Ezra Jin, the founder of China's prominent underground Zion Church, arrived in the United States on Friday evening after being released from a Chinese prison, according to The Guardian.
Jin, a Chinese citizen who established the house church in 2007, was among dozens of members detained during a government crackdown on Christians in October.
His release follows extensive diplomatic lobbying from the US government, marking a rare instance of Beijing releasing a Chinese citizen under foreign pressure.
The family of the prominent pastor expressed deep gratitude for his unexpected release and praised the active diplomatic intervention from Washington.
"We truly witnessed a miracle and we are feeling overwhelmed with joy," said Jin's family. "We thank God for this tremendous miracle.
We also thank President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership."
Jin's wife and children previously launched multiple direct appeals to the US government, and his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, testified before Congress in November regarding the detention.
The diplomatic breakthrough materialized after Donald Trump directly raised the issue of detained religious figures with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an official visit to Beijing in May.
"Seriously considering," said Donald Trump, noting that China's president was evaluating the release of jailed pastors, while adding that progress on other high-profile detained individuals remained more difficult.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Jin's sudden release from custody.
Religious worship in China is legally confined to government-controlled institutions, forcing millions of unregistered believers into independent underground networks.
Official figures from 2018 cited 44 million Christians in the country, but independent estimates suggest the actual number of believers reaches approximately 130 million.
Zion Church transitioned to online sermons to reach thousands of members after authorities forced its physical Beijing location to close in 2018.
Chinese authorities expanded actions against house churches over the past year, raiding an Early Rain church gathering in Sichuan in June and detaining more than 30 people.
Multiple members of Zion Church continue to face legal prosecution in China despite the founder's release.
The cases of nine detained members were transferred to prosecutors last month on charges of fraud and illegal business operations, while nine other individuals were released on bail pending trial.
