Baptist Convention of Hong Kong
Encyclopedia
The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong (Abbr: BCHK) is a cooperative association of Baptist
churches in the Hong Kong
.
to work with the Chinese
. Due to the hostility to foreigners in China at that time, missionaries were forced to work in areas with significant Chinese population in territories outside of Chinese control. In 1835, Dr. and Mrs. William Dean begun work with the Chaozhou
speaking Chinese in Bangkok
, Thailand
whereas the Revd. Jehu Lewis Shuck and his wife, Henrietta Shuck, started work among the Cantonese
speaking Chinese in Portuguese
ruled Macau
.
of Hong Kong
to the United Kingdom
in 1842, the Shucks relocated to the colony in March of the same year and were joined later in the year by the Deans. The first chapel was established in 1842 in Queen's Road
known as the Queen's Road Baptist Church and the Shucks also established a school for Chinese children where Henrietta served as director until her death in 1844. They were also joined by Issachar Jacox Roberts
who preached extensively in the villages of Hong Kong, particularly in the village of Chek Chue (known today as Stanley). In the same year, Roberts relocated to Canton
becoming the first European to reside outside the protected foreign factory as European compounds were known then.
and William Ashmore in 1860. With the help of one of the first baptized convert, Chen Dui, a second Chaozhou congregation was established in Cheung Chau
Island among the permanent residents.
With the transfer of the Chaozhou mission to Shantou
in 1861, the older congregation in Queen's Road closed down but the Cheung Chau congregation remained open, led by local Chinese leaders. Work was resumed among Cantonese speakers with the return of Johnson to Hong Kong in 1880 and by 1901, the Self-Governing Hong Kong Baptist Church (香港浸信自理會) was established.
Baptist Church (香港浸信教會), Cheung Chau Baptist Church (長洲浸信會), Aberdeen Baptist Church (香港仔浸信會), together with the outreach points at Yau Ma Tei
(油麻地佈道所), Hung Hom
(紅鋤佈道所) and Kowloon City
(九龍城佈道所), together established the BCHK.
With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many refugees entered Hong Kong, including Christians from the Baptist churches in China. This helped in the expansion of the work of the BCHK. This included Chaozhou speaking Baptists affiliated with the mission established by William Dean who set up the Hong Kong Swatow Baptist Church in 1948. In 1954, Chaozhou speaking missionaries were sent by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society at the request of local workers to help in the work and the Chaozhou speaking churches, collectively known as the Swatow Baptist Churches (later Shantou Baptist Churches) joined the BCHK.
(何文田). By 1998, a total of 31 kindergartens, 7 primary schools, and 8 secondary schools have been established by the BCHK.
In September 1956, the Hong Kong Baptist College was established as a successor institution to the Kwangtung and Kwangsi Baptist University and classes commenced from borrowed facilities at the Pui Ching Middle School. Dr. Lam Chi-Fung became the college's first president. In 1959, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the college's permanent campus at Waterloo Road. In 1966, the campus was finally completed and named the Ho Sin Sang Campus (善衡校園). In 1994, the college was granted university status and became known as the Hong Kong Baptist University
, making it the first church operated university in China since 1949.
The Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary was established in 1952 as a successor institution to the Leung Kwong Theological Seminary in Canton that was closed down in 1950. The Revd. Lau Yuet-sing served as the seminary's first president. The campus was originally located in Pok Oi Estate but was relocated to larger premises at Ho Man Tin in 1958. It relocated to its current campus in Sai O, Shap Sze Heung
, Sai Kung (North) in 1999.
and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches in the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Background
Baptist work in Hong Kong traces its roots from the first missionaries sent by the Triennial ConventionTriennial Convention
The Triennial Convention, founded in 1814, was the first national Baptist denomination in the United States of America. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was formed to advance missionary work...
to work with the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
. Due to the hostility to foreigners in China at that time, missionaries were forced to work in areas with significant Chinese population in territories outside of Chinese control. In 1835, Dr. and Mrs. William Dean begun work with the Chaozhou
Teochew (dialect)
The Teochew dialect of Southern Min Chinese is spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and by the Teochew diaspora in various regions around the world....
speaking Chinese in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
whereas the Revd. Jehu Lewis Shuck and his wife, Henrietta Shuck, started work among the Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
speaking Chinese in Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
ruled Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
.
Initial mission work
With the cessionTreaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanking was signed on 29 August 1842 to mark the end of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Qing Dynasty of China...
of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1842, the Shucks relocated to the colony in March of the same year and were joined later in the year by the Deans. The first chapel was established in 1842 in Queen's Road
Queen's Road
Queen's Road is the first road in Hong Kong built by the Government of Hong Kong between 1841 and 1843, spanning across Victoria City from Shek Tong Tsui to Wan Chai...
known as the Queen's Road Baptist Church and the Shucks also established a school for Chinese children where Henrietta served as director until her death in 1844. They were also joined by Issachar Jacox Roberts
Issachar Jacox Roberts
Issachar Jacox Roberts was an American Baptist missionary in 19th century China. Roberts was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, and graduated from Furman University, a Baptist school in Greenville, South Carolina...
who preached extensively in the villages of Hong Kong, particularly in the village of Chek Chue (known today as Stanley). In the same year, Roberts relocated to Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
becoming the first European to reside outside the protected foreign factory as European compounds were known then.
