---
title: Pastor Ezra Jin of Zion Church Calls for Prayer and Voice for Imprisoned Believers at Dallas Religious Freedom Event
url: https://www.faithfulnews.com/en/pastor-ezra-jin-of-zion-church-calls-for-prayer-and-voice-for-imprisoned-believers-at-dallas-religious-freedom-event
published: 2026-10-04T17:50:05+00:00
language: en
section: World Church
source: https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/36354/20261002/zion-church-pastor-ezra-jin-speaks-in-us.htm
organizations: Zion Church, Luke Alliance, K. Lander Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom, Dallas Baptist University
publisher: FaithfulNews
---

# Pastor Ezra Jin of Zion Church Calls for Prayer and Voice for Imprisoned Believers at Dallas Religious Freedom Event

A Chinese pastor who was released from detention in July spoke at a religious freedom gathering in Dallas, Texas on September 28, urging prayers and public advocacy for those still imprisoned for their faith. The speaker was Jin Mingli, founder of Zion Church, one of the largest unregistered churches in China. Jin stated that more than 150 pastors and church leaders remain detained in China and that he intends to keep raising their voices daily. The event was organized by the K. Lander Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom at Dallas Baptist University, where Jin participated in a keynote interview with founder Lander Everett. Interpretation was provided by Jin Tingya, director of advocacy at the U.S. organization Luke Alliance, who is also Jin's daughter. Known in English as Ezra Jin, he was arrested in October 2025 at his home in Beihai, Guangxi, China, during a crackdown targeting pastors and elders of Zion Church. He was released in July through direct intervention by the White House and transferred to the United States to be with his family. "Four months ago, or even more recently, I was still inside a Chinese prison," Jin said, expressing gratitude for his release as a result of the community's prayers and advocacy. In 2007, Jin and about 20 others began Zion Church in Beijing, a time when many feared that churches resisting Communist Party control could not survive. The congregation grew to 1,500 members by 2018. Throughout this period, authorities applied pressure through various means, including forcing landlords to terminate lease agreements, cutting utilities, and deploying police to disrupt worship services and demand registration of attendees.

A pivotal moment occurred in 2018 when authorities demanded the installation of 24 facial recognition cameras inside the chapel; refusal led to the closure of the church and the seizure of all chairs by approximately 1,000 officials. Jin was initially arrested on suspicion of illegal use of an information network, but during detention he realized that the charges related to attacks on network infrastructure or incitement via the internet, and he told interrogators, "I use the internet to confess my sins and urge people not to sin again." Subsequently, authorities shifted the case to fraud and illegal operation, citing the church's tenth-offering collections, which under Chinese law could trigger over ten years of detention if the amount exceeded 5 million yuan (approximately 1.18 million USD). Considering the donations received over seven years before his arrest, Jin feared he might never be released from prison again. When asked whether he feared public speaking, Jin replied, "Even while I was in prison, I was not afraid. Now that I am in the United States, what is there to fear?" Everett also addressed the treatment of Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists, stating that the root cause of persecution is China's totalitarian system that persecutes anyone outside its control. He distinguished this from historical imperial rule, noting that past emperors did not manage thoughts, marriages, or family size, and cited Hannah Arendt to describe totalitarianism as a 20th-century phenomenon that has targeted Christians. Jin argued that many underestimate the Chinese Communist Party for too long, and the conflict is not merely a bilateral struggle but a "battle of souls" ultimately concerning the gospel.

He reflected on post-Cold War Western engagement with China, noting that after the Cold War many believed ideological conflict had ended and economic growth became the priority, leading the U.S. to remove human rights from trade policy, while President Xi Jinping frames current tensions as a great-power rivalry. "A China rising without human rights is a disaster for China and a disaster for the world," Jin said, adding that this is the central message of his post-release advocacy. Leaders of urban churches of his generation had hoped that pastoral detention was a thing of China's past, but it has returned, and he warned that any Christian leader must be prepared for imprisonment before starting a church. When asked what he wishes to convey to Western churches, Jin emphasized that the church is the body of Christ and that American Christians should speak for persecuted believers. He also noted that even if no one acts, God will care for the families of the imprisoned, but those who could have acted and did nothing will one day stand before God. Everett concluded the event by urging participants to pray for Jin, his family, and those still detained, and read Hebrews 13:3, "Remember those in prison as if you were together with them, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were in their shoes."