Darrick Johnson

The Chinese Communist Party arrested my father-in-law, Ezra Jin, on October 10 for his leadership in China’s underground church. It was the most extensive, coordinated attack on a Chinese church in 40 years: within a day, we now know Chinese authorities took nearly 30 pastors and workers of Zion Church across 9 cities in nationwide raids. Here are my thoughts, speaking as his son-in-law: We knew this might happen. In 2018, the Chinese government tried to shut down Zion, then Beijing’s largest church, but it has only grown in size and influence—now one of the largest and most influential churches in the country serving more than 100 groups in 40 cities around the nation. Zion’s daily morning prayer call often includes 10,000+ participants. Ironically, the CCP’s seizure of the church’s property and meeting space in 2018 was critical to this success, because it forced Zion to develop a unique, hybrid online-offline decentralized model that exploded in popularity during the social isolation of China’s stringent COVID lockdown. The root of my father-in-law’s arrest is that the Communist regime targets anything that points to a power or moral standard higher than the Party. Like all totalitarians, they want their people scared, cynical, isolated, and receptive to propaganda, not in growing, tight-knit communities that teach hope, truth, and character—all threats to authoritarian rule. They fear any civil association or organization that is not firmly under their thumb. CCP propagandists, some of whom may reply to this post, will try to paint the church as a cult, a foreign influence operation, or China-hating. The opposite is true: Zion Church has always loved the Chinese people and culture to which it proudly belongs, adheres to the mainstream historic Christian faith that it shares with more than 2 billion individuals around the world, and was proactively transparent in its organization and finances. My father-in-law had more than one opportunity to settle abroad, but went back to China out of a love for his country, knowing that he had nothing to gain and everything to lose in returning. He was never naive to the Chinese government’s terror—he came to faith after being a student in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that ended in massacre, and has endured many years of government harassment. But his approach was always pragmatic towards the authorities, desperate above all to reach as many Chinese citizens as possible with the love of God however he could. Given that all three of Pastor Jin’s children (and I) are proud US citizens, we naturally appeal to our government for help, thankful for its strong tradition of protecting religious freedom. We have every confidence in the Trump administration’s efforts and the U.S. government’s civil servants who have been impressively responsive, professional, and compassionate amid this tragedy. Their conduct makes us proud to be Americans. In particular, we want to thank @SecRubio for his strong public support so quickly after the disappearances, as well as @SenTedBuddNC , @SenTomCotton , @JohnCornyn , @tedcruz , @SenatorRisch , @SenToddYoung , @RepYoungKim , @RepMcGovern , @RepMoolenaar , @ChinaSelect, @Mike_Pence, @mikepompeo, @VickyHartzlerMO, @FCDO_FoRB_Envoy , and a growing list of others. Fear naturally creeps into our mind as we think about what might happen to our children’s grandfather. He is 56 years old, and in poor health. Both Grace and I have previously worked on Chinese human rights issues. We know well that what Beijing does to its prisoners of conscience is unconscionable. It breaks our heart to know that our children may never meet their grandpa, and to see how his sons—Grace’s brothers—have had to grow up without their father since elementary and middle school, thanks to Beijing’s refusal to let him leave the country for the last 7 years. And he is just one of many church leaders that have been arrested, whose families face similar tragedies. But Pastor Jin was not afraid. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, knowing that the government was preparing a campaign against him, he only ever exhibited his characteristic joy and optimism. He was the sort of pastor who, if asked about what to do about government moles sent to infiltrate his church, would simply chuckle, “We’ll minister to them, too!” He has an unyielding faith in the totality of Christ’s victory: no government, no matter how powerful, and no circumstance, no matter how bleak, can contain the the love of God or the drive of the church to serve society. When asked what would happen if he were imprisoned, he responded with a smile, “hallelujah!”—confident that such a trial would help to further reveal the love of God for China. He is undoubtedly praying for his captors now, assured that God’s plans will prevail even if he does not see freedom again. While we fight this assault on faith, we will also draw on our own faith to maintain that same spirit—praying for those who have taken him from us. *** To learn more, we recommend these articles: thefp.com/p/my-dad-is-in-a-c… wsj.com/world/china/beijing-… npr.org/2025/10/12/nx-s1-557…