(Beijing — October 10, 2025) — On Thursday, Chinese police launched a unified law enforcement operation against the Zion Church in multiple cities across the country. Church members have been taken away or had their freedom restricted in Beijing, Beihai in Guangxi, Chongqing, Jiaxing, Shenzhen, and other places, indicating a new round of high-pressure crackdown on this well-known house church. 

According to church members, at least five individuals were detained in Beijing alone, with one person currently “without contact.” Those detained reportedly include pastors, preachers, and church leaders responsible for theology and finance. Police have not announced any information regarding formal charges. 

The coordinated raids broke out on the night of October 10. In Guangxi’s Yinhai District of Beihai City, a large group of plainclothes officers sealed off a residential building called “21 Degrees Residence,” allowing no one to enter or leave. Senior Pastor Jin Mingri and Elder Yin Huibin of Beijing Zion Church were confined to their homes, while several friends present were prevented from leaving. 

That same night, electricity was cut at the homes of several pastors in Beijing, and some were forcibly taken away, their whereabouts unknown. 

The day before, on October 9, Pastor Wang Lin, who serves a church congregation in Shanghai, was detained by police while traveling in Shenzhen and has not been heard from since. 

According to sources, at 2 a.m. on October 11, plainclothes officers appeared outside the home of another Beijing pastor, Gao Yingjia, and his/her spouse. It remains unclear whether they were detained. 

Sources within the church said the broad scope and high degree of coordination of the operation suggest a possible unified deployment from the central government. 

Founded in 2007, Beijing Zion Church is a house church unregistered with the government. It is widely influential in China’s Christian circles. It once attracted the attention of the authorities because of its Reformed theological background and the large size of its gatherings (reaching 1,500 people at its peak). 

Following the 2018 revision of China’s Regulations on Religious Affairs, Zion Church came under increasing pressure from the government. On September 9, 2018, police raided its main church in Beijing with a large force of police cars, SWAT officers, and fire trucks. Authorities shut down the gathering venue and fined the church’s affiliated cultural company 1.2 million yuan (about US$165,000), and the civil affairs department issued a notice labeling its gatherings “illegal assemblies.” 

Senior pastor Jin Mingri has since been placed on an exit control, preventing him from leaving the country to reunite with his family. Branch congregations across China have also been subjected to investigation and closure. 

In May 2025, Pastor Gao Le of the church’s Hefei branch was administratively detained for five days, and members’ homes were searched and books confiscated. In June, three congregations in Chongqing were shut down, while church members in Guiyang, Ningbo, and Hangzhou were summoned for questioning. 

On June 1, police raided a Sunday worship service at Meimen Church in Guiyang, detaining all attendees who were present at the venue; Elder Yao Yong and congregant Mao Yue were held for 15 days. 

On June 22, eight Christians in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, were taken away during a home gathering by more than ten law enforcement officers who broke into the residence.  

On August 3, around 80 law enforcement officials raided a Zion Church branch in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, forcibly detaining 21 adults and six children. 

Under mounting pressure, Zion Church adopted a “decentralized gathering” strategy, with many preachers dispersing to form smaller congregations across different cities. Despite this, the crackdown has persisted. As of publication, several of those detained remain unaccounted for, and no official police statements have been released. 

Requests for comment from Beijing and Guangxi’s relevant public security departments have gone unanswered. 

China has intensified its pressure against unregistered religious groups in recent years. The coordinated raids on Zion Church across multiple locations indicate that authorities have entered a new phase in their efforts to crack down on house churches. As China further tightens its control over religious space, these large, clearly structured, and well-established unofficial churches are seen as potential challenges. 

Religious freedom remains a politically sensitive issue under the Chinese Communist Party’s governance. Within the official framework of “Sinicization of religion” and “rule-based management,” Zion Church’s flight highlights the existential challenges faced by independent religious communities. For millions of Chinese Christians who worship in house churches, the environment for everyday practice of their faith is becoming increasingly precarious. 

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai for ChinaAid)