Todd Nettleton of The Voice of the Martyrs, USA, says Jin was arrested after Zion Church refused to register with the government and join the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which is the Protestant organization run by the Communist government.

Image courtesy of Milad Fakurian on Unsplash

“The thing that seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back is they refused to have cameras placed around their sanctuary in Beijing. That seems to have been what really brought down the wrath of the Communist government,” Nettleton says. 

Ezra Jin’s release came after U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned the imprisoned pastor in talks with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. China called the move a humanitarian gesture aimed at improving relations. This is good news and reason for praise. However, Pastor Jin was not the only one arrested. 

“There are still eight Zion Church leaders in prison,” Nettleton says. “One of them recently communicated that he has lost 30 pounds since his arrest. He is not getting the nutrition that he needs in prison. So they are certainly suffering.” 

The Instrument of Persecution

The government’s pattern in cracking down on church leaders over the last two years has been to charge them with fraud tied to tithe collection instead of claiming they broke a religious law. 

Image courtesy of Rafik Wahba on Unsplash

Nettleton explains: “The leaders would say, ‘Our congregation has given these tithes and offerings for our church.’ And the government says, ‘Well, you don’t have a church.’ And they say, ‘Yes, we do.’ And they say, ‘Well, show us your paperwork. Show us where you have registered your church.’ ‘Oh, we didn’t register.’ ‘Well, then you have committed fraud. You have collected tithes and offerings for a church that doesn’t legally exist.’”

When concerned Christians protest the imprisonment of church leaders, government officials tell them they are merely protecting citizens from fraudsters. 

“We know what’s going on, but they are hiding the fact that they’re persecuting Christians, and they’re making it very difficult for the Christians to defend against the charges,” Nettleton says.

Pray for the Captives

Pastor Jin gaining his freedom shows the Chinese government will sometimes listen to outside voices. Pray that political leaders will continue to press the Chinese government to free Christians from prison and grant them the ability to worship God without restriction. Also pray that Christians in prison for their faith would have courage, steadfastness, and opportunities to witness to others. 

Find out more about how The Voice of the Martyrs serves the persecuted church here. 

Header image courtesy of / Ricardo on Unsplash

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing is visiting China this week on a state visit, receiving a formal welcome from President Xi Jinping.

The trip offers more than diplomatic pageantry. For the junta government in Myanmar – which still faces international pushback to its legitimacy – the optics matter.

Beijing skyline (Photo courtesy of zhang kaiyv/Unsplash)

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “The fact that the leader of this is now on a state visit to China and being welcomed with open arms, meeting with Xi Jinping really shows at least that the Chinese government is willing to accept the results of that election.”

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, overthrowing the country’s elected government. Although the junta later held elections, many countries rejected the results after opposition candidates were barred from participating.

Now, Nettleton says, “They (Chinese officials) are willing to do business with the [junta] military leaders, and that gives them a certain amount of legitimacy in the eyes of the world. I’m certainly fairly confident they will spend that at home as, ‘Look! We are the legitimate leaders. Even China recognizes it.’

“There [are] still a lot of questions about the election. There [are] still a lot of movements against the military leaders and against the current government.”

A street in Myanmar. (Photo courtesy of Ajay Karpur/Unsplash)

At home in Myanmar, people are feeling the pressure – especially Christians

“There’s a lot of difficulty in Myanmar economically, even [with] electricity,” says Nettleton. “There’s just so much challenge right now in the country, even living day to day.

“Then, when you add on, ‘Hey, I’m a follower of Jesus Christ,’ that can put a target on you as well. So it’s a difficult place to be a follower of Jesus, and the military junta is not making it easier. In fact, they’re trying to make it more difficult.”

As China strengthens ties with the junta, believers can stand with the Church in Myanmar through prayer.

Nettleton asks, “Pray for protection, especially for Christians [and] minority tribal peoples. I also think pray for the leaders of the Church. It’s difficult to be a pastor all the time, but then when you put it in a situation of persecution and…upheaval within a country, that adds layers of difficulty to the challenge, and so pray for the church leaders in Myanmar.”

