- From the Experience and Perspective of Augustine Vernon Cheng
CHURCHES IN HONG KONG
Content
 An Overview on My Church History
 Brief Introductions on Three Churches and Their
Denominations
 Hop Yat Church (Hong Kong)
 Swatow Christian Church Kowloon City
 Christian Saints’ Assembly
 Simple Generalization on Hong Kong Churches from
Studying the Three Churches on:
 Ecumension
 Development Trend (Missionary Focus)
AN OVERVIEW OF MY
CHURCH HISTORY
An Overview on My Church History









Born at The Church of Christ in China (CCC) WanChai Church (中華基督教會灣
仔堂)
Moved to The CCC Yaumati Kei To Church (中華基督教會油麻地基道堂)
Studied in Ward Memorial Methodist Church Kindergarten(循道衛理聯合教會安
素堂)
Moved to Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (基督教華僑佈道會)in U.K. – 1
Year
Moved to The CCC Hop Yat Church (Hong Kong Church) (中華基督教會合一堂
香港堂)and graduated from the Hop Yat Church Kindergarten
1st primary school (P1-P5)– S.K.H. Kei Yau Primary School (聖公會基恩小學)
Moved to The Swatow Christian Church Kowloon City (基督教九龍城潮人生命
堂) for 10 years and studied P6 in CCC Heep Woh Primary School P.M. (中華基
督教會協和小學下午校)
1st Secondary School (F1-F5) – Diocesan Boys’ School (拔萃男書院)
2nd Secondary School (F6-F7) – Notre Dame College (聖母院書院)
 Moved to Christian Saints’ Assembly (基督教會聖徒聚會所[母堂])for 4
years
 Attended the Elvet Methodist Church in Durham, U.K. and conducted a
brief enthography study (33 pages) of the church
 Followed the church fellowship in church planting in Christian Saint’s
Assembly – Asta Church (基督教會聖徒聚會所[喜德堂]) for 3 years
 Father served in The CCC Hop Yat Church (Hong Kong) (中華基督教會
合一堂香港堂) and I got married there
 Teaching in ECF Saint Too Canaan College (基督教中國佈道會聖道迦南
書院) and a committee in Spiritual Nuturing Committee in School
 My Field experience in The Swatow Christian Church Kowloon City (基
督教九龍城潮人生命堂)
 My Father served in The CCC Ying Wa Church (中華基督教會英華堂) in
Ying Wa College
 Attending some of my father’s lecture and some camps in different
Theological seminary such as Evangel Seminary, Alliance Biblical
seminary camp, the camps organized by Divinity school of Chung Chi
College, 1 theological course in Durham university
BRIEF INTRODUCTIONS ON
THREE CHURCHES AND THEIR
DENOMINATIONS
Hop Yat Church Hong Kong Church (7 years)
Swatow Christian Church (10 years)
Christian Saints’ Assembly (6 years)
Hop Yat Church (Hong Kong Church)
 Basic information:
 Name: Hop Yat Church (Hong






Kong Church)
Address: 2 Bonham Road, HK
Staff: 2 pastors, 4 missionaries, 5
staff
Background: London Missionary
Society (Presbyterian,
Congregationist and Methodist)
Founding year:1842
The first church in Hong Kong
Year of the Completion of the
Construction: 1926
History/Origin
 London Missionary Society were formed by Presbyterian,




Congregationist and Methodist Denomination in U.K.
and adopted the Congregationist church structure
London Missionary Society (LMS) sent our missionaries
to Hong Kong
1st Missionaries – Dr. Benjamin Hobson (1816 ~1873) in
Hong Kong
James Legge (1814~1897), John Chalmers (1825~1899),
E.J. Etiel (1838~1908) , H.R. Wells etc.
Missionary nature: Establishing hospitals, medical
services, translation on medical documents, Translation
of the Bible and Classic Chinese books, studying the
Chinese calendar and culture, preaching etc.
History/Origin