Consolidation
Mission work among the Cantonese was temporarily halted in 1845 when Shuck returned to the United States although Chaozhou language work continued among transient emigrant coolies with the Deans who were later joined by John W. JohnsonJohn W. Johnson
John W. Johnson was the third mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, serving from 1833 to 1835. He was elected mayor on November 9, 1833.- External links :* at the St. Louis Public Library: St. Louis Mayors website....
and William Ashmore in 1860. With the help of one of the first baptized convert, Chen Dui, a second Chaozhou congregation was established in Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau is a small island 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island, is nicknamed as the 'dumbbell island' for its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in the territory of Hong Kong, with a population of about 23,000 up to 2006...
Island among the permanent residents.
With the transfer of the Chaozhou mission to Shantou
Shantou
Shantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...
in 1861, the older congregation in Queen's Road closed down but the Cheung Chau congregation remained open, led by local Chinese leaders. Work was resumed among Cantonese speakers with the return of Johnson to Hong Kong in 1880 and by 1901, the Self-Governing Hong Kong Baptist Church (香港浸信自理會) was established.
BCHK established
On March 27, 1938, the Caine RoadCaine Road
Caine Road is a main road in Hong Kong connecting Bonham Road in the west and Arbuthnot Road and Upper Albert Road in the east ....
Baptist Church (香港浸信教會), Cheung Chau Baptist Church (長洲浸信會), Aberdeen Baptist Church (香港仔浸信會), together with the outreach points at Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei, also known as Waterloo , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.-Name:Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese...
(油麻地佈道所), Hung Hom
Hung Hom
Hung Hom is an area of Kowloon, in Hong Kong, administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of the railway in the Yau Tsim Mong District. Hung Hom serves mainly residential purposes though is mixed with some industrial buildings in the north.-Geography:Hung Hom is located...
(紅鋤佈道所) and Kowloon City
Kowloon City
Kowloon City is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is named after the Kowloon Walled City, and is administratively part of Kowloon City District....
(九龍城佈道所), together established the BCHK.
With the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many refugees entered Hong Kong, including Christians from the Baptist churches in China. This helped in the expansion of the work of the BCHK. This included Chaozhou speaking Baptists affiliated with the mission established by William Dean who set up the Hong Kong Swatow Baptist Church in 1948. In 1954, Chaozhou speaking missionaries were sent by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society at the request of local workers to help in the work and the Chaozhou speaking churches, collectively known as the Swatow Baptist Churches (later Shantou Baptist Churches) joined the BCHK.
Education
The first school was established by Henrietta Shuck but it did not survive her death. In 1933, a branch of Canton's Pui Ching Middle School was established in Ho Man TinHo Man Tin
Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District.-History:The original area of Ho Man Tin was quite different from the present-day one. It was located in the heart of nowaday Mong Kok. With cultivated lands,...
(何文田). By 1998, a total of 31 kindergartens, 7 primary schools, and 8 secondary schools have been established by the BCHK.
In September 1956, the Hong Kong Baptist College was established as a successor institution to the Kwangtung and Kwangsi Baptist University and classes commenced from borrowed facilities at the Pui Ching Middle School. Dr. Lam Chi-Fung became the college's first president. In 1959, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the college's permanent campus at Waterloo Road. In 1966, the campus was finally completed and named the Ho Sin Sang Campus (善衡校園). In 1994, the college was granted university status and became known as the Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...
, making it the first church operated university in China since 1949.
The Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary was established in 1952 as a successor institution to the Leung Kwong Theological Seminary in Canton that was closed down in 1950. The Revd. Lau Yuet-sing served as the seminary's first president. The campus was originally located in Pok Oi Estate but was relocated to larger premises at Ho Man Tin in 1958. It relocated to its current campus in Sai O, Shap Sze Heung
Shap Sze Heung
Shap Sze Heung is an area in Hong Kong, located in the northern part of Sai Kung Peninsula. Despite its proximity to the neighbouring areas administered by Sha Tin and Sai Kung districts, it is actually administered by Tai Po District.-Villages:...
, Sai Kung (North) in 1999.
Affiliations
The BCHK is a member of the Baptist World AllianceBaptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...
and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
Asia Pacific Baptist Federation
The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation is a regional organization of the Baptist World Alliance, a worldwide fellowship of churches that subscribe to Baptist distinctives. The APBF was formed in the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1973 as the Asian Baptist Federation...
.
See also
- Christianity in ChinaChristianity in ChinaChristianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...
- Christianity in Hong KongChristianity in Hong KongChristianity has been in Hong Kong since 1841. Of about 670,000 Christians in Hong Kong, most of them are Protestants and Roman Catholics.-Catholicism:...
- Hong Kong Baptist UniversityHong Kong Baptist UniversityHong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...
- Asia Pacific Baptist FederationAsia Pacific Baptist FederationThe Asia Pacific Baptist Federation is a regional organization of the Baptist World Alliance, a worldwide fellowship of churches that subscribe to Baptist distinctives. The APBF was formed in the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1973 as the Asian Baptist Federation...
- Baptist World AllianceBaptist World AllianceThe Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress.-History:...