American pastor David Lin is finally home. Lin, 68, was detained by the Chinese government nearly two decades ago, accused of contract fraud.

“Praise God! We got the call late last night!!! Dad is free and over Alaska now,” stated the pastor’s daughter, Alice Lin, in a text to Bob Fu, who leads China Aid, an organization which advocates for the freedoms of persecuted believers.

Lin had applied for and gained permission from the Chinese government to open a Christian church in Beijing. But in 2006, it all fell apart.

“He was trapped by corrupted Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in a scam when they falsely promised him to build an independent house church in Beijing,” said Fu in a statement. “CCP intelligence operatives most likely gave this misleading information.”

In 2009, Lin was detained on charges related to business fraud and handed a life prison sentence. Lin denied the charge, which is frequently used against leaders in the house church movement. The U.S. State Department considered Lin one of three Americans “wrongfully detained” by China.

On Sunday, in a statement to media, the State Department said, “We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years.”

Advocates working on Lin’s behalf succeeded in getting his sentence reduced, but the unexpected turn came with his release.

“When something goes right, we want to applaud that — not the detainment, but the fact that this person has been released, said Kurt Rovenstine of Bibles for China. “As Americans and as Christians, we want to celebrate that, in the midst of some of the struggles that we have in dealing with Communist China officials.”

Reportedly, at least 200 American nationals have been detained in China wrongfully.

Currently, the U.S. State Department is advocating for the release of two other prisoners, businessman Kai Li and Mark Swidan. “We’ll continue to push the release of other Americans,” Miller said. “It’s something that we have been working on for some time.”

ChinaAid noted that Lin is one among a “long list of prisoners of conscience” wrongfully detained in China.

“The Chinese Communist Party needs to stop this kind of hostage-taking with the U.S. government,” said Fu. “They continually hold prisoners of conscience hostage and bargain their freedom with the Western world.”

As Lin acclimates to freedom, Rovestine notes there will be a lot to process.

“I can’t imagine coming back to family and relationships — just the learning curve that he’s going to have in coming back to the United States and looking at all the changes,” he said. “There’s a huge readjustment there, so I think that’s a matter of prayer.”

Both ministry organizations urged prayer for believers and churches in China, and for the groups walking alongside them.

Josh Shepherd contributed to this article, which was originally published at Mission Network News. 

Lyndsey Koh is a journalist, copywriter and contributor to Mission Network News.