Pastors and church workers from one of China’s influential house-church networks have reportedly been detained as communist authorities intensify pressure against Christians who worship outside the state-controlled religious system.
ChinaAid said it received firsthand reports involving Beijing Jiaquan Church but was still working to confirm the number of people detained, where they were taken and what charges they may face. The Christian human rights organization is also investigating whether Jiaquan congregations outside Beijing were targeted.
“We are urgently concerned for the safety, health and legal rights of every Jiaquan pastor and church coworker who has been taken away,” ChinaAid founder and President Bob Fu said.
Fu called upon Chinese authorities to disclose the detainees’ identities and whereabouts, explain the legal grounds for holding them and provide access to independent legal counsel.
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China’s House Churches Refuse to Disappear
Jiaquan Church has ministered in Beijing for more than 20 years and developed churches and gathering places across several areas of China, according to sources cited by ChinaAid. The network reportedly serves more than 1,000 Christians and is particularly influential among younger urban Christians.
Its ministry incorporates contemporary Christian music, interactive fellowship and discipleship. For more than a decade, church leaders have operated the Noah Music School in Beijing, training musicians and worship leaders to serve house churches throughout China.
The reported detentions follow government action against other prominent independent congregations.
Authorities launched coordinated raids against Beijing Zion Church in October 2025. Eighteen members were formally arrested, and eight pastors and church workers remained detained as of Sept. 10, according to ChinaAid.
Police have also repeatedly targeted Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church. More than 30 members were detained following a June gathering, while 11 Christians, most older than 60, were detained during a small reading gathering Sept. 10.
The Jiaquan reports emerged shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled Sept. 24 meeting with President Donald Trump. ChinaAid said it had no evidence directly linking the reported detentions to the summit, but Fu urged American leaders to address China’s treatment of peaceful Christians.
The pressure against China’s house churches continues, but so does the faithful witness of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must stand with our fellow Christians in China and remember them in prayer. Pray for their protection, strength and release—and that the Good News of Jesus Christ will continue spreading throughout China, unhindered by fear or government opposition.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
