A 73-year-old Chinese pastor has reportedly been missing for nearly five months, with his family still receiving no official explanation for his disappearance.

Pastor Wang Sanyuan, who leads Changchunli Church in Jinan, Shandong Province, was reportedly taken by authorities on 17 March.

According to a local pastor identified as Jin for security reasons, who is familiar with the case, Wang's wife and children have received no official notification explaining why he was taken, where he is being held or whether he has been charged.

Wang is also understood to have serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions and has been hospitalised several times.

A church statement circulating locally said: "Since he was taken on March 17, nothing has been found."

It added that Wang's family had been left "pushed to the point of desperation", with nowhere to turn to raise concerns about his disappearance.

The case has raised particular concern because Changchunli Church is a government-registered Three-Self Patriotic Church, part of China's state-sanctioned Protestant church system.

Sources cited by Christian persecution watchdog ChinaAid believe Wang's disappearance could be linked to a long-running dispute over the church's property.

The congregation dates back to the 1930s. Following the Communist takeover in 1949, the church property was occupied for years by the Jinan Municipal Bureau of Culture.

The church later returned to the official church system but became involved in a dispute over its property as authorities and developers sought to redevelop the site.

According to ChinaAid records, officials from Jinan's Three-Self organisations and Religious Affairs Bureau entered the church in June 2009 and announced that gatherings were suspended.

They also attempted to remove Wang from his positions as pastor and director of the church's management committee. Hundreds of Christians reportedly resisted, leading to police intervention.

The dispute continued into 2010. In September that year, more than 200 people in police uniforms reportedly entered tents where Changchunli believers were staying after the church building had been demolished for a development that became Wanda Plaza.

At least 27 worshippers were reportedly injured, while more than 300 later went to city hall to protest.

Pastor Jin said: "At the time, the authorities and developers wanted to take over the church's property. He fought very strongly and successfully.

"This happened more than ten years ago, and I believe the authorities are now settling old scores."

There has been no official confirmation that Wang's disappearance is connected to the historic property dispute.

An estimated 500 to 600 people regularly attend gatherings at Changchunli Church.