BEIJING  –  An influential Protes­tant church in China says prominent leaders have been arrested in what appears to be a growing crackdown on the un­derground church move­ment. Nine people were detained on Tuesday after police raided their homes and the church of­fice in Chengdu, in central China, the Early Rain Covenant Church said. Five had been released by Wednesday. More than 1,000 miles away in Wenzhou, authorities began demolishing the Yayang Church building, video obtained by non-profit ChinaAid, which monitors religious persecu­tion, shows. This latest wave of arrests, after others last year, shows the Communist Party’s resolve to snuff out churches that do not align with its ideol­ogy, Christian groups say. The BBC has contacted China’s embassy in the UK for comment. Authorities have not made any statements about the arrests or the demolition in Wenzhou. China promotes atheism and controls religion. The government said in 2018 that there were 44 million Christians in the country, but it’s unclear if that number includes those who at­tend the many underground churches. The Commu­nist Party has long pressured Christians to join only state-sanctioned churches led by government-ap­proved pastors. But Christian groups say the grip has tightened noticeably, with arrests becoming more common and prompt. At least two church leaders in China have told the BBC that authorities are swiftly arresting unauthorised church leaders. In the past, these individuals would first be warned, then fined and finally detained if they still refused to comply with orders. Just weeks ago, Li Yingqiang, the cur­rent leader of Early Rain Covenant Church, had said he “sensed a storm gathering” and referred to “the imminent prospect of… another large-scale crack­down”. “I dearly hope that none of our families shall ever again endure such a storm,” he wrote in a letter to church members in November. “Yet as an elder appointed by the Lord to stand among you… it is my duty to remind you all to prepare yourselves before the storm returns.” Mr Li and his wife, Zhang Xinyue, are among the four who remain in detention. Their church described the arrests as a “concerted opera­tion” but said the grounds for arrest, and whether those detained had been charged, remain unclear. It added that it had lost contact with two other mem­bers but did not say they had been detained. “The situation is ongoing, with specific details yet to be fully confirmed,” Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) said in a statement to members and supporters. It also also sought prayers for its members’ safety and their perseverance in the Christian faith.