Two Early Rain Covenant Church pastors have been formally arrested on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power”. 

Elder Li Yingqiang and pastor Dai Zhichao are being held in Deyang Detention Centre, having been arrested in a crackdown on the church in January, according to China Aid. 

Their families received arrest notices from the police on 12th February, with the news shared to the congregation in a prayer request update. 

Six church members were detained by authorities in January, as reported by Premier Christian News, in the latest crackdown on religious freedom in China.

Some of those have been released on bail pending trial, including Yingqiang’s wife Zhang Xinyue. 

Church members were urged to “remain united” after the wave of arrests last month.

The Early Rain Covenant Church has repeatedly been targeted by Chinese authorities, stretching back to raids in 2018. 

Church founder Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison, for the same charges now facing Yingqiang and Zhichao.

In a statement, China Aid said it joins with religious freedom advocates for the “authorities to respect the constitutional right to freedom of religious belief, cease judicial persecution of peaceful believers, and immediately release all those whose freedoms are restricted.”

The ruling Communist Party has moved to tighten control over religious expression, targeting unregistered house churches. China Aid believes “authorities often view [house churches] as potential threats to social stability and thus subject them to strict monitoring and targeted crackdowns” for refusing to “submit to the government’s ideological control”.