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.
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