Five months ago, a 73-year-old Chinese Pastor went missing after being detained by Chinese officials.
On March 17, 2026, Pastor Wang Sanyuan was taken from his family by officials that identified themselves as police and since then, he has not been heard from again.
His family in Jinan, Shandong, waited to hear from the police to know which police station he would be held at and what crime he has been charged with. So far, they have not received any information.
The pastor has simply disappeared from official records.
Pastor Wang Sanyuan is a Three-Self pastor and has spent his life trying to appease the government. His church, Changchunli Church, is a government registered church and draws about 500–600 worshipper every week.
For several years, the local government has wanted to seize the property of the church to sell to commercial development companies, but the congregation has resisted. In 2009-2010, at least 27 people were injured when congregants resisted the take over of the church.
Many believe the kidnapping is the result of government retaliation against Pastor Wang and he is most likely being held in a black prison.
Black prisons are very common in China. Black prisons are make-shift detention facilities that are off the record. China often conducts secret interrogations at facilities that are not registered so that there is no record of who they are holding, where they are holding them, and what methods they are doing.
Please pray for Pastor Wang and his family during this time.