LMS Missionaries Rev. Robert Morrison and Rev. William Miline
established Ying Wa College in 1818 at Malacca (i.e. Malaysia)
1843: Ying Wa College was moved into Hong Kong. Increase in no. of
converts
1856: changing of the venue for worship to Missionaries home
1862: Established The Chinese Christians Organization in arranging the
affairs of the church
1879: Substantial Growth in Congregation members
1885: Invited Rev. Wong from Rhelish Church to lead for 18 years
1886: Received a land, half for hospital half for church
1887: Hospital completed
1888: Daoji/To Tsai Church completed
1908: Invited Switzerland Basel Mission Society Missionary Cheung
Chuk Ling (to mange the church affairs

1910: Changed from Elder system to Church council system
History/Origin

1913: First ordination for Rev. Cheung Chuk Ling

1921: Joined the Christian Church for China (CCC), Decided to move the church and hospital
to Bonham Road.

1922 - 1926: Joined effort between Daoji members and the Chinese of Australia Elder Church

1926: Church completed and the poll for the name of the church was ‘Hop Yat Church’

1941: Japanese invasion

1945: End of WW II

1950: Plan to build Kowloon Church as too many members lived in Kowloon

1955: Hop Yat Church Kindergarten started

1957: Hop Yat Church (Kowloon Church) completed

1960: Hop Yat Primary School started

1963: Planning for North Point Church

1984: Hop Yat Church North Point Church) completed, Kindergarten started in September

1994-1997: Hop Yat Church Ma On Shan Church with Kindergarten

1997: Open a Elderly Service Centre at North Point
Liturgy – Sunday Morning Service
 Invocation
 God’s Word
 Responses and Blessing
 Features
 Recite of the Apostle Creed
and the Lord’s Prayer
 Fixed hymns in invocation,
tenth offering and after the
sermon
 Use of traditional hymn
book in the service only
Liturgy – Teenage Worship (After 1997)
 Praising with Hymns
 God’s words
 Response and blessing




Features:
Use of Band and modern hymns
Service hold by the Band members
Cooperation with HKU Fellowships and The Boys’
Brigade
 On Saturday afternoon
 Preceded by fellowships and spiritual classes
Development - Local
 Local services:
schooling
(Kindergarten, primary
school), youth services,
social elderly services,
fellowships in Hong
Kong University etc.
Development – Missionary
 Established a missionary corner
 Send missionaries to Muslim
countries, medical services and
social services in Mainland China
 Organized various short
missionary trips to different
places such as Cambodia and
China
 Various short term missions in
China in order to provide support
to new churches and establish
new churches
Swatow Christian Church Kowloon City
 Name: Swatow Christian Church





Kowloon City
Address: No. 39, Grampian Road,
Kowloon City, Kowloon.
Staff: 1 pastor, 4 preachers, 3
staff
Background: English
Presbyterian Mission (E.P.M.)
and American Baptist Foreign
Missionary Society (A.B.F.M.S.)
Founding year: 1973
Remarks: Second Church for the
Union of Swatow Christian
Church
History/Origin








1st Missionary – Karl Friedrich August Gutzlaff (1803-1857).
Trained in Netherlands Missionary Society. Being sent to Batavia in 1826
then to Rhio.
Become independent Missionary and went to Thailand with LMS
missionary Jacob Tomlin in 1828.
1828-1831: Preaching in Bangkok and contacted many Chinese in which
most of them were from Chaozhou.
1830-1831: Baptized Chaozhou Chinese merchant Boon Tee(Bun Tai) in
Bangkok who became the first Chinese Christian leader there. The Gospel
spread to China through the line of Family of Chinese in Bangkok.
1831-1833: Gutzlaff paid three visits to the regions in China in which two
times were at Chauzhou. He distributed Bible and preach each time he
went to China.
1844: Established Christian Association for Propagating the Gospel
Published the book ‘The Journal of Three Voyages’
History/Origin

1836: Rev. & Mrs. Jshu Lewis Shuck from American Baptist Board of Foreign Mission came
to Hong Kong and preach

1860: They left Hong Kong and preach in Shantow

Rudolph Lechler (1824-1908) and Theodor Hamberg of the Basel Missionary Society were
sent to Hong Kong at 1846 under the influence of Gutzlaff’s book.

