China Releases House Church Pastor After 9 Months - Christianity Today
Around 10:30 p. m. on July 3, Sean Long saw his phone light up with an incoming call from Anna Liu, wife of Jin “Ezra” Mingri, senior pastor of China’s Zion Church. When Long answered, he was surprised to hear. . .
Around 10:30 p. m. on July 3, Sean Long saw his phone light up with an incoming call from Anna Liu, wife of Jin “Ezra” Mingri, senior pastor of China’s Zion Church. When Long answered, he was surprised to hear the voice of Jin, who had beendetainedsince October 9, on the other end of the line. Jin told Long, who was acting senior pastor in Jin’s absence, that Chinese authorities had unexpectedly released him from prison and he had just arrived in Los Angeles, reuniting with his wife, daughter, and two sons for the first time in years. Even before Jin’s arrest, the Chinese government had barred him from leaving the country and visiting his family, who moved to the US in 2018 due to increasing persecution toward house churches. Long nudged himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again. “He sounded like his usual self, always optimistic and full of hope and joy,” Long recalled. “I was so happy and excited—it just felt like a dream come true. ”Meanwhile in astatement, Liu noted her disbelief at her husband’s sudden release. “It wasn’t until yesterday morning—July 3—when I finally received the definitive news that ‘Pastor Jin is on a flight to Los Angeles,’ that my heart truly settled. Before that moment, I could hardly believe such a miracle had actually come to pass. ”The reunion comes after months of prayers fromChristians around the worldas well as advocacy and petitions to the US government for Jin’s release—much of it spearheaded by his daughter,Grace Jin Drexel, and her husband, Bill, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. President Donald Trump brought up Jin with Chinese president Xi Jinping during their meeting in May andtoldreporters afterward that Xi was “giving very serious consideration to the pastor. ”Liu thanked Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the 44 senators and representatives who signed joint letters calling for Jin’s release. She also thanked Xi for personally looking into the matter. Yet Long and Jin’s family members noted that Jin’s release is not a full victory, as eight Zion pastors and staff members remain in prison. Long called for Christians to continue fasting and praying for them. Sarah Su, wife of imprisoned pastor Franklin Wang,postedon X that she was joyful and grateful for Jin’s release even as she continued appealing for the release of her husband, who is also a leader at Zion Church. “My husband, Franklin Wang, is innocent,” she wrote. “He is a Christian pastor. His work has been to shepherd the church, train ministers, and serve believers. He has committed no crime. Faith is not a crime. Shepherding the church is not a crime. ”Chinese authorities detained Jin, Wang and more than two dozen others from Zion Church last October in a massive operation spanning at least six cities in China. A month later, they formally arrested 18 leaders,chargingthem with the crime of “illegally using information networks,” which could carry a prison sentence of up to three years. Jin, who became a Christian after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007. The unregistered church grew to about 1,500 people. In 2018, authorities banned the church, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, the church grew to nearly 10,000 people spread across 40 cities through livestreaming services to small groups. Those meetings have continued even after the government detained Jin and the other church leaders, Long said. He noted that Jin had the foresight to send him to study in the US in 2018 to ensure that when the government cracked down on Zion, it would still have a leader. Liu, Long, and Chinese churches in the USlauncheda movement earlier this year to mark the ninthday of each month as a day of prayer and fasting, remembering not only the remaining Zion Church leaders in prison but also other Christians behind bars in China. “We are so grateful … to God for this tremendous miracle, for his supernatural interferences, and for so many Christian brothers and sisters across the world—most of [[whom] I have never met before—that are praying for us,” Long said. “We really experienced the global body of Christ, because when one member suffers, we all suffer. ”In her statement, Liu noted that for now, Jin will be spending time with family to heal physically and emotionally. Although he has lost more than 30 pounds, his hair is grayer, and his shoulders are more stooped, he is still the “Pastor Jin who always has a warm smile and is always willing to help others,” she wrote. Long noted that in two days, he will be meeting Jin in person in Wheaton, Illinois—where Liu and Long live—for the first time in eight years. “I cannot wait to meet him again and embrace him again,” Long said. “He’s my teacher, pastor, friend, colleague, spiritual father … and mentor. So I really love him. ”Angela Lu FultonAsiaChinaChurchInternationalPersecution