In a sweeping operation, Chinese authorities arrested Gao Yingjia, senior pastor of Zion Church, and over a dozen other church leaders in October. Gao now faces charges of “illegal use of information networks” and is held in a detention centre in Guangxi province. The arrests mark the harshest crackdown on Christians since 2018. Zion Church is a large underground house church with thousands of members across China. Authorities also detained Jin Mingri, Zion’s founder, along with nearly 30 pastors and church followers in the raids. Eighteen pastors have been formally arrested and face long prison terms. These moves follow rising pressure on Christian groups, including a raid last week in Wenzhou city where over 100 Christians were detained after months of tension over a Chinese flag dispute at a church. The US government and human rights groups condemned the arrests. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the church leaders' release and urged China to allow all people of faith to worship freely without fear. China recognises five official religions but bans religious activities outside state controls. Many Christians worship secretly in house churches. Zion Church operated openly in Beijing until 2018 when it was forced underground. Since then, the church held online sermons and small gatherings, even renting buses to evade detection. Since 2018, China tightened control on unofficial churches, including banning unlicensed online sermons and pursuing "Sinicization of religions," a policy led by President Xi Jinping. Over the last year, the pressure intensified with pastors arrested and church branches closed nationwide. Geng Pengpeng, Gao’s wife, fled overseas with their son for safety. She faces tough choices about returning to China or seeking refuge elsewhere. Despite deep risks, she said, "We both knew that as Christians in China, there were risks," but “you can never be fully prepared.” Experts call these arrests "the final nail in the coffin" for unofficial churches. Official estimates say about 3% of China’s population are Christian, but numbers may be higher due to fear of identification. Zion Church’s membership had grown from 1,500 in 2018 to 5,000 before the crackdown, with online sermons reaching even more. Jin Mingri remained hopeful before his arrest, telling a fellow pastor, "Hallelujah, a new wave of revival will follow." The future of China’s underground churches, however, looks increasingly uncertain.