by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
HUNAN, CHINA (Worthy News) – After enduring “years of persecution,” Pastor Zhao Huaiguo, founder of Bethel Church in Cili County, Hunan Province, has died, leaving behind a legacy of faith and resilience that continues to inspire Communist-run China’s underground Christian community, Christians say.
In 2007, Zhao relocated to Hunan to establish Bethel Church, a house fellowship aimed at serving elderly Christians and those reluctant to attend Communist Party-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement congregations.
From the start, Zhao and his wife faced relentless pressure for refusing to register under state control.
Authorities raided the church multiple times. In 2019, officials confiscated Bibles, destroyed property, and pressured members to join the official Three-Self network.
On March 14, 2020, Zhao was arrested at his home and later charged with “inciting subversion.” Prosecutors pushed for an 18-month sentence, and he was ultimately sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
He served that term under harsh conditions before being released in September 2021. Even after release, persecution continued, Christians said.
COUPLE DETAINED
In November 2024, Zhao and his wife were detained for 10 days for conducting unsanctioned online training. Friends and advocacy groups say he lived under near-constant surveillance.
Zhao died suddenly on September 5, 2025, in his early 50s, plunging Christians into mourning.
International Christian Concern (ICC), a U.S.-based Christian watchdog, described Zhao as a pastor who “endured years of persecution” and said his death is a stark reminder of the severe pressure faced by house-church leaders.
“After enduring years of persecution, Pastor Zhao Huaiguo … has died, leaving behind a legacy of faith and resilience,” ICC stressed.
Bitter Winter, a human rights magazine covering religion and conscience in China, noted that his death followed years of harassment and “psychological torment.”
ChinaAid, a Texas-based group documenting abuses against Christians and advocating for prisoners of conscience in China, emphasized that Zhao was “illegally detained for more than 500 days” and highlighted repeated raids on his church.
US COMMISSION
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) lists Zhao in its database of Christian inmates and other religious prisoners of conscience.
Additionally, Open Doors, a global charity that tracks Christian persecution, has long ranked China among the top 20 countries where Christians face the most severe restrictions.
It notes that independent house churches like Bethel are seen as a “threat to Communist Party control” and routinely face raids, intimidation, and arrests.
Christians said Zhao remained steadfast in his conviction that the church must serve Christ freely, even under threat.
His life and death have become a symbol for countless Chinese believers who continue to gather outside state-approved structures, risking their freedom for their faith, Christians suggest.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A group of radical Hindu nationalists violently attacked a small Christian congregation in Maharashtra, India, on February 10, leaving a pastor seriously injured and forcing believers to flee their village.
U.S. officials are raising concerns about the potential presence of Iranian “sleeper cells” inside the United States, as tensions escalate following recent American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Federal investigators say a man who carried out a violent vehicle-ramming attack at a Michigan synagogue earlier this month was driven by extremist propaganda linked to Hezbollah, underscoring growing concerns about foreign terror influence reaching U.S. soil.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Iran’s Arak heavy water production plant was destroyed following a targeted strike attributed to the Israel Defense Forces, marking a significant escalation in efforts to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Thousands of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to U.S. officials, as President Donald Trump considers expanded military options in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a stark ultimatum Monday, warning Iran that failure to reach a ceasefire agreement in the coming days would trigger a sweeping and devastating assault on the country’s critical infrastructure.
The Knesset approved a controversial law Monday mandating the death penalty for certain terrorist acts, marking a historic shift in Israel’s judicial approach to terrorism.