1842: Rev. & Mrs. Jshu Lewis Shuck cam back to Hong Kong and established Hong Kong’s
first Baptist Church – Queen’s Road Chapel, preaching in Hong Kong restarted

1848: Being forced to leave Hong Kong ->Seeking preaching opportunities in ChaoSan and
stayed a few months ->failed and returned to Hong Kong and forced to leave again

1849: Return to China again

1852: Chaozhou government prohibited Christianity and Lechler were forced to leave. He
returned after 6 months but did not stay long and returned to Hong Kong

E.P.M. Missionary took up the lead after Lechler left for 4 years

1881: First church and school were built under great opposition of the villagers

3rd Missionary team: William Chalmers Burns (1815-1868) and James Hudson Taylor (18321905) whom arrived at Chaozhou at 1856

1858: E.P.M. established Swatow Mission as the first preaching/missionary region in China
History/Origin
 1860: John W. Johnson and William Ashmore Sr. from American







Baptist Board of Foreign Mission came to Chaozhou to preach
1856-1949: E.M.P. preached in the region through medical
services and education.
1860-1949: A.B.F.M.S. preached in the region through medical
services, education.
1882: Ordination of the first Chinese pastor Tan Khailin.
1900: Decided to preserve the service in the local language
1905-1905: Many Presbyterian church councils for the whole
China were held
1907: The Christian Presbyterian Church for China was formed,
various names were adopted.
1914: The name changed to The Christian Church for China under
the proposal of the Swatow Mission Council of E.P.M. in 1912
History/Origin







Mid 19th Century: Opening up of Shantow and Hong Kong as trading
ports
Dr. George Duncan Whyte (1879-1923), E.P.M. Missionary in Shantow at
1902, preaching, healing and joining different conferences organized by
different Christian Missionary groups such as Medical Missionary
Association.
Swatow Christian Church was established by Dr. Whyte and a few
Chaozhou Chinese in Hong Kong. They first rented from YMCA to start
services.
1911: Received recognition from the Shantow Presbytian Council and
ordained Rev. Yau.
1914: Church stopped due to WWI
1923: Church restarted as more and more Shantow Chinese came to Hong
Kong to make a living
1928: Renamed as ‘The Church of Christ in China for Travelling Shantow
Chinese’ (My translation)
History/Origin














1930: Found appropriate site for services and rented for a long time
1933: Planning to cater for members in Kowloon
1935: Decided to purchase a site for building the church
1936: Preaching team in Kowloon formed
1937: Church meetings were held at Kowloon city
1938: The preaching team moved to Tsim Tsai Tsui and started church meeting in
rented flats
1951: moved to the current Hong Kong Church site
1937-1941: Japanese Invasion
1937: Kowloon City church rented a place for service
1939: Planned to purchase land for the Church
1927-1932: Put a halt in finding suitable sites for Hong Kong Church but bough
the site in Grampian road in Kowloon City
1941: Church ceased functioning
1942: Church function recovered
1945: Church growth exponentially after WWII
History/Origin
 1947: Change of the name to Swatow Christian Church due
to it’s ‘Congregation’ nature instead of Church nature
(Accept both immersion or sprinkling baptism)
 1948
afterwards: With the three churches running
individually and the huge growth in congregation members,
each church established 2nd generation churches and schools
in different places in Hong Kong such as Chai Wan (1962),
Aberdeen(1970),
Tsuen
Wan(1974,1997),
Eastern
District(1976) and Shau Kei Wan (1988), Shan Po Kong
(1963, 1987), Carmel church (1950s), Ngau Tau Kok (1975,
1989) Shatin (1991), Kwun Tong(1962,1986), Tsz Wan
Shan(1973, 1991) Lok Wan (1987, 2007) etc.
Liturgy – Sunday Service










