Early Rain Covenant Church Faces Renewed Crackdown: A Call to Prayer
By Steven Childers
Steve Childers and Elder Li Yingqiang in China in December 2018
In January and February 2026, two major Christian news organizations—Christianity Today and ChinaAid—reported a new and significant crackdown on Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China. For many outside China, this story may seem distant. For us at Pathway Learning, it is deeply personal.
We work directly with leaders in China’s underground church, including brothers and sisters connected to Early Rain Covenant Church. I last met Elder Li Yingqiang in 2018, just before the first major wave of persecution that sent Pastor Wang Yi to prison. Today, Wang Yi remains incarcerated, and now Elder Li has been formally arrested on the same charge. We have also learned that a church leader participating in Pathway Learning’s Spiritual Formation training in Chinese has been arrested and charged with the same offense.
The January 2026 Arrests
On January 6, 2026, police detained at least nine leaders and members of Early Rain Covenant Church. According to Christianity Today (Jan. 21, 2026), authorities later formally charged Li Yingqiang, an elder and current leader of the church, with “inciting subversion of state power.” This is the same national security charge used against founding pastor Wang Yi in 2018.
As CT reports:
“The use of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ against pastors and church members whose only ‘crime’ is peaceful worship represents a grave abuse of China’s criminal law,” said ChinaAid’s Bob Fu. “This case illustrates once again how the Chinese Communist Party weaponizes national-security charges to criminalize faith, silence conscience, and intimidate religious communities.”
Li was arrested at his home in Deyang, Sichuan. Officers searched the residence and took him into custody. In a troubling escalation, police also brought his wife, Zhang Xinyue, and their two minor children to the station. CT sources described the treatment of the children as “deeply inhumane.”
Another church worker, Lin Guibiao, also faces the same charge. Meanwhile, authorities reportedly denied lawyers access to the detained and initially refused to provide formal notice of criminal detention.
A History of Persecution
To understand the gravity of these events, one must look back to December 9, 2018—the first large-scale crackdown on Early Rain. That day, more than 100 church members were detained. Pastor Wang Yi was later sentenced to ten years in prison for “inciting to subvert state power” and “illegal business operations.” He has now been imprisoned for over seven years, with limited contact with his family.
Steve Childers and Pastor Wang Yi in China in December 7, 2018
In Wang Yi’s now-famous “Declaration of Faithful Disobedience,” written just before his arrest, he affirmed respect for governing authorities but insisted that when the state interferes with the gospel, Christians must practice nonviolent, faith-based disobedience.
Pastor Wang Yi has been in prison since December 9, 2018. (Prison photo in handcuffs)
Elder Li himself spent approximately eight months in prison after the 2018 crackdown. After Wang’s imprisonment, Li stepped into leadership. Despite harassment and periodic short-term detentions over the years, the church continued meeting—often in smaller groups or online—and grew to roughly 600 members.
As a source close to the church told CT:
“We are not arrested for ordinary reasons, but because of our faith—and even in these circumstances, we seek to bear witness to Christ not only to the world, but also, when possible, to police officers and government officials.”
February 2026 Developments
On February 12, 2026, ChinaAid reported that elder Li Yingqiang and another church leader, Dai Zhichao, had been formally arrested on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power.” You can read the full report here:
https://chinaaid.org/news/early-rain-covenant-church-faces-large-scale-crackdown-li-yingqiang-and-dai-zhichao-formally-arrested-on-inciting-subversion-charge-multiple-individuals-in-alarming-situations/
ChinaAid also reported that several members previously detained have been released on “bail pending trial,” including Li’s wife, Zhang Xinyue. However, release on bail in China does not mean freedom. Those released remain under significant legal restrictions and surveillance.
Others, including Ye Fenghua and Jia Xuewei, were placed under “residential surveillance at a designated location,” a form of confinement often criticized by international human rights advocates.
ChinaAid further notes that since the “December 9 church case” in 2018, Early Rain has lived “under intense suppression,” including illegal detention, forced relocation, and surveillance. Pastor Wang Yi’s contact with his family has been “nearly severed,” which the organization calls “a clear violation of laws enacted in China.”
As of mid-February, authorities had not issued a public statement explaining the detentions.
The Church’s Response
One of the most remarkable aspects of this story is the church’s spiritual response.
In 2018, Elder Li wrote a pastoral letter titled “How the Church Should Face Persecution.” In it, he reminded believers of 1 Peter 4:12–14 and urged them not to be surprised by “fiery trial.” He wrote:
“Beloved brothers and sisters, do you have joy? Are you rejoicing in the fact that you are suffering with Christ…? The Lord is bestowing on us poor people today treasures of glory from heaven!”
He outlined a plan for continuing public worship, refusing to register with the state-controlled Three-Self Church, and maintaining expository preaching no matter the cost.
CT reports that even now, as leaders are detained, Early Rain continues to meet in small groups and conduct online services. Members are sending food and clothing packages to detainees and caring for affected families, including the pregnant wife of Pastor Dai.
“Our approach is this: No matter what happens, we continue with expository preaching,” a church source told CT.
Why This Matters
Millions of Christians in China worship in unregistered house churches. While China’s constitution nominally protects freedom of religious belief, unregistered churches that refuse government oversight are often treated as threats to “social stability.”
For those unfamiliar with the situation, this is not about political activism. As one church source told CT:
“We are not engaging in politics; rather, it is the government’s politics that have entered the church.”
For Pathway Learning, this is not theoretical. We serve and support leaders who face these realities daily. The imprisonment of Pastor Wang Yi and now Elder Li Yingqiang reminds us that faithful gospel ministry in some contexts carries a profound cost.
The apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:8–11 capture their testimony:
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
The early church father, Tertullian of Carthage (220 AD) said “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” When she ceases to bleed, she ceases to bless. She can thrive through persecution, but never through peace and security.”
May I ask you a favor?
Will you please take a few minutes to watch this brief video above that will give you a rare, inside look at what persecution looks like in the underground church in East Asia today?
Then will you please consider taking some focused time to join with at least one or two others and pray for our brothers and sisters facing persecution in East Asia? Below is a helpful prayer guide that our friends at China Partnership prepared using 3 headings:
1) Pray for individual believers and their families,
2) Pray for pastors and church leaders, and
3) Pray for God’s Name and Kingdom to advance
Thanks so much for considering this.
For the King!
Steve Childers
President, Pathway Learning
