NORTHERN CHINA — September 29, 2026 — Pastor Zhou Zixun, legally known as Cui Xianfeng, and seven coworkers of Beijing Jiaquan Church are being held in criminal detention on suspicion of “fraud,” according to a Sept. 29 prayer letter from Zhou’s wife, Cui Jinyoung, who also uses the English name Rebecca.
The letter provides the clearest account yet of a Sept. 4 police operation against the Beijing church. ChinaAid reported Sept. 21 that multiple pastors and coworkers had been detained, while the number, detention locations and specific allegations remained uncertain.
The new account confirms eight people remain detained and identifies the suspected offense, but does not name the seven coworkers or state where they are being held.
At about 5:50 p.m. Sept. 4, approximately 50 church members were preparing a hotel conference room for Jiaquan Church’s 20th anniversary celebration the following day when more than 100 police officers, including plainclothes officers, surrounded them, according to Cui.
Participants were required to provide their identification numbers, home addresses and telephone numbers so they could be called for later questioning, with most allowed to return home after.
Pastor Zhou and seven other church members were detained. Several days later, two original detainees were released, while authorities detained two other church leaders, leaving eight people in criminal detention on suspicion of fraud.
Cui argued that the fraud allegation stems from Jiaquan Church’s status as an unregistered congregation and authorities’ scrutiny of church offerings. An official detention notice or details regarding the government’s factual basis for the suspected offense are currently unknown.
Twenty years of ministry
Zhou and Cui returned to Beijing at the end of 2005 after studying in the United States, where Zhou completed seminary and Cui earned a degree in church music. They founded Jiaquan Church in 2006.
Cui said the congregation grew despite repeated government pressure, including the closure of several church locations. Three years ago, holding South Korean citizenship, authorities told her to renegotiate her visa, which was later denied without explanation. She subsequently learned she had been blacklisted and could not return.
ChinaAid previously reported that sources familiar with Jiaquan described it as an urban house-church network with congregations and gathering points in several parts of China serving more than 1,000 believers. Its ministries have included discipleship and Christian music training.
The Jiaquan detentions follow other recent police actions involving prominent unregistered house churches. Leaders of Beijing Zion Church have also faced allegations involving “fraud” and “illegal business operations” following coordinated detentions that began in October 2025.
Rev. Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, said the Jiaquan case represents what he described as a deeply alarming escalation against independent house churches.
“More than one hundred police officers were reportedly deployed against Christians who were simply preparing to celebrate their church’s 20th anniversary,” Fu said.
Health and family concerns
Cui expressed particular concern for detained coworkers with chronic medical conditions who were taken into custody without medication. She asked Christians to pray for the detainees, their families and other Jiaquan members whom she said are being sought, threatened or intimidated.
She also requested prayer for qualified defense attorneys and for the eight detainees to be safely reunited with their families.
“May God have mercy upon and care for the pastors and church workers suffering similar persecution across China,” Cui wrote in concluding her appeal.
Fu said the suspected fraud offense warrants particular scrutiny.
“We are especially concerned by the use of the criminal charge of ‘fraud,’” Fu said. “We have seen similar economic-crime accusations increasingly used against house church pastors and coworkers in connection with ordinary religious ministry, church offerings and other church activities.”
Fu called on authorities to reveal the locations where the eight detainees are being held and allow them access to family members, legal counsel and proper medical care. He added that unless officials can present clear evidence of a legitimate crime through a transparent legal process, Pastor Zhou and his seven co-workers should be released unconditionally.
Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.