China Launches Nationwide Crackdown on Zion House Churches, Detains Pastors and Worshippers
by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Authorities across China have launched a renewed crackdown on Zion Church congregations, detaining church leaders, raiding homes, and shutting down gatherings in what rights group Bitter Winter described as a “coordinated police campaign aimed at dismantling the Zion Church nationwide.”
The latest wave of repression began in late May and intensified into early June. On June 1, police raided a Sunday worship service of a Beijing Zion Church branch in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, detaining all attendees. Elder Yao Yong and Brother Mao Yue were sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention, according to Bitter Winter.
Two days later, on June 3, police in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province visited the homes of church coworkers to check identification cards, a move interpreted as a show of intimidation. On May 30, local authorities in Anhui Province detained Pastor Gao Le of the Hefei Zion Church for five days and searched the homes of his congregation, confiscating Christian books.
In Chongqing, three Zion churches were forcibly closed, and police have also reportedly visited Zion congregations in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guiyang, and other cities in a sweeping campaign that appears to be targeting all branches of the prominent house church network.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Bitter Winter stated. “It’s a nationwide effort to wipe out the Zion Church, which was once the largest house church in Beijing.”
Founded in 2007, Beijing Zion Church gained prominence not only for its size but also for its support of other persecuted groups, such as the Shouwang Church. In 2018, Chinese authorities raided and banned Zion Church, installed surveillance equipment around its facilities, and pressured landlords to terminate leases. Despite these measures, the church continued meeting in secret, often changing locations to avoid detection.
Reports also reveal that members have faced pressure to sign pledges renouncing participation in Zion congregations. Online communications have been repeatedly disrupted by government censors, and some pastors were interrogated or reportedly targeted with bribes and threats.
The crackdown has extended to long-term persecution of Christian leaders. In Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, Pastor Chang Yuguang and his wife Li Chenhui are serving seven-year sentences for printing unauthorized Christian books. Their son, Chang Shengyi, recently shared updates on their condition after visiting them for the first time in over four years. He said his father had been transferred to a safer prison ward but had previously endured torture and neglect. His mother remains in poor health, suffering from fainting spells and awaiting long-delayed medical scans.
“My parents expressed special gratitude for everyone’s thoughts and prayers,” Chang said, though he added that many letters are withheld due to their faith-based content.
Despite the growing persecution, Zion Church has continued to spread, with branches now operating in multiple provinces. Bitter Winter, which has closely followed the church’s plight, emphasized that while the Chinese government may aim to extinguish these unregistered house churches, their faith communities have shown remarkable resilience and courage.
Rights groups say that the “persecution of Christians” increased under China’s President Xi Jinping, who has ruled the nation since 2012. “Christianity in China can be perceived and treated differently depending on where it is practised – and is always at the whim of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” wrote advocacy group Open Doors in a recent assessment.
In recent years, the government has “aggressively tried to ensure all religious expression is brought into line with official Chinese Communist philosophy,” the group added. “Any church or church leader stepping beyond that can come under heavy restrictions. Unregistered churches, even those once tolerated, are considered illegal and increasingly put under pressure, as authorities seek to enforce regulations and tighten policies.”
Even state-approved churches “come under strong ideological pressure, and smaller congregations are often forced to merge to make a larger church that is easier for the state to control.”
Despite the reported crackdown, there are at least nearly 100 million Christians in China, with some estimates suggesting the figure could be 130 million or higher in the nation of more than 1.4 billion people.
China has denied human rights abuses, saying they are based on “lies and false information.”
Open Doors ranks the country 15th on its annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face the most persecution.
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