(Chengdu – May 14, 2026) Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, a prominent unregistered Protestant house church in southwest China that has faced years of government repression, has once again been disrupted by local authorities.
On Sunday, May 10, church members arriving for a worship service at 8:55 a.m. found police officers blocking access to the church’s usual worship venue, according to multiple church sources confirmed by ChinaAid. It had been planned as a joint gathering of several cell groups of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church.
Sister Haiyan, who arrived at the gathering site in the morning, was stopped by plainclothes officers present at the location. Witnesses stated that officers conducted identity registration with Sister Haiyan and verbally threatened the woman during the process. (Church members and other confirmed sources are not identified to protect their safety.)
This incident follows a similar operation two weeks prior, as previously reported by ChinaAid News.
On Sunday, April 26, officers of the Yulin Police Station dispersed two small groups affiliated with Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, known as Chengdu Jinsha Group and Yulin Group. The operation prevented members from holding a worship service at their usual venue.
In response to the increased surveillance and crackdown, the two groups planned to join with the church’s Taisheng Group for a joint gathering on May 10. But police intervention and the venue closure forced organizers to cancel the meeting.
The church has been a focus of religious freedom advocates since December 2018, when police launched a sweeping raid against the church and detained dozens of members. Chinese authorities later sentenced founding pastor Wang Yi to nine years in prison.
When two or three are gathered, authorities strike
Despite the increasing incidents of police blockades and disruption, members of Early Rain Covenant Church say they are not giving up.
Sources indicate that members of both cell groups are currently planning to locate another undisclosed location outside the blockade to continue holding Sunday worship services.
Following that major crackdown on December 9, 2018, referred to as the “12.9 case,” the well-known Protestant church has operated under a decentralized, small-group gathering model.
However, over the past seven years, even these small, dispersed gatherings have continued to face frequent harassment from local authorities, including home visits, detentions for questioning, and administrative pressure.
The church’s founding pastor, Wang Yi, remains incarcerated. Four core church leaders, including Elder Li Yingqiang, were arrested on January 6 of this year and remain in custody.
Church members and religious freedom advocates say the recent targeting of the Taisheng Group reflects an effort by authorities to disrupt the church’s ability to meet regularly – even in small groups.
ChinaAid, founded in 2002, is an international, Christian nonprofit human rights organization that inspires, informs, and invites people to transformative action on behalf of persecuted people of all faiths in China. Sign up to receive ChinaAid News every week.