Header photo: Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s junta leader. (Photo courtesy of Zawzawaungthwin – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188626057)

(Image courtesy of Bibles for China)

China’s suppression of religious freedom is not new. However, several recent arrests have thrown the issue back into the spotlight. These include the arrests of three individuals for distributing religious materials and six people involved with children’s Sunday school classes. Kurt Rovenstine with Bibles for China says that unfortunately, these results don’t come as a surprise. Unlike in the U.S., religious activities are tightly controlled, including Bible distribution and any religious activity involving minors.

“We can do that all day long, and it’s not a problem whatsoever, but these things are a problem in China. It does highlight the challenges of being a Christian in China. Whether it’s house church or registered church, or no church, just someone doing evangelism – trying to spread the Gospel, trying to be obedient to the Great Commission, and go into all the world and share the Gospel.”

Creativity and Boldness

Rovenstine says that often following Christ’s command to share the Gospel in challenging places involves creativity and boldness.

“When you look at the New Testament, and when the disciples began to preach, and the authorities started to push back, they said, ‘You can tell us what you want us to do and what the rules and regulations are, but we’re going to be obedient to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit. We’re going to obey God.’ I think that’s what some of these arrests are.

“People that are going, ‘We’re going to do our best to avoid arrest and trouble, but we’re going to do the work. We’ll try to be creative in the process, but our obedience is to a higher authority than the Chinese authority, to any worldly authority.’”

(Image courtesy of Bibles for China)

For Bibles for China, some of this creativity involves printing approved Bibles through Amity Press to be distributed in China, as well as printing Scripture and other materials in the U.S. These items can be given to Chinese people visiting the U.S. and Canada.

Rovenstine prays these materials might make their way back to help parents disciple and teach their children. So far, at border crossings, they haven’t seen patrols asking for single Bibles. So, the children’s Bibles especially might be able to go into the country to be shared. While children are not able to be discipled freely in group settings, so far parents have a bit more leeway.

“It’s the classes that are problematic, and the intentional discipleship. But for a parent to share their beliefs with their kids, that has not been challenged to my knowledge. It’s the organized programs that are problematic. So take giving that resource, book-by-book for those who are returning to visit families, is another way that we’re hoping that that is used.”

Continued Bible Distribution

While Bible distributions are controlled within China, Rovenstine thinks Bibles for China will be able to continue their work for the foreseeable future.

“I’m confident that there’s still many years of Bible distribution legally and openly through the registered church. It’s not adequate; there needs to be other avenues to meet the need, but we’ll continue to do that work with a Bible that we believe has integrity. We have the ability to legally distribute it through the registered church in rural areas for many years to come.”

(Image courtesy of Bibles for China)

There are a few reasons they believe they will be able to continue work. First, printing Bibles through Amity Press provides some economic benefit to the Chinese government. Second, Rovenstine notes that the tightening of the reins on religion is mostly about control.

“China is trying to control its population, not completely suppress every other thought other than communism. They want to be in control, but they’re okay if you think and believe things differently – as long as [they’re] in control.”

Pray for the Church

The challenges seem to be growing all the time. Rovenstine asks for prayer for believers. Some of those they know within the registered church have been arrested. They believe they are doing what is right eternally, but the everyday reality is difficult for families. Please pray for their comfort and peace. Please also pray for those who decide to push the envelope and openly challenge what is accepted. Pray that their choices are led by the Holy Spirit and are fruitful for God’s Kingdom. Pray also that the Bibles distributed through Bibles for China would reach many with the truth of the Gospel.

If you want to learn more or join the work of Bibles for China, click here.

Header photo courtesy of Bibles for China.

China Partner‘s Erik Burklin says: “I think God loves when his people come to talk to him or to pray, and that’s what we’re doing also on behalf of the body of Christ in China.”

On this year’s World Day of Prayer, Pope Leo XIV prayed that Chinese believers would be witnesses of hope and peace.

Burklin also reflects on conversations with church leaders in China, who say that despite restrictions, they believe God can open a window even when all the doors seem closed.

“It was his way of saying, ‘We’re not going to give up. We’re going to look for a way in and stay encouraged because Christ is the head of the Church. No matter what happens with the government restricting us, we will stay faithful,'” says Burklin.

Still, many believers in China long for greater religious freedom.

Man and woman standing in the flower field in Anfu, Ji’an, China (photo courtesy of Jaddy Liu via Unsplash)

“They call it winter time, and they’re praying for spring, they’re praying for summer, for a better time,” Burklin says.

