Pastor Ezra Jin Released from Chinese Imprisonment

A well-known underground church leader in China has been freed after being detained by authorities last year. Ezra Jin, the founder of Zion Church, has been reunited with his family in the United States.

Jin was one of around 30 pastors and staff members from Zion Church who were arrested in October during a significant crackdown on evangelical churches in China, as reported by a nonprofit advocacy organization.

He regained his freedom and arrived in Los Angeles recently. Reports indicate that his release came after discussions involving President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During a visit to Beijing in May, Trump brought up Jin’s situation directly to Xi, stating that the Chinese leader had assured him he would “strongly consider” Jin’s release.

Grace Ginn Drexel, Jin’s daughter, expressed overwhelming joy at the news, referring to it as an “amazing miracle.” In their family statement, they also expressed gratitude towards Trump and his administration, highlighting that such an outcome would not have been possible without Xi’s intervention.

The family had not been together for nearly a decade, with Grace’s mother and brother fleeing China in 2018 after the church’s physical location was shut down. Grace shared that her father felt a strong calling to stay, and she hadn’t seen him since 2020. The family remains hopeful that his release signals a more positive future for those of faith in China.

Jin’s imprisonment ignited international criticism. Advocacy groups characterized his detention as politically motivated and a sign of the Chinese Communist Party’s increasing aggression against religious freedom.

ChinaAid described the arrests as a significant escalation in the government’s ongoing conflict against religious practices, asserting that the involved pastors were treated as criminals simply for leading unregistered churches that resisted the Communist Party’s control.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the detentions back in October, urging the Chinese government to release those imprisoned.

While Jin has been released, ChinaAid points out that several other pastors from Zion Church and adherents of different faiths remain unjustly incarcerated by the Chinese government.

Fu, from ChinaAid, called for continued attention on the issue of religious freedom in dealings with China, arguing that true progress in U.S.-China relations ought to include freedom for those imprisoned due to their beliefs.