MY ACCOUNT
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
It began quietly, as persecution often does.
In early October 2025, police across several provinces in China moved before dawn, knocking down doors, cutting power, and storming homes where believers were gathered for worship or rest. Among those taken was Pastor Ezra Jin of Beijing’s Zion Church, one of China’s most influential unregistered congregations. Within three days, nearly thirty pastors and staff had been detained or gone silent.
“They came from multiple provinces,” Pastor Sean Long told me from his small office near Wheaton College. “They broke into homes, handcuffed even the elderly, and took them away. One pastor’s mother had a heart attack during the arrest. Another woman was dragged from her newborn baby.”
He paused. “We are not criminals,” he said quietly. “We are Christians.”
A Church That Would Not Die
Zion’s story reads like the Book of Acts written in modern China.
Founded in 2007 with fewer than twenty believers, the church grew into one of the nation’s largest house congregations, more than 1,500 members and twenty pastors meeting in the heart of Beijing.
Then came 2018. New religious regulations effectively outlawed unregistered churches. Hundreds of police flooded Zion’s sanctuary, confiscating everything. Pastor Ezra was placed under surveillance and forbidden to leave the country. His wife and children fled to the United States. He has not seen them in seven years.
You’d think that would end the story. But instead, it began a new one.
“We moved from one sanctuary to hundreds,” Pastor Sean said. “Online gatherings, small fellowships, new church plants. God grew us wider, not smaller.”
What they called the online sanctuary soon connected more than a thousand screens each week. From the ashes of one building rose a hundred new fellowships in forty cities.
“This is God’s work,” he said. “No one could have imagined it.”
The New Wave of Arrests
By 2025, the authorities had taken notice. This latest sweep wasn’t random; it was coordinated.
“It was a cross-regional operation,” Pastor Sean explained. “Police from Beihai City traveled to other provinces to hunt down pastors. They took orders from Beijing.”
At least twenty pastors are confirmed held in Beihai’s No. 2 Detention Center. The charge: illegal use of the internet to spread religious content.
The goal is clear: to erase the church not only from public life but from digital life.
Homes have been sealed. Families threatened. Elderly believers handcuffed. A young mother was detained while caring for her one-month-old baby. She is home now, but the trauma remains.
Still, Sean refuses despair. “Persecution is the seed of revival,” he said. “Before his arrest, Pastor Ezra told me, ‘A new wave of revival will follow.’ We believe that’s true.”
Faith That Defies Fear
Sean’s own journey mirrors Zion’s resilience. Sent out of China in 2018 as part of a contingency plan, he now leads from exile, serving as interim pastor and spokesperson abroad.
Each Sunday he logs onto Zoom to shepherd believers scattered across China. “Last Sunday, the sanctuary filled instantly—one thousand devices,” he said. “Christians from all over joined to stand with us.”
Meanwhile, Christian lawyers are advocating for those detained, and families continue to meet quietly in homes to pray.
“You can close buildings,” Sean said, “but you can’t close faith.”
When I asked what Scripture sustains him, he didn’t hesitate: “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said, “but it’s also a privilege to share in Christ’s suffering.”
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The Cost of Discipleship
To the Chinese government, Zion represents defiance.
To its members, it represents devotion.
“We’re not seeking revolution,” Sean said. “We just want to worship God freely. The church isn’t an enemy of the state; it’s the hope of the world.”
He believes the U.S. church can learn from their endurance. “In America, you have freedom without persecution,” he said. “But freedom can make faith soft. When the church forgets the cost of following Jesus, it forgets Jesus Himself.”
That cost has become Zion’s heartbeat. Before the arrests, Sean asked Pastor Ezra what he would do if every leader was taken. Ezra smiled and said, “Then a new wave of revival will follow them.”
Stand with the Persecuted Church Their Faith is Resilient. Your Support is Crucial.
Revival in the Fire
Before 2018, Zion was one local church in Beijing. After the shutdown, it became a movement across China. Now Sean believes it is becoming something even greater.
“This persecution will make us global,” he said. “The gospel can’t be confined to one city or one nation.”
Through its suffering, Zion has joined the Mission China movement, an effort to send 20,000 long-term missionaries. “Our vision,” Sean told me, “is not for earthly Zionism but for the heavenly Zion—the New Jerusalem.”
He smiled faintly. “They wanted to silence us. Instead, they’ve made us stronger.”
Standing With Them
When persecution feels far away, it’s easy to treat it like a story instead of a summons. But for believers like Pastor Sean, faith isn’t theory; it’s survival.
Zion’s story isn’t only about China; it’s about the global body of Christ. Their suffering is our invitation to stand with them.
“We need the Church to remember us,” Sean said. “Pray for the release of our pastors. Pray for faithfulness and fruitfulness. We are not criminals. We are Christians.”
Today, more than twenty pastors remain in detention. Their families wait. Their churches gather quietly, singing on muted microphones.
Buildings can be sealed.Leaders can be arrested. Apps can be banned.
But you can’t stop people from believing.
Please share this story to help raise up a movement of prayer for our brothers and sisters in China—asking others to pray for the quick release of the pastors and members who are detained.
