(Geneva — March 3, 2026) When she stepped onto the podium at the 18th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, Grace Jin Drexel carried a double burden: one was the child growing within her, the other her father, thousands of miles away, imprisoned behind iron bars.
Her father, Ezra Jin (金明日), is no ordinary criminal. He is the senior pastor of Zion Church, one of Beijing’s largest house churches. Since last October, Pastor Jin and 22 co-workers from the church have been successively arrested and disappeared into the Beihai Detention Center in Guangxi. Another five have been released on bail.
“This crackdown represents one of the largest takedowns of an independent Christian congregation in China since the Cultural Revolution,” Grace Jin Drexel (金婷雅) told diplomats and human rights activists at the summit, her voice echoing through the hall. “A sweep so brazen, it has drawn international condemnation.”
Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has in recent years aggressively promoted a policy of “Sinicization of religion.” Officials claim it is meant to align religion with national conditions, but for members of Zion Church, the term carries a far harsher meaning.
Grace Jin Drexel described a disturbing scene: crosses forcibly removed from the tops of churches and replaced with portraits of the top leader; hymns once sung to worship God supplanted by songs praising the Party. Even sermons were rewritten to ensure their content is “aligned” with socialist core values.
The turning point for Zion Church came in 2018, when church leaders refused to install surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition inside the sanctuary. Soon afterward, the place of worship, once home to thousands of congregants, was forcibly shut down by authorities. What the cameras failed to capture, however, was the resilience of church members: during the pandemic, the church moved online, and its influence instead spread nationwide.
The current situation is extremely dire. According to Grace Jin Drexel, 18 detained pastors are being forced to sleep on cold floors and subjected to prolonged interrogations and sleep deprivation. For pastors with chronic illnesses, access to prescribed medication has become a luxury.
“He was always patient, always kind, and always giving people grace. He had an incredible sense of humor and optimism, even in prison.” Grace Jin Drexel called on the Chinese government “to release all of Zion Church’s leaders immediately and unconditionally. Do not accept China’s trampling of human rights and universal freedom with silence. If left unchecked, Beijing’s wave of repression will reverberate around the world for freedom of religion and human rights as a whole.”
In Chicago, supporters’ efforts are unfolding in parallel. At a fasting and prayer gathering on February 9, Long Xiang’en (龙降恩), acting senior pastor of Zion Church, revealed that the police task force remains active and that the investigation period could last months or even years. He specifically noted that the team of lawyers representing the pastors’ families is under “tremendous pressure” from authorities.
Despite the threat of imprisonment, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri’s wife, Anna, has continued to convey her husband’s convictions when appearing in public. Quoting Jin Mingri, she said: “No matter what happens, we give thanks.”
This message of being “persecuted yet unregretful” has become a pillar for China’s house churches under pressure. Pastor Long Xiang’en and other house church leaders have launched an initiative calling on Christians to designate the ninth day of each month as a “Day of Fasting and Prayer” to speak out on behalf of the oppressed. The next fasting and prayer gathering will be held in Vancouver on March 9.
For Grace Jin Drexel, this struggle is not only about religious freedom, but also about family reunion. In the cold winds of Geneva, she posed a question to the world: in a system that demands total control over people’s spiritual lives, is there still room for faith?