Despite this season of “winter,” churches continue to grow and bring the hope of Christ to their communities.

“In the midst of what we would consider persecution, by far the majority of believers are still able to freely worship Christ and go to church,” he adds.

Please pray for the Church in China to remain faithful and continue shining the light of Christ throughout the nation. Pray also for greater religious freedom and for a season of spring after this long winter.

“Overall, just make it a habit to, when you pray, also remember China and the Christians in China,” Burklin says.

Visit China Partner to learn more about the challenges facing the Chinese Church and how leaders faithfully minister despite ongoing restrictions.

Header photo: Lijiang, Yunnan, China; Naxi woman carrying the typical baskets of the region; scene from a public perfomance in Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Open Air Theatre (Photo courtesy of CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via Wikimedia Commons).

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA explains that these six believers were apparently involved in church activities for children. Yet the charges against them make their actions sound far more serious: 

“‘Organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order.’ That is not a religious charge,” says Nettleton. “That is a ‘you’re undermining the government’ charge, and so that could carry quite a serious penalty.” 

Teaching religion to children in China has been banned for years. Yet believers have faithfully worked to reach the next generation.

“There are risks for meeting together with other Christians in China. That risk grows if you have people under 18 in those meetings, so they certainly would have known the risk of what they were doing and counted the cost ahead of time,” says Nettleton. He says the detained Christians will likely receive significant prison time.

The arrest of the six Christians is only one example of the Chinese Communist Party’s push for the “sinicization of religion.” That is, bringing religion under state ideology and control. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a report in May 2026 on how China’s laws are increasingly restricting freedom of religion or belief.

(Photo courtesy VOM-USA)

“They would say [sincization] is more of a cultural thing, but the reality is, it’s a control thing. The Chinese Communist Party wants to control the hearts and minds of China’s people,” says Nettleton.

“That’s the position of the Chinese Communist Party, that you are undermining the government when you are training children in biblical values and biblical truth.”

How can we be praying for China? Last week, May 14–15, United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing. Ask God to raise more advocates in the government and other spheres who will speak up for persecuted Chinese Christians.  

Pray also for the encouragement and strengthening of imprisoned believers like Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, Pastor Wang Yi, and others. 

“We want to pray for them in the way that we would want to be prayed for if it were us who were behind the bars,” says Nettleton, pointing to Hebrews 13:3. 

Header photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs USA. 

Eric Foley with VOM Korea explains that after decades of faithful service in Russia, 70-year-old Park was stopped on her way home to South Korea in January. She’s now in a Russian holding facility, facing alleged immigration charges that could carry an up to 17-year prison sentence. 

VOM Korea has ensured that Park has an attorney, a critical part of the process. 

“She says that while she’s reading her Bible daily, and she’s confident in the Lord, she just wants to come home,” says Foley. 

The charges against Park are a mask for Russia’s underlying issue: her missionary work among children. 

“That’s what happens in countries, whether it’s North Korea, China, Russia, or other countries. Rarely do you hear about religious charges,” Foley says. “Instead, what you get are charges like in China, the charges against pastors these days are that pastors are committing fraud. In Russia, a lot of charges these days relate to immigration.”

(Photo courtesy of VOM Korea)

Your advocacy can make a difference! But the how matters. Foley warns against two common mistakes Christians make when responding to persecution. 

“One is that they say nothing,” he says. “The other is that they speak so loudly and stridently that they demonize the government about whom they’re speaking.” 

Foley says that in VOM Korea’s decades of advocacy for Christian prisoners, “Not one of them has ever said, ‘I wish you would have been quiet when I was in prison.’ So we don’t need to yell and be human rights crusaders. We do simply need to tell the truth about what’s happening.”

Even the simple act of signing a petition shows a government that people around the world know what is happening and that they are willing to speak the truth about it. 

Pray especially for favor as VOM Korea delivers the signed petition to the Russian embassy very soon. 

“When you visit an embassy with a petition, they don’t welcome you in and serve you tea,” Foley says. 

“It’s an experience for which we really request a lot of prayer, because sometimes the gates get shut, sometimes the tables get turned, and the people who deliver the petitions end up being seen as the disturbers of the peace.”

Header photo courtesy of VOM Korea. 

