China releases Zion Church pastor Ezra Jin Mingri after nine months in detention

Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, founder of Beijing's Zion Church, has been released after almost nine months in detention, following high-level diplomatic engagement between the United States and China.

Jin arrived in Los Angeles in the early hours of 4 July 2026 and was reunited with his family after eight years of separation, according to a statement from his wife, Anna Chunli Liu.

The case was reportedly resolved as part of a humanitarian arrangement reached after a May 2026 summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, during which Trump raised Jin's detention. Chinese officials described the release as a humanitarian gesture.

Chinese officials removed the 57-year-old pastor from the detention centre in Beihai, Guangxi Province, on 3 July. Jin initially believed he was being transferred to another facility and was only informed at the airport that he would be travelling to the United States, where he was issued a new passport.

Anna Liu said she received confirmation from US officials on the morning of 3 July. "Only when I learned that Pastor Jin was already on the plane to Los Angeles did my heart finally settle," she wrote, adding that she had hardly dared believe the outcome would materialise.

Family members said Jin had lost around 33 pounds (15 kilograms) during his detention and that his hair had turned mostly grey, though he remained in good spirits.

Leader of Beijing's largest house church

A graduate of Peking University, Jin later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in California. He founded Zion Church in 2007, building it into a congregation estimated at between 1,500 and 5,000 members.

House churches operate independently of China's state-controlled Protestant system. Authorities shut down Zion Church's main building in September 2018 after it refused to install surveillance cameras and submit to tighter state oversight. The congregation continued meeting underground and online.

In October 2025, Chinese authorities launched a nationwide crackdown, described by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) as the most coordinated action against an unregistered church in 40 years, detaining around 28 to 30 Zion Church leaders in raids across 11 cities.

Jin and 17 others were formally arrested on 18 November on charges of illegally using information networks. The charges were later amended to illegal business operations and fraud, though Jin was ultimately released without sentencing.

In a letter dated 5 July, Anna Liu said her husband never compromised in responding to the charges. "He openly acknowledged everything he had done: preaching the gospel online, establishing churches, and making disciples," she wrote, adding that he maintained these were acts of faith rather than crimes.

International advocacy campaign

Jin's release followed sustained advocacy from his family and religious freedom organisations. His daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, testified before Congress and met lawmakers while pregnant with her first child.

Trump personally raised Jin's case with Xi during a visit to China earlier this year, according to reporting cited by ChinaAid. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and 44 members of Congress also appealed for his release.

In May 2026, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Jin, Pastor Gao Yingjia and Pastor Wang Lin.

HRF Legal and Program Officer Claudia Bennett said: "We welcome Pastor Jin's release and his reunion with his family, but this outcome remains incomplete. Eight members of Zion Church are still behind bars, and many others across China continue to face persecution for peacefully practicing their faith."

"We will continue to pursue accountability and justice for all those detained and hope to see additional releases in the near future," Bennett added.

ChinaAid founder Bob Fu said: "Pastor Ezra Jin's release is a powerful reminder that international pressure and persistent prayer can make a difference."

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: "CSW welcomes the release of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and we are pleased to hear that he has been reunited with his family."

"We emphasise however that he and the other leaders of Zion Church are innocent of the charges levelled against them, and we remain concerned for the plight of those still in prison and on bail," Thomas said.

"We call for their immediate and unconditional release, and for that of all other religious leaders and adherents who are currently imprisoned in China in relation to the peaceful exercise of their fundamental human rights, including Pastor Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church and Christian human rights defender Zhang Zhan," he added.

Eight leaders still detained

Nine detainees were released on bail pending trial on 18 June 2026. According to Zion Church's acting senior pastor, Sean Long Fei, the remaining nine, including Jin, were transferred to the procuratorate to face prosecution shortly before Jin's release.

Eight Zion Church leaders remain imprisoned: Pastors Yin Huibin, Gao Yingjia, Wang Lin, Liu Zhenbin, Lin Shucheng and Wang Cong, along with Preacher Wu Qiuyu and Elder Wang Zhong. They face charges of fraud and illegal business operations relating to church offerings and seminary tuition.

Anna Liu also called on the international community to continue advocating for other detained Chinese Christian leaders, including Pastor Wang Yi and Elder Li Yingqiang of Early Rain Covenant Church, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu, and human rights defender Zhang Zhan.

She encouraged supporters to take part in the monthly Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Persecuted Church in China, observed on the ninth day of each month.