The Sunday when everything changed: How Jinyi gathered young believers again

The scene remains vivid in Jinyi’s memory. Young people, mostly college students and young adults, sat together in a circle, singing familiar hymns with their Bibles open before them on the carpeted floor. She remembers the joy on their faces as they worshipped God and prepared their hearts and minds for the message they had gathered to hear.

With the windows closed and the red floor-to-ceiling curtains drawn, the room was dark. Yet the light of Christ was clearly reflected in the worship of more than 100 students gathered together.

It was a typical Sunday morning for this house church that Jinyi and her husband, Zhang*, had planted in central China more than two years earlier.

Before they could react, the door swung open and Chinese police officers entered the room. In that moment, Jinyi realised their fellowship was the target of a police raid.

Within minutes, everything changed. In her words, “everything fell apart quickly.”

Most of those detained that day were released after 24 hours, though some were kept for a full week. Jinyi’s husband, who led the ministry, bore the brunt of the punishment and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and fined 60,000 renminbi (USD $8,347).

Rejection, then presence

When Open Doors local partners first met Jinyi after the raid, she was withdrawn and visibly sceptical. Deep hurt filled her eyes.

As a woman in her 50s with two children and no real means to provide for them, she was doubly vulnerable as a Christian woman on her own. She had turned to the churches in her area for support but received rejection out of fear of being implicated by association. Jinyi understood their reasoning, but the wounds ran deep.

“In my heart, I felt betrayed, hurt, disappointed,” she said. “I questioned myself. I questioned my strength. I even questioned God.”

As the days and weeks passed, Jinyi’s confusion and sadness deepened. “I felt isolated,” she recalls. “I was struggling with my faith and found myself sinking into silence.” Our local partners continued to visit her and her family, believing in the transformative power of presence. By the third meeting, Jinyi began to open up and share her story.

Finding her calling again

For Jinyi, student ministry has, and always will be, her purpose. After she and Zhang married, she served alongside him for years leading youth and college ministry. So in the time after the raid, not seeing, hearing or leading the young adults they had nurtured took an emotional, physical and spiritual toll on her.

“Even in that loneliness, I struggled to hold on,” she says. “I tried to remind myself that God sees everything – even when I feel unseen.”

As Open Doors partners continued to show up, Jinyi grew stronger, thinking of “the young adults who once attended our gatherings … driven by fear, scattered like lost sheep without a shepherd.” Despite the risks, she wanted to be there for those God had entrusted to her and her husband. “The calling I once received from God came alive again,” she says. “I knew I must help these young people stand firm in the Lord once again.”

Day by day, Jinyi began to put the pieces back together, meeting one-on-one with young people over meals to encourage them. Inspired by her faith, several stepped up to lead small groups, followed by youth gatherings in different homes.

The battle for the next generation

As China (No. 17 on the 2026 World Watch List) continues its crackdown on unregistered Christian gatherings, Jinyi knows she is taking extreme risks leading another underground ministry, since her youth gatherings are illegal. Since 2018, China has banned anyone under 18 from affiliating with any religion and its activities. As a result, gathering for worship can be treacherous for students too, as beyond surveillance and church raids, they risk being denied graduate programmes and government positions.

This, along with everything else, makes life challenging for house church leaders in certain regions of China. “The atmosphere is too tense in this area,” explains a local church leader. “A few years ago, there were five churches here, including ours. Now, only one government-approved church remains.”

Another ministry leader says: “The fiercest spiritual battle in China is for the faith of the next generation. Once vibrant student fellowships on university campuses in China have largely disappeared, with only a few continuing in secret.”

A lifeline of presence

Recognising the urgent need to come alongside vulnerable ministry leaders like Jinyi, Open Doors local partners have continued to visit her. This ministry of presence has been a lifeline to Jinyi: “Your visits help me realise that the Lord has not forgotten me. He still loves me. He does no wrong, and He must have a good purpose for my husband and me.”

Because of your prayers and gifts, our partners can make these visits to underground Christians like Jinyi who often feel isolated and disconnected, walking with Chinese church leaders under constant threat of being watched, exposed and persecuted. As China cracks down further on the Church, more believers will be forced underground in the coming years.

That is why it’s so important that we stand with the underground Church because when we stand with them through our prayers, presence and support, we can strengthen believers to persevere in their faith under increasing pressure like Jinyi.

“Thank you for your prayers,” Jinyi says. “There have been countless moments when I wanted to give up. One time, a small group leader felt fearful when receiving inquiries from the police over the phone. Others, seeing the hardships persecution brought to my family, felt afraid and tended to withdraw. I felt like I really couldn’t carry the burden of leading these young people, but God’s calling was always there, and He upheld me.”

Growing, even now

Open Doors partners recently shared a meal with Jinyi. Her spirit was bright. Her ministry now includes 10 underground small groups with a total of more than 70 young people, steadily growing stronger even in the midst of persecution. The group leaders are beginning to mature, and a church is providing them with online Bible teaching for their gatherings.

“Over two years of accompanying Jinyi with our presence, prayer and support, we have been witnessing her life being rebuilt and renewed,” our local partner says. “And behind her, the faith of many others is being reignited.”

A few months ago, Zhang was scheduled to be released from prison. But it didn’t happen.

“Please pray for us,” Jinyi asks. “My husband is still in prison, and our youth gatherings must remain underground. Our youth are young, both in age and understanding of the truth. People are still overshadowed by persecution and remain fearful of gatherings. As a leader and the eldest, I too feel isolated and in need of support as others avoid us out of fear. I am deeply grateful for your support and encouragement, which have made me feel less alone and less afraid.”

Jinyi references 1 Kings 19, when God reassured the discouraged prophet Elijah that a faithful remnant still existed even when he felt entirely alone: “Just as God reminded Elijah of the 7 000 who had not bowed to Baal, I find comfort and strength knowing that you and others are with us on the path of serving the Lord.”

Pray with Jinyi and the underground Church in China:

• Pray for Jinyi’s husband, still imprisoned after he was supposed to be released. Ask God to protect, comfort and strengthen Zhang.
• Pray for Jinyi for strength, comfort, provision for her family, and wisdom to serve the student and youth groups.
• Pray for the student and youth groups in Jinyi’s region and throughout China, that God would protect and strengthen them and fill them with courage.
• Pray for Open Doors’ presence ministry that it would be led by the Holy Spirit and bring glory to God.

*Names changed to protect security, and some details were added or deleted to protect the identity of Jinyi, Zhang and their ministry.