亲爱的主内家人和各界友人，平安！

 

“10·9”锡安教案已经进入第295天。截至今日，仍有8位锡安教会的牧者同工被羁押在广西北海市第一、第二看守所，面临“诈骗罪”、“非法经营罪”的不实刑事指控。

 

一、教案进展

 

案件于2026年6月18日被移送北海市银海区人民检察院审查起诉。7月17日，在不到一个月的时间内，案件在辩护律师毫不知情，未给予辩护意见的情况下，被突然起诉至北海市银海区人民法院。

 

过去一周，锡安教案还在关押的八位家人的辩护律师和家属陆续收到了检察院提交给法院的起诉书。

根据起诉书，王林、高颖佳、尹会彬、王聪、刘桢彬、林书铖被指控“共同实施诈骗的犯罪行为”，称其“开展非法宗教活动，骗取信徒的‘奉献金’人民币1000余万元”。

 

王林、汪中、吴秋雨被指控“共同故意实施非法经营的犯罪行为”，称其“自2020年至2025年，未经许可利用信息网络非法销售涉宗教等内容的‘课程包’，收取非法经营款200余万元。”

 

起诉书进一步指控“王林在诈骗、非法经营犯罪活动中起主要作用，高颖佳、尹会彬在共同诈骗犯罪活动中起主要作用，是主犯，其他人是从犯。”

 

针对以上指控，已于本月初被释放的锡安教会创会主任牧师、锡安圣经学院（ZBI）董事会主席金明日牧师在近日接受媒体采访时指出：“教会是否供养愿意服事主的传道人，是由执事会和长老会决定的。我们的传道人不是为了牟利，更没有在牧养活动用欺骗的手段，使教会的信徒亏损。” 因此，“诈骗罪”不成立。

 

“ZBI是锡安教会内部设立的圣经学院。2018年以前，锡安教会曾与其他家庭教会合作开展神学教育。教会遭打压后，为避免其他神学院受到牵连，传道人和教会骨干培训转到教会内部进行。圣经学院部分课程收取300元登记费。这笔钱不是学费，而是希望学员对培训委身投入。部分学员完成课程后，登记费还会退还，学院大部分开支由教会奉献承担。” 因此，“非法经营罪”不成立。

 

办案部门把教会牧养中的奉献、牧者供养和内部宗教教育列入刑事案件，相当于把中国家庭教会长期存在的宗教活动刑事化。这不仅是对中国宪法保障公民信仰自由的公然践踏，更是对上帝神圣律法和至高权威的狂傲僭越。

 

起诉书中声称有被害人、证人的陈述。实为部分信徒受到办案人员误导甚至胁迫，以至在恐慌中提供了不实的证言。这些信徒愿意重新作证，说明教会没有欺骗他们，也没有通过牧养使他们遭受经济损失。不仅如此，锡安教会的众多会友和锡安圣经学院的许多学员皆可作证：奉献不是“诈骗”，圣经培训不是“非法经营”。

 

二、代祷请求

 

1. 请为金牧得释放后身心灵的康复祷告：

求主加添金牧师力量，藉着他的见证和呼吁，让更多人看见神的荣耀和信实。金牧师正在努力协助争取锡安教会八位在押同工乃至更多被囚肢体的获释，求主带领开路。

 

2. 请为8位面临被起诉的牧长同工及其家属祷告：

他们是神忠心的仆人，神必记念他们的劳苦。求主给他们及其家属信心和盼望，即使面对这些不实的指控，也能在神面前毫不羞愧，不被谎言和恐惧所蒙蔽，继续持守对神、对人无愧的良心。

 

3. 请为律师团队后续的应诉辩护祷告：

求主赐给律师们勇气、智慧、策略和口才，依法开展应诉工作。求主保守律师团队，做好充分的庭前准备，并制定出合理的庭审辩护策略。求主供应后续法务工作所需的一切资源与经费，并保守律师及其家人的安全。求主使用牧师和律师在法庭上的辩词，为福音真理做出公开且公义的辩护。

 

4. 为被误导的信徒祷告：

求主给他们勇气，愿意公开见证：教会没有诈骗，他们不是受害者，而是见证者。

 

5. 请为法院及办案人员祷告：

求主保守他们内心的良知，尊重事实和证据，秉持客观公正、惩恶扬善的司法本职，驳回或撤销一切不实的起诉，宣判无罪释放所有在押人员。

 

金牧师不久前神迹般的获释，让我们亲眼看见：“在人这是不能的，在神凡事都能！”（太19:26）恳请并鼓励大家：以爱心代祷支援、以信心宣告释放、以忠心见证主名！阿们。

锡安教会教牧团、长老团、堂务会、家属团

 

2026年7月30日

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Zion Church Prayer Letter

 

Dear families in the Lord and friends from all walks of life, peace be with you.

 

The "October 9" Zion Church case has now entered its 295th day. As of today, eight pastors and staff members of Zion Church remain in custody at the No. 1 and No. 2 Detention Centers in Beihai City, Guangxi, facing baseless criminal charges of "fraud" and "illegal business operations."