The ministry distributes free Christian literature to spiritually-needy people, by asking people to donate from their bookshelves and then sending these resources around the world. These resources are then distributed within three to four days, reaching approximately 30,000 people per container. While the Bible is not banned in China, access to it is limited. However, Mission Cry President Jason Woolford notes government policies and attitudes can shift quickly.

“We look at what’s going on with Iran right now, we see the alignment with China and Russia, and you know, history has shown us that doors for the gospel don’t stay open forever,” says Woolford. “Right now, we still have the ability to ship Bibles and Christian books into Hong Kong and the surrounding region. But this global climate right now could change very, very quickly.”

According to Woolford, many other ministries no longer have these same opportunities to get resources into China.

“So we need to get the Word of God into that area as much as we can, especially with the tensions that are going on,” says Woolford. “So the need is great, and we just need to keep getting the word into these areas.”

Woolford asks for prayers for Mission Cry’s missionaries on the ground in Hong Kong and the relationships they’ve built with businesses there, which allow them to creatively get the Word of God into the area; for their team that goes into mainland China and into the north, where  they risk imprisonment and possible death by taking the Word of God into these areas; and that they would get the sponsorship needed to ship more containers of resources to those in need while they can.

How else to help:

• Donate books: Christian books in English are accepted by Mission Cry, as English is widely spoken in Hong Kong and mainland China.
• Donate funds: It costs Mission Cry about $11,000 to ship a container, worth half a million dollars in free Bibles and other resources.

Header photo courtesy of Mission Cry. 

“The way these articles are framed and the statements that they make, I think you have to be able to dig a little bit deeper to find out what is really the issue,” says Rovenstine.

So what is true?

In the article referenced, China is mentioned alongside Saudi Arabia and North Korea as some of the most dangerous countries to possess a Bible—Rovenstine notes this misrepresents the reality. China is not in the top three for limited access, but it is on the list of countries where access to the Bible is most restricted.

The article also claims the Chinese government is “removing the Bible from online retailers and replacing it with a ‘sanitized’ version.”

“We’ve not seen any of that,” says Rovenstine. “Nobody who’s claiming that has ever shown us that or actually produced one of these compromised Bibles.”

Most significantly, he notes the Bible is not banned in China—but it can be difficult to get one.

“Right now the Bible is relatively accessible. I mean, we still have a great number of requests and opportunities to do Bible distribution.”

(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China via Facebook)

Having a Bible or buying one is not illegal in China. People traveling to China can also bring their Bible, even as a gift for someone within the country. However, they can’t be purchased just anywhere, and printing of the Bible is limited by the government. Bibles for China works with Amity Printing Press, which has approval to print a limited number of Bibles a year.

“They’re printed by the millions,” says Rovenstine. “That’s not enough, but we want to make sure that what is being printed is accessible to those who may not have the opportunity to possess a Bible.”

There are still several challenges with distributing the Bible in China. There simply are not as many Bibles available as there are people who want access to one, and the underground church faces greater challenges than the registered church. On top of that, there is still a need to reach areas of China that are more rural or have lower economic positions. Rovenstine notes there are some places the Bible could be available but not accessible simply because it hasn’t been translated into different minority languages.

“There’s still challenges, absolutely, but there’s still opportunity that we need to be pursuing and taking advantage of, until those opportunities are not available to us anymore.”

He asks believers to continue supporting Bible translation and distribution around the world.

“Over a million Bibles that Bibles for China has had the privilege of helping to distribute are in the hands of people just like me who are reading those Bibles, and the Holy Spirit is working on their lives in those moments. I thought that’s really cool, that the Bible is doing its good work, and we need to make sure that good work is available to anybody who has a desire for that.”

How to Pray:

• Pray for the good work of Bible translation and distribution.
• Pray Bibles for China continues to have opportunities to do the work they’ll called to—that roadblock and logistics would be eased, so they can continue to put Bibles in the hands of those who desire them.
• Pray God would soften the hearts and attitudes of those in China who are making decisions around distribution.

Header photo courtesy of Bibles for China. 

Eric Burklin with China Partner says, “We just need to stay faithful at this time… stay faithful and stay connected with our brothers and sisters inside China and with our pastoral leadership there.”

The Chinese church continues to do gospel work, and a pastor in Beijing told Burklin, when government restrictions close doors, God opens windows.

