Believers in China and overseas keep watch for imprisoned pastors and persecuted churches.
by Feng Reng
On the evening of September 9, 2026, the “Fasting and Prayer Day for the Persecuted Churches in China” prayer meeting was held in Allen, in the Dallas area of Texas. It was simultaneously live-streamed on Zoom and YouTube. The gathering took as its theme 1 John 4:18—“There is no fear in love”—and prayed for the pastors, preachers, and family members of China’s house churches who are still being detained, sentenced, or placed under surveillance.
The event was jointly organized by Zion Church, Early Rain Covenant Church / Early Rain Ministries, Harvest Chinese Christian Church, ChinaAid, and other churches and Christian organizations, and hosted by Trinity Chinese Church and Everlight Institute. Trinity Chinese Church also issued a notice beforehand, inviting brothers and sisters to attend the special prayer meeting held in Allen on the evening of September 9.
I participated in the entire gathering via Zoom. For several hours, the names of persecuted pastors and Christians in China were read aloud again and again, and prayers were repeatedly offered for them and their families. Beijing Zion Church, Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church, and Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi—house churches that have faced severe repression in recent years—were among the main subjects of prayer that evening.
This monthly “9th‑day fasting and prayer for the persecuted churches in China” began in January of this year, with churches in different cities taking turns hosting. The September 9 gathering in Dallas also happened to coincide with the eighth anniversary of Beijing Zion Church’s “9-9 Case” of 2018 Beijing Zion Church’s acting senior pastor, Long Jiang’en, shared a message titled “Bound Together by the Lord’s Love, Walking Forward with Courage.” He recalled how, after Zion Church’s main sanctuary in Beijing was shut down in 2018, brothers and sisters continued to gather under pressure and carried out “worship on the move.” He also described the current situation of the “10·9 Zion Case.”
Beginning on October 9, 2025, police across China arrested Zion Church pastors and coworkers. According to the list currently published by Zion Church, eight pastors and coworkers—Gao Yingjia, Yin Huibin, Wang Lin, Wang Cong, Liu Zhenbin, Lin Shucheng, Wang Zhong, and Wu Qiuyu—remain in custody and, by the time of this prayer meeting, had been detained for nearly eleven months.
In his message, Long Jiang’en spoke of “courage, unity, and love.” He said that Christians facing persecution must be courageous, but that such courage is not hatred or violence; rather, it is the steadfastness of faith and conscience under pressure. He also called on the church to maintain unity amid persecution and, following Christ’s teaching, to pray for those who carry out the persecution.
The gathering also spoke of the harm these cases have inflicted on families. During Elder Wang Zhong’s detention, his father fell gravely ill and passed away, and he was ultimately unable to see his father one last time. After Wu Qiuyu was detained, she too was separated long‑term from her husband and two young children.
When a pastor or Christian is arrested, the suffering does not fall on one person alone. Parents, spouses, and children often must endure the pain of long separation together. This is why the prayer meeting repeatedly prayed for the families of the persecuted.
Pastor Zhang Bolu, senior pastor of Harvest Chinese Christian Church, then shared why overseas Chinese churches should pray for the persecuted churches in China. He quoted Hebrews 13:3: “Remember those who are in chains, as if you were chained with them.”
Zhang Bolu said that persecuted Christians in China and overseas churches belong to the same Body of Christ. Although overseas Chinese Christians live in societies where they can gather freely, preach the gospel openly, and pray publicly, they must not forget those who are still imprisoned for their faith.
He also warned that if overseas churches end up with only good facilities, various activities, and socializing, but no longer care about suffering Christians, they can easily become a “club.” Praying for persecuted churches is not inciting hatred; it is hoping for an end to persecution, for the imprisoned to gain freedom, and also praying for repentance among those in power and those who participate in persecution.
The gathering also prayed for Pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church. Wang Yi was arrested on December 9, 2018, and on December 30, 2019, was sentenced to nine years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations.” He is still serving his sentence in Sichuan with his release date set for December 9, 2027.
Preacher Yang Rongli of Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi was also specifically mentioned. She was sentenced in 2025 to fifteen years in prison, becoming one of the Christian leaders with the heaviest sentence in recent house‑church cases in China.
The gathering also issued an appeal for Pastor Cao Sanqiang. After serving seven years in prison, Cao was released in March 2024 but remains barred from leaving China. In April of this year, he was diagnosed with late‑stage prostate cancer. Participants were urged to sign a petition calling on the Chinese authorities to allow him to obtain a passport and travel to the United States to reunite with his wife and family.
Pastor Jin Mingri, founding pastor of Beijing Zion Church, also joined the gathering by video. After being detained in October 2025, he was suddenly released this July and arrived in Los Angeles on July 3 to reunite with his family. In the video, he thanked churches in China and overseas for their long‑standing prayers. He urged continued attention to the eight Zion Church pastors and coworkers who remain in custody.
Brother Wang Chengzong, an overseas member of Early Rain Covenant Church, also introduced the “Five O’Clock in China” prayer meeting. This prayer practice began as an agreement between imprisoned Christians and their families: even though high walls separated them, at five o’clock every afternoon, those inside and outside the walls would pray at the same time. Over time, this agreement developed into a long‑term, cross‑regional online intercession.
The entire prayer meeting prayed not only for pastors who have been arrested or sentenced, but also for their spouses, children, parents, and the lawyers involved in their cases, as well as for those who carry out the persecution.
During the several hours of online gathering, what left the deepest impression on me was the continual reading of one name after another—each a person in custody.
Some have been in prison for years; some are still awaiting the outcome of their cases; some children are waiting for their father or mother to come home. Overseas Christians cannot bear their suffering for them, but at the very least can continue to remember them, pray for them, and tell more people what they are going through.
As Hebrews 13:3—quoted repeatedly during the gathering—says: “Remember those who are in chains, as if you were chained with them.”
Feng Reng was a businessman in China and a dissident who escaped the country in 2022. He is currently based in Los Angeles. He converted to Christianity overseas and became a member of Pastor Zhang Boli’s Harvest Chinese Christian Church. He has contributed articles to several newspapers and magazines about the persecution of Christians in China.
