“China’s Attack on Christians Has Entered a Dangerous New Phase”

“China’s Aggressive Crackdown on Christianity: The Unyielding Pastor Who Refuses to Submit”

Pastor Ezra Jin had just finished dinner with his elderly mother-in-law in the Chinese city of Beihai last October when more than a dozen police officers appeared at the door.

They raided the apartment, seized his phones and computer, and took him to jail. Now, he is locked up in a damp cell at Beihai’s No. 2 Detention Center, cut off from his congregation and family 8,000 miles away in the U.S. His offense: leading a church that Xi Jinping couldn’t control.

For years, Jin led a thriving Protestant congregation in Beijing called Zion Church, operating outside the government’s tightly controlled official churches. Authorities initially tolerated him during China’s economic growth and gradual openness, but after Xi Jinping took power, they tightened restrictions.

Officials interrogated churchgoers, threatened their jobs, and pressured landlords. They required that surveillance cameras be installed at Zion, froze some of Jin’s assets, and barred him from leaving China. Despite this, Jin refused to back down.

After the 2018 raid that shut down the Zion church, he moved his preaching online using Zoom and other tools, which greatly increased his following. This change put him at odds with Xi Jinping’s government. His arrest, along with 17 other church members, is part of a crackdown on Christianity in China, charged with “illegal use of information networks.”

Xi Jinping has successfully used digital surveillance and harsh prison sentences to silence activists, lawyers, and business leaders over the past decade. However, he still struggles to control the tens of millions of Christians in China.

Sean Long, a pastor at Zion, said, “For Christians like Pastor Jin, imprisonment is the highest honor and shows devotion to Jesus.” President Trump promised to raise Jin’s case during his visit to China and noted that President Xi was considering his release.

Jin’s warmth and Zion’s outreach, including English practice events for Beijingers, drove the church’s growth from about 20 members to over 1,500 in a decade, becoming one of Beijing’s largest unsanctioned churches. Concerned about safety, Jin left Beijing and settled in Beihai, focusing more on his online work.

He returned to the capital last June to renew his U.S. visa in case the travel ban was lifted. However, police intercepted him before he reached the U.S. Embassy, questioned him, and put him on a plane out of the city. The church reported that over 100 Zion members were also detained, indicating a wider crackdown by authorities.

Within hours of Jin’s arrest in October, many others associated with Zion were detained in a coordinated police operation across the country. Less than 48 hours later, the church’s followers gathered online for Sunday services. Long emphasized a sense of defiance.

The timeline for Jin’s trial is unclear, as is his potential defense. Some of his attorneys and others from Zion have had their legal licenses revoked or suspended, which Zion describes as a violation of the rule of law by the Chinese government.

From his cell, Jin aims to inspire his followers, reminding them of enduring ideals amidst Xi’s pursuit of control. In a letter after his arrest, he wrote, “The Lord calls us to be overcomers, granting us the courage of David when he faced Goliath. May this persecution strengthen our courage and solidify our faith.”

1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

1 Peter 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

The country known worldwide as the “Red Dragon” is China.

Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Revelation 12:7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Revelation 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is an antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Share this:

Share this: