I’m Free. Now Pray for China by Ezra Jin via @WSJopinion 【金明日牧师获释后首次接受华尔街日报采访（后附中文）/ Rev. Mingri (Ezra) Jin’s first interview with WSJ after his release】 Pastor Ezra Jin: I’m Free. Now Pray for China Eight members of the church I founded are still behind bars. By Ezra Jin July 8, 2026 at 5:02 pm ET I spent 266 days in a Chinese prison after being detained along with 28 other leaders and members of Zion Church in October. When guards ushered me into a van last Friday, I thought they were taking me to my trial. I expected a long sentence for founding and leading Zion, one of China’s underground, or house, churches. But hours later, I was free. No negotiations, no confession, all charges dropped. On the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, I was reunited with the family I hadn’t seen in eight years, ever since my wife and children came to the U.S. to get out of harm’s way. My wife, like me, is a Chinese national, but our children are all U.S. citizens. It was disorienting to go from a crowded prison cell to watching Fourth of July fireworks with my family over In-N-Out burgers. My gratitude goes first to President Trump, whose diplomacy secured my release, as well as to the members of Congress and other U.S. officials who worked on my behalf. I have been overwhelmed by the global response to the arrests of our congregation. Prominent voices from across the political spectrum in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe have spoken out about our plight. Other congregations in China showed extraordinary bravery in coming to our aid. Thousands of people—from Argentina to India and Nigeria to Korea—prayed for us. Even in the bleakest moments, we took great comfort in their support. Eight of my fellow church members, along with many other church leaders and prisoners of conscience, remain in prison. These men and women, some of the most caring people I have met, are confined in cramped cells and sleep on floor mats in blistering heat. Many leave behind young families. I won’t rest until they see freedom. When I started Zion Church in 2007, my aim was simple: to share the immeasurable love of God with those around me. As I wrote from prison, “We do not oppose dialogue with the government, nor do we confront it, but rather emphasize obedience to those in authority.” At the same time we hold fast to our beliefs, recognizing Jesus Christ as the sole head of our church. China’s political authorities have no reason to fear the tens of millions in China who worship in unregistered congregations. These Christians love their nation. They only want to worship God peacefully according to the Bible and to serve others, especially the poor, the disabled and the elderly. Zion Church is proud to have been among the first responders after the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake and to have hosted major blood drives in Beijing. My earnest prayer is that my release can mark the beginning of a new chapter for people of faith in China. Freedom of religion is a universal right promised in the Chinese Constitution. I hope that all our church members are freed and that China becomes a place where all people can freely worship. A first step would be to legalize house churches alongside state-run churches in the same way China has legalized private industry alongside state-owned enterprises. Such a future might seem impossibly remote, but so did my release. I couldn’t be more thankful, and pray that others still imprisoned will experience this same freedom soon. Mine is a God of miracles, and he constantly surprises me. 金明日牧师：我已重获自由，请为中国祈祷 我所创立的教会中，仍有八名成员身陷囹圄。 