
Photo: ChinaAid
Pastor Huang Yizi is a well-known house church leader in China's Zhejiang Province. For more than a decade, he has encountered repeated harassment and imprisonment for his Christian faith. In 2014, the pastor was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison after publicly protesting the government's campaign to remove crosses from church buildings across the province. He was arrested again in September 2015 and held for five months in a "black jail," where he had been forbidden from contacting his family and legal representatives. In 2021, Pastor Huang reported that he was being constantly monitored by the authorities and subjected to random interrogations (read more).
On June 26th, 2025, the church leader was once again taken into custody by local police and placed in detention. According to his wife, the authorities also searched the Christian couple's home and confiscated several items. At around the same time, four other believers were reportedly arrested as well. Following Pastor Huang's detention, lawyers attempted to visit the detained church leader but were denied access and told to return in 48 hours. A complaint has since been filed against the detention centre for violating the pastor's right to receive proper legal representation.
Pastor Huang has allegedly been accused of conducting "illegal business operations," a charge frequently used by Communist authorities to target religious dissidents. For other reports addressing Christian persecution in China, go to our country profile.
- Pray that Pastor Huang's legal team will be granted wisdom, favour and full access to their detained client so they can effectively represent him.
- During this time of incarceration, may God sustain this Christian leader with supernatural strength, endurance and hope.
- In addition, prayerfully uphold this imprisoned church leader's wife, asking that she too would sense the Lord's comforting presence with her daily.
- As Pastor Huang awaits vindication, pray that he will receive divinely appointed opportunities to serve as a testimony of the Lord's love and grace to those around him.