The Chinese Communist Party has escalated its persecution of Christians by arresting more prominent church leaders and putting them in detention centers, The Daily Wire has learned. At least seven Christians affiliated with the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, a city in southwestern China, were arrested on Tuesday, according to the church. The arrests began in the early morning and continued until evening. Early Rain Covenant Church is a prominent evangelical Presbyterian church that has earned the ire of the Communist Party for being part of China’s underground church movement. The arrests of the Early Rain members come just a few months after the Chinese government rounded up prominent leaders at Zion Church, another well-known underground church. Those arrested included Li Yingqiang, an elder at the church whose home in Deyang was searched, and preacher Dai Zhichao. Dai was arrested at the church office after being told by authorities he was not allowed to leave his home, according to the church. “At around 11:00 a.m. on January 6, he was taken under control at the church office, then brought to his home where it was searched, after which he went out of contact. It has now been confirmed that he is at the Jinniu District Case-Handling Center,” a message from Early Rain said. Others who were taken by authorities included elder Yan Hong, preacher Wu Wuqing, the family of Ye Fenghua, and deacon Zeng Qingtao. A woman named Shu Qiong was also taken by police and charged with “suspected provocation and police disturbance,” according to a source familiar with the arrests. A photo obtained by The Daily Wire shows the police showing up at her home. One of those arrested was able to return home on Tuesday, according to the church. The church is currently locating lawyers for those arrested. At the same time, police targeted the Early Rain Academy, a school operated by the church. “The academy immediately organized teachers and students to evacuate and leave the site. Subsequently, the owner of the teaching site was summoned to the police station and pressured, and was informed that all items must be removed from the site by Friday,” the church said in a release. The CCP’s targeting of Early Rain stretches back to 2018 when it began arresting prominent leaders, including Pastor Wang Yi. Wang was convicted in 2019 of subverting the government and sentenced to nine years in prison. While still imprisoned, he was just awarded a Democracy Service Medal by the National Endowment for Democracy. Corey Jackson, who heads up the advocacy organization Luke Alliance, said the arrests were part of a broader pattern of targeting of unregistered churches. He said in recent months that more pastors were being brought into local police offices for “tea times” and told that they must register with the state or face harsh treatment. “One person reported that they had been told by the domestic security police that churches, ‘house churches,’ are going to face complete prohibition. Participants will face imprisonment, and there’s going to be less pattern of warning, fines, and leeway,” Jackson told The Daily Wire. Jackson said that the government really wants to exert more control over the churches, and make them register any online services they have before meeting. He also said the government doesn’t want parents educating kids in their faith if they are below the age of 18. Jackson added that he would like to see the Trump administration put some pressure on China over their repression of Christianity. “We need to apply pressure on China with human rights,” he said. “We must continue not to just be transactional in our approach with China, but to also recognize that China is the one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world.”