Worship
The Word of God
Sacraments – Holy Communion and
Receive of new converts
Communication
Blessing
Features:
Choir decides the songs in invocation
The theme song of the year is used in
the Procession
Only 1 fixed song for blessing which
changes from year to year
Use of traditional hymn books in the
services
Liturgy – Evening Worship





Praising with Hymns
God’s words
Responses
Communication and Report
Blessing





Features:
On Saturday night
Use of Band and modern hymns
Service hold by ‘Worshipper’
Promotion and introductions are
involved in Communication and
Report session
Development - Local
 Current target
 Rebuild the new church
 Sustain the no. of
members
 Personal
preaching/Gospel
sharing of each
individual members
Development – Missionary

Established a missionary committee

Provide aids and support to the
related churches in Mainland China

Organized various short missionary
trips to different places such as
Macau and Shantow

Provide support to schools

Send missionary to mainly China and
Middle East
Christian Saints’ Assembly
 Name: Christian Saints’





Assembly
Address: 2/F, No.5-9 Tak Sun
Building, 442-448 Ma Tau
Wai Road, Tokwawan.
Staff: 4 preachers, 2 Staff
members
Background: Scandinavian
Independent Baptist Union,
Lutheran, Assembly
Founding year: 1956
Feature: Presbyterian and
Congregtionalists church
structure
History








Madam Asta Nilsson (1922-2005) is one of the founders of the church.
She lived in the southern part of Switzerland whose family was a farming
family.
1937: A missionary couple in China of their Church visited their home,
shared the needs in China (陝西北部) and accidentally urged Madam
Asta Nilsson to reflect on her belief. She baptized on this year.
1939: At the age of 17, Madam Asta Nilsson received to calling to serve
in China and she submitted to God’s will.
1942: Applied to be a missionary in the Scandinavian Independent Baptist
Union and received training for 4 years.
1946: Set off to China and arrived Shanghai
1947: Arrived Beijing and preached in Inner Mongolia area
1951: Being requested to leave by the Communist government and she
returned home
1954: Knowing the influx of refugees in Hong Kong, Madam Asta
Nilsson came to Hong Kong to serve in the refugee camps.
History
 1956: Madam Asta Nilsson and Rev. Fan rented a flat in





Tokwawan for worship services after praying. She also
established the Baptist Primary School until the 9 year
compulsory education policy released in Hong Kong in the
70s
1956-1987: Actively participating in preaching and
theological training (e.g. teaching in the Alliance Bible
Seminary)
1987: Madam Asta Nilsson retired and returned to
Switzerland. She also minister some churches there.
2000: New church were planted in Tseung Kwan O by renting
the kindergarten campus and the hall of secondary school
2005: Madam Asta Nilsson Rest in peace
2007: Rented Evangel Seminary Hall and formed the third
Liturgy – Sunday Service
 Invocation
 Worship
 Sacrament – Holy Communion
only
 God’s words
 Blessing
 Features:
 Simple service structure with less
clear cut sessions
 Use of modern hymns
 Use bands in certain occasions
 Only ‘liturgical’ session is the
blessing
Liturgy – Teenage Service