作者：金明日 (Ezra Jin) 2026年7月8日，美东时间下午5:02 去年10月，我与锡安教会（Zion Church）的其他28名领袖及成员一同被拘留，随后在中国监狱度过了266个日日夜夜。上周五，当看守将我带上一辆面包车时，我以为是要送我去受审。我预料自己会因创立并领导锡安教会——中国众多地下教会（或称“家庭教会”）之一——而被判重刑。然而，仅仅几个小时后，我就重获了自由。没有谈判，没有认罪，所有指控均被撤销。 在美国建国250周年纪念日前夕，我与阔别八年的家人团聚了；当年，为了躲避迫害，我的妻子和孩子们前往了美国。和我也一样，我的妻子是中国公民，但我们的孩子们全都是美国公民。 从拥挤的牢房一下子转变为与家人一边享用In-N-Out汉堡、一边观看独立日烟花，这种巨大的反差让我感到有些恍惚。我首先要感谢特朗普总统，是他的外交努力促成了我的获释；同时，我也要感谢那些为我奔走呼吁的国会议员及其他美国官员。 对于全球各界就我们教会成员被捕一事所作出的强烈反响，我深感震撼与感动。来自美国、英国及欧洲政坛各界的重要人士纷纷为我们的处境仗义执言。中国国内的其他教会也展现出了非凡的勇气，向我们伸出了援手。成千上万的人——从阿根廷到印度，从尼日利亚到韩国——都在为我们祈祷。即便在最黑暗的时刻，他们的支持也给予了我们极大的慰藉。 我的八位教会同工，以及许多其他教会领袖和良心犯，至今仍被关押在狱中。这些人是我所见过的最充满爱心的人，如今却被禁锢在狭窄的牢房里，在酷热难耐的环境下睡在地垫上。他们许多人家中都有年幼的孩子。在他们重获自由之前，我绝不会停下脚步。 2008年我创办锡安教会时，初衷很简单：与周围的人分享神那无限的爱。正如我在狱中所写：“我们既不反对与政府对话，也不与政府对抗，而是强调顺服掌权者。”与此同时，我们坚守信仰，认耶稣基督为教会唯一的元首。 中国当局没有理由惧怕国内数千万在非登记聚会点敬拜的信徒。这些基督徒热爱自己的国家。他们唯一的愿望，就是按照《圣经》的教导平安地敬拜神，并服务他人——特别是贫困者、残障人士和长者。锡安教会引以为豪的是，在2008年四川大地震发生后，我们是最早参与救援的团体之一，并且在北京组织过大型无偿献血活动。 我恳切祈祷，我的获释能成为中国信徒开启新篇章的起点。宗教自由是《中国宪法》所承诺的一项普世权利。我希望教会所有成员都能获得自由，也希望中国成为一个所有人都能自由敬拜的地方。迈出这一步的途径之一，是将家庭教会与官方教会一样实现合法化，就像中国在国有企业之外允许私营企业合法化那样。 这样的未来或许看似遥不可及，但我的获释也是如此，却成为现实。我心中充满感恩，并祈祷其他仍在狱中的人也能早日获得同样的自由。我所信奉的是行神迹的神，祂总是不断给我带来惊喜。#锡安109教案#

【致歉通知｜月票交付&模式調整說明】 重要通知：從下個月（9月）起，我將暫停月票訂閱更新。 由於這一年線下活動排的實在太密集！ 我的每套作品質量都是超高清毛孔畫質，導致每張圖都需要幾乎半小時時間才能完成，整套工程量實在是太大了 😭 好多個夜晚一邊哭著一邊通宵熬夜趕圖，我根本沒有時間能够好好的修圖，只能被迫選擇延期交付，給大家帶來不好的體驗，我真的很過意不去。 加之每月4套高頻產出，作品文宣週期太短，很多小夥伴們其實根本不知道我有拍這個角色 😭 （但其實每一套cos，從籌備拍攝、服裝設計到後期，我都投入了超多時間和心血，但之前從沒和大家傾訴這些。 我更希望我的每一份創作，能够被大家看見…） 為了能沉下心打磨內容，能讓大家看到更優質的創作，這個月是月票訂閱的最後一月。 9月開始，將會取消月票訂閱，變更為獨立作品。 希望能留出更多的時間去沉澱自己，精工細作每一套作品，能够給大家帶來更多不一樣的體驗！ 也請大家繼續期待我的後續創作 ❤️ [Apology & Update: Monthly Subscription & Changes] Hey guys, I have an important update. Starting next month (September), I’ll be pausing the monthly subscription updates. Honestly, my offline event schedule this past year has been completely packed! Since I always shoot in ultra-high resolution (you can literally see every pore!), each photo takes nearly half an hour to edit. The total workload has just been insane😭. I’ve spent so many nights crying while pulling all-nighters to rush the photos. I barely had enough time to polish them properly and had to delay the release. I feel incredibly bad for giving you guys a subpar experience. On top of that, releasing 4 sets a month is such a fast pace that the promo window is way too short. A lot of you didn't even know I cosplayed certain characters😭. (To be honest, I pour so much time, effort, and heart into every single cosplay—from planning and costume design to post-processing. I’ve never really opened up about this before, but I truly want my work to be seen and appreciated...) To focus on perfecting my content and bringing you guys the absolute best quality, this month will be the last month for the subscription. Starting in September, the monthly subscription will be canceled, and works will be available as individual sets instead. I want to take this time to slow down, perfect my craft, and bring you all a whole new experience! Thank you so much for your support, and please look forward to my upcoming projects! ☺❤️ 【お詫びとお知らせ｜サブスクの納品とお知らせについて】 みんな、いつも応援ありがとう！大事なお知らせがあります。来月（9月）から、毎月のサブスク（月票）更新を一時停止することにしました。 この1年、リアルイベントのスケジュールが本当にギチギチで……！私の作品はどれも毛穴まで見える超高画質だから、1枚仕上げるのに30分近くかかっちゃうの。全体の作業量が多すぎて😭、何日も泣きながら徹夜で作業する日々でした。どうしてもじっくりレタッチする時間が足りなくて、納品が遅れちゃって……みんなに悲しい思いをさせて本当にごめんなさい。すごく気にしていました。 それに、毎月4セットのハイペース投稿だと告知期間が短すぎて、「え、このキャラやってたの！？」って気づかれないことも多くて😭（実はどのコスプレも、準備、衣装デザイン、レタッチまでめちゃくちゃ時間と愛を注いでるんだ。今まであんまり弱音を言えなかったけど、やっぱり魂を込めた作品は、みんなにちゃんと見てもらいたいな……！） だから、これからはもっと1つ1つの作品に集中して、最高のクオリティでみんなに届けるために、サブスクは今月で最後にします。 9月からはサブスクを廃止して、作品ごとの単品販売に変更します。 もっと自分を磨く時間を作って、一作一作を丁寧に作り込んで、みんなに今まで以上の感動を届けたいです！これからも私の作品を楽しみにしててね☺❤️