenses such as illegal use of information networks and illegal dissemination of religious content online. Witnesses reported that police arrived with prepared lists of names, searched personal belongings and religious books, and in some cases used force during arrests.
Why China Is Targeting Zion Church
Despite officially guaranteeing freedom of religious belief, China requires religious groups to register with state approved bodies such as the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement or the Catholic Patriotic Association. Zion Church refused to submit to these structures, insisting that allegiance to the Communist Party conflicted with Christian faith.
Zion’s rapid growth appears to have alarmed authorities. Founded in 2007 with about 20 followers, the church expanded into a nationwide network with around 100 branches across 40 cities and more than 10,000 followers participating in online and in person services. Observers say this level of organization, independence, and digital reach made Zion a symbol of religious life outside state control.
Rights advocates argue that the crackdown reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to tighten control over all social organizations. Under President Xi Jinping’s policy of the sinicisation of religion, faith groups are expected to conform to socialist values and demonstrate loyalty to the party. Independent churches like Zion are seen as especially problematic because they operate beyond direct government oversight.
Has Happened Before
This is not the first time Zion Church has faced repression. In 2018, authorities shut down its main worship venue in Beijing after the church refused to install surveillance cameras. That same year, China revised religious regulations to require government approval for public worship, forcing many underground churches to close, move online, or disband. Zion adapted by adopting a hybrid model of online services and small in person gatherings, allowing it to continue growing despite increased scrutiny.
More broadly, China has a long history of cracking down on unregistered Christian churches. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, underground Protestant and Catholic congregations have existed in a legally precarious space, sometimes tolerated but always vulnerable. Over the years, church buildings have been demolished, crosses removed, religious apps banned, and pastors detained or imprisoned.
China’s Broader History With Christianity
China officially reports about 38 million Protestants and six million Catholics, figures that largely reflect members of state sanctioned churches. Scholars and rights groups estimate that tens of millions more attend unregistered house churches. The Communist Party, which is officially atheist, has long regarded Christianity as a foreign influence and a potential challenge to ideological control.
Under Xi Jinping, repression has become more systematic and technologically sophisticated. Surveillance, online censorship, and new regulations governing digital religious activity have made it increasingly difficult for underground churches to operate. In 2025 alone, several other independent churches saw pastors detained or members sentenced on charges that rights groups say are politically motivated.
Zion Church leaders strongly deny that the church poses any threat to China. Sean Long, a pastor and spokesperson based in the United States, said the arrests were part of a systematic effort to unroot Zion and intimidate other Christians. He described the campaign as a warning to all independent churches to submit to party control or face destruction.
Grace Jin Drexel, the daughter of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, said the family was shocked and frightened by the arrest but remained confident in their faith. She said her father understood the risks of leading an independent church and believed that persecution could lead to spiritual revival rather than defeat.
Church representatives emphasize that Zion is not anti China or anti government. They say its members love their country and culture and seek only the freedom to practice their faith without political interference.
International advocacy groups have condemned the arrests. Corey Jackson of the Luke Alliance said the nationwide coordination of the crackdown was unprecedented and likely only the beginning of a larger campaign. Open Doors, another Christian advocacy organization, noted that Zion’s prominence and level of organization may have made authorities nervous about a social movement they do not control.
ChinaAid founder Bob Fu called the arrests a chilling milestone in what he described as the Communist Party’s all out war on Christianity. He said turning pastors into political prisoners sends a clear warning to every independent church in China.
U.S. officials have also spoken out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the detentions and called for the immediate release of the arrested church leaders, saying the crackdown shows hostility toward Christians who reject party interference in their faith. Chinese officials have rejected these criticisms, insisting that religious freedom exists within the bounds of Chinese law and accusing foreign governments of interfering in internal affairs.
Many observers fear that the Zion Church crackdown signals a new wave of religious repression across China. New regulations limiting online sermons to licensed groups and increased police questioning of church members suggest that authorities are tightening controls further. While the fate of those arrested remains uncertain, Zion Church leaders say they will continue to worship and organize, even under pressure.
For supporters, the arrests highlight a deepening conflict between the Chinese Communist Party’s demand for absolute control and the persistence of religious communities that refuse to place political loyalty above faith. As one Zion pastor said, persecution cannot destroy the church, and history suggests that repression often strengthens the resolve of believers rather than silencing them.
ACZ Editor: This is the result of totalitarian control in China, they want order and control and are willing to stomp on any group that they believe is a threats. Individuals are thrown in jail and often tortured or killed.