Hymns Worship
Testimony [In certain services]
God’s words
Report
Blessing
Features
Use of new modern hymns
Use of Band frequently
Simplified liturgy in the service
On Saturday afternoon with
various fellowships afterwards
 Music Players are all from the
various fellowships
Development - Local
 Church Planting
 Expanding the church
 Youth ministry –
Gospel Camp in
Adventurous style, The
Ambassador of Christ,
Cooperation with
Breakthrough
Development – Missionary
 Missionary has been
sent out to Thailand for
more than 18 years in
which Rev. Mak is
serving there.
 Missionary and
theological training
have been provided to
the different provinces
in China
SIMPLE GENERALIZATION ON
HONG KONG CHURCHES FROM
STUDYING THE THREE
Ecumension
CHURCHES Development Trend (Missionary Focus)
Ecumension – Organizations
 The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ
in China (CCC) was originally one of the parishes
in China. Nevertheless, under the persecution of
the Communist government, only the Hong Kong
Council remains.
 The Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches
Union was first formed in order to solve the
practical issues of the church members such as the
places for burial in which it’s function remains
today.
Ecumension – Phenomenon
 Succeed only when there is a strong leader in
coordination and gathering the churches such
Billy Graham in which his evangelical
meetings were a Regional Church activities.
 Each denomination and each church have their
own union in coordinating the development
and expansion of the church.
 Interdenominational cooperation is limited.
Ecumension - Results
 Not succeed
 Limited cooperation existed occasionally under
certain conditions
 The nature of Chinese is to work individually
 Pride and fear of the different denominations
 Factors causing the schim in other
America/Europe proposed by Grudem (2007)
such as ‘No cooperation’ and ‘No personal
fellowship’ (p.879) also applied in the situation of
the churches in Hong Kong
Development
 Local:
 Church planting
 Expanding physically – Purchase new sites or
rebuild
 Adopt the new way of worship (The use of
modern hymns and band)
 Focus on Youth ministry
 Serving the local community through providing
various social services and education such as
elderly home and schools
Development
 Overseas:
 Great emphasis has been placed on the different
region in China in the form of establishing
churches, providing theological training or
through various form of social and educational
services
 Middle-east/Muslim communities are also a big
focus for Hong Kong Churches
 Southeast Asia is also another focus for Hong
Kong Churches
 The emergence of the idea ‘on the job missionary’
References
English

Carmel Secondary School (n.d.) History. Carmel Secondary School. Retrieved 23rd
April, 2010, from http://www.carmelss.edu.hk/html/index.php?id=16&L=1

Grudem, W. (2007) Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine.
England: Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Vasity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

Hong Kong SAR Government (2009). The Heritage Trails. Leisure and Cultural
Services Department: Antiquities and Monuments Office, Hong Kong. Retrieved 22 nd
April, 2010, from http://www.amo.gov.hk/en/trails_sheungwan1.php?tid=22

Hop Yat Church Hong Kong Church (n.d.). The History of Hop Yat Church. Hop Yat
Church Hong Kong Church: Hong Kong. Retrieved 22nd April, 2010, from
http://hychkc.hkcccc.org/

Mid Levels (n.d.) AbsoluteAstronomy. Retrieved 22nd April, 2010, from
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mid-Levels
References
English

Morrison and Hobson Families (n.d.). Wellecome Library: U.K.. Retrieved 22nd April,
2010, from http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/assets/wtl040095.pdf

Munsang College (n.d.) Munsang History. Munsang College. Retrieved 23rd April,
2010, from http://munsang.edu.hk/secondary/about_munsang/history.php

Swatow Christian Church, Kowloon City (n.d.) The History of Swatow Christian
Church, Kowloon City . Swatow Christian Church, Kowloon City : Hong Kong.
Retrieved 22nd April, 2010, from http://scckc.org.hk/history.htm

The History of The English Presbyterian Mission 1847-1947: Swatow (n.d.)

Ying Wa College (2009). School History. Ying Wa College: Hong Kong. Retrieved 22nd
April, 2010, from http://www.yingwa.edu.hk/page.action?id=43
References
Chinese
 陳潔光 (2009). 福源潮汕澤香江: 基督教潮人生命堂百年史述(19092009). 香港 : 商務印書館. [Lee, K.K., Chan, K.K. and Yeung,
L.S.(2009). A Centennial History of Swatow Christian Churches in Hong
Kong 1909 – 2009. Commerical Press: Hong Kong.]

錢衛樑 (2006). 薪盡而火傳的艾喜德教士 — Asta Nilsson，1922-2005.
美國中信網上雜誌: 傳雙月刊 (二零零六年十一月／十二月號．總第
109期). Retrieved 23rd April, 2010, from
http://ccmlit.org/Proclaim/Proclaim_109/Proclaim_109_03.html

劉紹麟 (2003). 香港華人敎會之開基: 一八四二至一八六六年的香港
基督教會史. 香港 : 中國神學硏究院.

劉粤聲 [主編]. (1996). 香港基督敎會史(2版). 香港: 香港浸信敎會.
Q&A
Thank you very much!
THE END