Verified release-status record — Last verified September 24, 2026.
| Name | Ezra Jin Mingri (金明日), also reported as Pastor Ezra Jin |
| Role | Founder of Zion Church |
| Detention context | Nationwide Zion Church crackdown beginning in October 2025 |
| Current status | Released in July 2026 and reunited with family in the United States |
| Exact release date | Not established from a PRC release document reviewed by this project |
Identity and release
Ezra Jin Mingri founded Zion Church in Beijing in 2007. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China describes Zion Church as one of China’s largest and most influential unregistered Protestant churches.
CECC reports that authorities detained Jin during the nationwide crackdown on Zion Church that began in October 2025. China Monitor #7 states that the PRC released him in July 2026 and allowed him to reunite with his family in the United States. CECC Co-Chair Representative Chris Smith publicly welcomed the release on July 5, 2026.
Eight related cases still under monitoring
CECC reported on August 20, 2026 that eight Zion Church members remained in custody at Beihai No. 1 and No. 2 Public Security Bureau Detention Centers in Yinhai District, Beihai, Guangxi:
- Gao Yingjia
- Lin Shucheng
- Liu Zhenbin
- Wang Cong
- Wang Lin
- Wang Zhong
- Wu Qiuyu
- Yin Huibin
- CECC hearing, September 22, 2026
This profile does not infer any status change after CECC’s August 20 verification date.
September 22, 2026 CECC hearing
Jin appeared as a witness at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing “The Faces of Repression: Prisoners, Families, and Communities Targeted by the CCP” on September 22, 2026. The CECC hearing record describes him as having been released after more than 260 days in detention during the Zion Church crackdown that began in October 2025.
Sources
- CECC, China Monitor #7, August 20, 2026
- Official statement by Representative Chris Smith, July 5, 2026
- Christianity Today release report preserved by Perma.cc
Verification limits: The exact date and terms of Jin’s release were not established from an available PRC court, procuratorate, public-security or release document. No current medical claim is made. No photograph is reproduced because reuse rights have not been verified.