Among them was his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, who campaigned tirelessly for his release, and the pastor’s new grandson, Ezra, meeting for the very first time. He was born just a month earlier and named in his honour.

‘I couldn’t be more thankful and pray that others still imprisoned will experience this same freedom soon,’ the pastor said. ‘Mine is a God of miracles, and he constantly surprises me.’ 

Even while giving thanks for his release, Pastor Jin did not forget those who were left behind. Others from his church and across China are still not free, facing charges they do not deserve.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, he issued a simple but powerful appeal: ‘I’m free. Now pray for China.’

When Pastor Jin founded Zion Church in 2007, he chose not to register with the government, holding to firm conviction that Christ is the sole head of the church.

Government control tightened in 2016, and unregistered churches increasingly became targets. Zion Church’s main building in Beijing was shut down in 2018 after it refused to install 24 CCTV cameras. In response, Pastor Jin developed a hybrid model, both online and in person, allowing people to continue meeting in small groups across the country.

Zion Church now serves at least 5,000 members across the country, making it one of the largest unregistered churches in China.

A sweeping crackdown

Like many unregistered churches, Zion Church has faced years of pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which seeks to bring all religious activity under state control.

Then on 10 October 2025, the authorities launched a huge crackdown. In a coordinated operation, they detained 28 leaders and members across 11 cities. Pastor Jin and 17 others went on to be formally arrested on charges of ‘illegally using information networks’, a charge aimed at suppressing church activity online. The arrests amounted to the largest crackdown on a single church since the end of the Cultural Revolution (1976).

On 18 June 2026, nine of the leaders were released on bail. But nine were still being held, including Pastor Jin. It seemed as if the remaining detainees had been, or were about to be, transferred to face prosecution. The charges had reportedly been changed to more serious charges of ‘illegal business operations’ and ‘fraud’, which are commonly used against leaders of unregistered churches.

Then on 4 July, after 266 days behind bars, Pastor Jin was released from prison and taken to the United States, where he was reunited with his family. Reports indicate that his release followed high-level discussions between the Chinese and US governments.

The advocacy continues

Throughout Pastor Jin’s imprisonment, his daughter Grace became one of the most visible advocates for his release. While pregnant with her son, she spoke before the UN Geneva Summit, testified before the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and shared her family’s story around the world.

Now Pastor Jin is advocating alongside her for the release of the remaining detainees from Zion Church: six pastors, one elder, and a pastor’s wife. Their names are Pastor Wang Lin, Pastor Yin Huibin, Pastor Liu Zhenbin, Pastor Lin Shucheng, Pastor Wang Cong, Wu Qiuyu, Pastor Gao Yingjia and Elder Wang Zhong.

At the time of writing, the Zion Church eight are awaiting the results of court hearings that were originally scheduled for 14-18 August, in an unusually accelerated legal procedure. According to Grace, many believe it was an attempt to rush an outcome before President Xi Jinping’s September visit to Washington DC. Thankfully, the trial has been pushed back with no date yet set for the new trial.

‘We argue that the continual persecution and imprisonment of the other eight directly goes against the goodwill established with the release of my father,’ Grace posted on her X account.

Our source says their trials have been delayed. Pre-trial detention can last months, or even years, yet this opens a window to raise their case internationally and call for fair judicial procedure. We have seen the difference this can make.

‘Hallelujah. The gospel will spread.’

When Grace sat down with CSW earlier this year, she shared a conversation that illustrated her father’s unfaltering faith:

‘Someone asked my father what would happen if everyone was detained,’ Grace recalled. ‘The first thing that he said was, “Hallelujah. The gospel will spread further.”’

Our prayers for Pastor Jin have been answered. Now he and his family are asking the global Church to not stop praying, until the remaining Zion Church leaders are reunited with their loved ones too.

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