WASHINGTON — Chinese underground church pastor Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra Jin, has been released from detention in China and reunited with his family in the United States, ending months of imprisonment after his case drew international attention and was raised directly by U.S. President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to his family and religious freedom advocates.
ChinaAid, a U.S.-based Christian advocacy organization, said Jin arrived safely in Los Angeles on July 4 after being detained in the southern Chinese city of Beihai since October 2025. The group welcomed his release but said at least eight members of his church remain in detention in China.
Jin led Beijing's unregistered Zion Church, one of China's best-known Protestant "house churches." He was among 18 church leaders detained during a broad crackdown on the congregation, with authorities accusing him of illegally using information networks, according to ChinaAid and rights groups.
In a statement shared by his family, relatives expressed gratitude for Jin's release and said they hoped it would mark a positive step for religious freedom in China and for relations between Beijing and Washington. His daughter, Grace Jin, has previously campaigned publicly for his release in the United States.
Trump said after a state visit to Beijing in May that he had personally urged Xi to free Jin. According to Jin's family, the release followed that appeal, although neither the Chinese government nor the White House has publicly disclosed details of any agreement connected to the pastor's release. China's Foreign Ministry has not commented on the case.
Rights organizations have long criticized China's treatment of unregistered Christian congregations, arguing that authorities have intensified restrictions on religious groups operating outside state-approved institutions. Beijing maintains that religious activities must comply with Chinese law and be conducted through officially recognized organizations.
Zion Church, founded in 2007, became one of China's largest independent Protestant congregations before authorities shut its Beijing premises in 2018. The church continued operating online, drawing a large nationwide following, before the arrests of its leaders last year.
While Jin has now left China, advocacy groups said several members of the Zion Church remain in custody and called for their release, saying the broader crackdown on the congregation has not ended.