(Photo courtesy China Partner)

Burklin says the pastor’s message is, “We’re going to do whatever we can within the system to serve Christ and to stay faithful and reach as many people for Jesus Christ as we can.”

By reaching out to pastors and seminarians through WeChat and by text messaging, China Partner aims to stay involved with the Chinese Church through Key Leadership Engagement.

In Burklin’s regular communication with church leaders in China, he says one professor from a Wuhan seminary asks for continued prayer and appreciates the connection.

“Every time I text her,” Burklin says, “she just sends me back a smiley face, basically saying, ‘You know we are still doing what God has called us to do. I’m so grateful that you’re still doing what God has called you to do.’”

As China Partner waits to do direct ministry in China, the team will continue to visit in person as well.

Practically, visits to the brothers and sisters in China will now be very low-key.

(Photo courtesy China Partner)

Where China partner teams used to visit local churches, seminaries, and Bible schools, now they would need permission to meet. Burklin says the plan now is to go to cities and invite the leaders to visit hotels for conversations they will not be required to report.

Even with the crackdown on churches, Burklin says the government is trying to attract foreigners for visits on tourist visas, and China Partner is going to use that open door.

Please pray that this will continue and that the communist government leadership will not restrict this and will recognize the mutual need between China and the rest of the world.

Pray also that ministries will find creative ways to minister in China.

Please pray for government leadership in China and across the world.

Burklin now prays for Xi Jinping once a week and says, “It’s been a neat spiritual journey for me. So many of us have a negative reaction to powerful leaders whom we deem as evil or anti-Christian, and yet they’re men and women whom God has created in His image. So I have just started to pray for him, and I sense more of a love for him and a concern for his soul, rather than just reacting to his policy changes.”

Pray also for the China Partner team as they prepare for an upcoming trip to China to visit church leaders in Jiangxi, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Pray that God will give the team wisdom to respond well and ably while there, abiding by the law openly. Pray that the trip would be an encouragement to local church bodies, strengthening them to continue in the good work they are doing.

(Photo courtesy China Partner)

Kurt Rovenstine with Bibles for China says, “It’s a big deal if you’re Chinese, or know anybody that is from China or has Chinese heritage. That is a major celebration. The country shuts down. Everybody goes to visit family… It’s a time of great celebration, but it’s also an opportunity for ministry and outreach. Just to maybe if someone in your circle is Chinese to reach out and wish him a happy Chinese New Year and kind of strengthen that relationship that you have with him.”

Christians in China

Unfortunately, the changing year in China likely won’t mark a change in the attitudes toward Christians. Rovenstine says the church continues to face a tightening of reins. For many, the current restrictions bring to mind years where the older generations faced significant opposition to church activity.

“There is an opportunity within the church where there’ll be some kind of coming together. People who experienced some of the freedom of 2000 to 2016, ’17, ’18 – in there, when things seemed to be opening up – maybe are now having to step back and ask those who went through more difficult times, ‘How do we manage this?’”

(Image courtesy of Bibles for China)

In the West, that discussion can be a difficult one. Many times, it is challenging to get information passed between generations. However, in China, Rovenstine is hopeful the cultural differences will work to assist the younger generations.

“One of the wonderful dynamics of the Chinese culture is that respect for the past and the elders that have gone through things that younger people have not. So there’s a culture there that is very conducive to that kind of passing along with wisdom. I think we need to be praying for the church that wisdom does get passed on.”

Rovenstine is hopeful that the New Year celebration will be a time for some of that wisdom to be passed on. In addition to discussions within the church, Rovenstine says that with all the traveling and family time, the Chinese New Year is a great opportunity to give a truly meaningful gift.

Sharing Scripture as a Gift

One of their partner churches requested Bibles to pass out as part of their church celebrations. Rovenstine encourages Christians in or outside of China to consider making that part of their New Year celebration as well.

“For somebody that has a friend that’s of Chinese heritage, or recently come from China, to be able to acknowledge that significant celebration in that individual’s life and culture, and then to provide a gift of this children’s Bible to them that they could use, either in their own reading or maybe to take back to China.”

If you would like to share a Chinese Bible with someone who needs one, request one here. If you want to support the ministry of Bibles for China, click here.

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Bruce Emmerling via Pixabay