 

Case Progress

 

The Zion Church case was transferred to the People's Procuratorate of Yinhai District, Beihai City, for review and prosecution on June 18, 2026. On July 17—less than a month later—the case was suddenly indicted to the People's Court of Yinhai District, Beihai City, without the defense lawyers' knowledge or any opportunity for them to present a defense.

 

Over the past week, the defense lawyers and family members of the eight detained individuals have successively received the indictment submitted by the procuratorate to the court.

 

According to the indictment, Wang Lin, Gao Yingjia, Yin Huibin, Wang Cong, Liu Zhenbin, and Lin Shucheng are accused of "jointly committing the crime of fraud," alleging that they "conducted illegal religious activities and obtained over 10 million RMB in 'offerings' from believers through deception."

Wang Lin, Wang Zhong, and Wu Qiuyu have been accused of "jointly and intentionally committing the crime of illegal business operations," with allegations stating that "from 2020 to 2025, without authorization, they utilized information networks to illegally sell 'course packages' containing religious content, collecting over 2 million yuan in illicit proceeds."

 

The indictment further alleges that "Wang Lin played a principal role in the criminal activities of fraud and illegal business operations; Gao Yingjia and Yin Huibin played principal roles in the joint fraud activities, classifying them as principal offenders, while the others were accomplices."

 

In response to these allegations, Pastor Jin Mingri—the founding senior pastor of Zion Church and chairman of the board of Zion Bible Institute (ZBI), who was released earlier this month—stated in a recent media interview: "Decisions regarding the financial support of preachers willing to serve the Lord are made by the board of deacons and the board of elders. Our preachers do not seek profit, nor have they employed deceptive means during pastoral activities that caused financial loss to church believers." Therefore, the charge of "fraud" is unfounded.

 

"ZBI is a Bible institute established within Zion Church. Prior to 2018, Zion Church collaborated with other house churches to conduct theological education. After the church faced crackdowns, training for preachers and key church members was moved in-house to avoid implicating other seminaries. A registration fee of 300 yuan was charged for some courses at the Bible institute. This money was not tuition, but rather a means to encourage students to commit to the training. For some students, the registration fee was refunded upon course completion, and the majority of the institute's expenses were covered by church offerings." Therefore, the charge of "illegal business operations" is unfounded.

 

By classifying church offerings, the financial support of pastors, and internal religious education as criminal matters, the authorities are effectively criminalizing religious activities that have long existed within Chinese house churches. This constitutes not only a blatant violation of the freedom of religious belief guaranteed to citizens by the Chinese Constitution but also an arrogant transgression against God’s holy law and supreme authority.

 

The indictment claims to rely on statements from victims and witnesses. In reality, some believers were misled or even coerced by investigators, leading them to provide false testimony out of panic. These believers are willing to testify again, affirming that the church did not defraud them nor cause them financial loss through its pastoral ministry. Furthermore, numerous members of Zion Church and students of Zion Bible College can testify that their offerings were not "fraud" and their biblical training was not an "illegal business operation."

 

II. Prayer Requests

 

1. Please pray for Pastor Ezra Jin’s recovery—spiritually, physically, and emotionally—following his release:

May the Lord strengthen Pastor Jin so that, through his testimony and appeals, more people may witness God’s glory and faithfulness. Pastor Jin is actively working to secure the release of the eight detained colleagues from Zion Church—and indeed all imprisoned fellow believers; may the Lord lead the way and open doors for this.

 

2. Please pray for the eight Zion pastors and co-workers facing prosecution, as well as their families:

They are God’s faithful servants, and God will surely remember their labors. May the Lord grant them and their families faith and hope; even in the face of these baseless accusations, may they stand unashamed before God, remain undeterred by lies or fear, and maintain a clear conscience toward both God and man.

 

3. Please pray for the legal team’s defense efforts:

May the Lord grant the lawyers courage, wisdom, strategy, and eloquence as they conduct the defense in accordance with the law. May the Lord guide the team in making thorough pre-trial preparations and formulating sound defense strategies. May the Lord provide all necessary resources and funding for the ongoing legal proceedings and protect the safety of the lawyers and their families. May the Lord use the arguments presented in court by the pastors and lawyers to offer a public and righteous defense of the truth of the Gospel.

 

4. Pray for believers who have been misled:

May the Lord grant them the courage to testify publicly that the church committed no fraud and that they are not victims, but witnesses.

 

5. Please pray for the court and the officials handling the case:

May the Lord guard their consciences and lead them to respect the facts and evidence. May they uphold the judicial duty of objectivity, fairness, punishing evil, and rewarding good; may they dismiss or withdraw all baseless charges and declare all detained individuals innocent and free.

 

Pastor Jin’s miraculous release not long ago allowed us to witness firsthand that "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). We earnestly urge and encourage everyone to keep praying and supporting us with love, proclaim the detainees’ release with faith, and testify and glorify the Lord’s name with courage! Amen.

 

Zion Church Pastoral Team,

Board of Elders,

Church Affairs Committee,

and Family Group

 

July 30, 2026