God Has Not Given Up on China: Pastors Daughter Breaks Silence on Horrific Prison Conditions

Daughter of Imprisoned Chinese Pastor Ezra Jin Speaks Out at Religious Freedom Summit

Grace Jin Drexel, the daughter of imprisoned Chinese pastor Ezra Jin, addressed the sixth annual International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. on February 2, 2026, delivering an emotional testimony about her father's detention and the persecution of underground Christians in China.

Pastor Jin, 56, was detained in Beihai, Guangxi Province on October 10, 2025, alongside 27 other church leaders from Zion Church in what has been described as one of the largest takedowns of an independent Christian congregation in China since the Cultural Revolution.

Of the 28 church leaders initially detained, 18 remain imprisoned. Those held in custody are reportedly subjected to brutal conditions, including sleeping on cold mats on the floor, sleep deprivation, and endless interrogation. Many, including Pastor Jin, suffer from severe health concerns.

He was not there at my wedding to walk me down the aisle, and he has never met his grandchildren.

Grace Jin Drexel, daughter of Pastor Ezra Jin

Drexel revealed she has not seen her father in seven years. The crackdown on Zion Church reflects President Xi Jinping's systematic "sinicization of religion" campaign, which involves removing crosses and replacing them with portraits of Xi Jinping, replacing hymns with revolutionary party songs, rewriting sermons to align with socialist core values, installing surveillance cameras, and demolishing churches.

Zion Church, a nondenominational evangelical congregation founded by Pastor Jin in 2007, grew to become one of China's largest underground churches. In 2018, authorities targeted the church after its leadership refused the government's demand to install 23 facial recognition cameras inside its sanctuary.

Despite the seizure of their building, Zion Church adapted by developing a hybrid online and offline model, eventually attracting 10,000 individuals daily across 100 meeting spaces in 40 cities.

Drexel also testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on February 4, 2026, urging U.S. lawmakers to take action. She told attendees that her family continues to face "transnational repression," including threatening phone calls and surveillance even in Washington, D.C.

Even repression cannot extinguish faith. God will not abandon us.

Grace Jin Drexel

Zion Church Pastor Ezra Jin Remains Imprisoned as Daughter Calls for Global Action

In a letter from prison, Pastor Jin wrote that "God has indeed used His power to uphold us." His daughter affirmed his message, declaring that God has not given up on China.

Drexel urged advocates worldwide to use their voice and influence to secure the unconditional release of all imprisoned Zion Church leaders.

The Crusader's Opinion

The Chinese Communist Party is waging war on the living God, and the world is watching in silence. They ripped 23 cameras off a church's refusal list and responded by ripping 28 pastors from their families. Eighteen of them still rot in cells, sleeping on cold floors, interrogated for the crime of worshipping Jesus Christ.

Let that sink in. In 2026, a government with nuclear weapons is terrified of hymns. Xi Jinping replaces crosses with his own portrait because he knows the truth: no dictator can compete with the King of Kings. Grace Jin Drexel has not seen her father in seven years. Seven years. And yet she stands before Congress and says, "God will not abandon us." That is faith that moves mountains. That is the faith the CCP will never crush.

If a Christian government demolished mosques and imprisoned 28 imams, the United Nations would convene an emergency session by morning. But when China does it to Christians? Silence. Absolute, deafening silence. Every believer reading this needs to ask: what am I doing about it?

Take Action

• Pray daily for Pastor Ezra Jin and the 17 other imprisoned Zion Church leaders still being held in Beihai, Guangxi Province.
• Contact your elected representatives and urge them to pressure China on religious freedom. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 3121 and ask your Senator to co sponsor resolutions condemning the Zion Church crackdown.
• Support persecuted Christians in China through Open Doors USA, which monitors and aids the underground church.
• Give to www.TheShepherdsShield.org to support persecuted believers worldwide.
• Support International Christian Concern and Voice of the Martyrs, both actively advocating for Chinese Christians.
• Share Grace Jin Drexel's story on social media and start a conversation in your church about the persecution of Christians in China.