香港浸信教會歷史的首頁（1842-1900）

A Quest for Baptist Beginnings in Hong Kong (1842-1900)

Alex K. TO

Baptists started the first church in Hong Kong in the mid-nineteenth century. However, with regard to the exact date of its establishment, there seem to be no consensus among the various church historians, Hong Kong Baptist Church and the Hong Kong Baptist Convention . Concerning which is the oldest Baptist church in Hong Kong, both Hong Kong Baptist Church and Cheung Chau Baptist Church appear to be claiming the honor. The purpose of this study is to clarify the early history of Hong Kong Baptists in the nineteenth century.

When the pioneer Baptist missionaries, Issachar Roberts, Jehu Shucks, and William Deans, arrived in Hong Kong in 1842 respectively, they worked among different Chinese dialect groups and in various locations on Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula, and nearby outlying islands such as Cheung Chau. The first Baptist church, Queen’s Road Baptist Church, was soon established on May 15, 1842. Shortly after that, Bazaar Baptist Church, How Wan Baptist Church, Hong Kong Swatow Baptist Church, and several outstations including one in Stanley and one in Cheung Chau were also founded.

Despite their success in establishing churches and outstations as well as gaining a few converts within a short time, these early missionaries did not stay for long, and soon departed for a much larger gospel field in mainland China. Issachar Roberts and Jehu Shucks left for Canton in 1844 and 1845 respectively. Due to health concern, William Deans returned to the United States at the end of 1844. As a result, almost all churches and gospel stations, except perhaps for one or two places, were closed after their departure. Although there were other Baptist missionaries, such as John Johnson, arriving to continue the gospel ministry, the American Baptist mission decided to sell all its mission properties in Hong Kong and moved the headquarter in southern China to Chaozhou (also known as Swatow), Fukien Province in 1860. Since then, no more missionary was assigned to station in Hong Kong. After the departure of Baptist missionaries, a local Chinese lay leader, A Tui, helped maintain the gospel work and gather people to attend meetings whenever there were missionaries visiting Hong Kong from mainland China. However, he too left Hong Kong and retired to Chaozhou, his hometown, in 1873.

In 1875, Mrs. L. W. Johnson, the second wife of John Johnson, came to Hong Kong to resume the work left behind by her husband. She employed Tang Si-tang from Ling Tung Baptist Church in Chaozhou to teach in her school and assist in church works in Hong Kong. Baptist ministries revived and continued to grow from then on. Hong Kong Baptist Church, which is situated on Cain Road, can trace her history back to 1875. With regard to the Cheung Chau ministry, unless new historical evidence is found showing her uninterrupted existence in the nineteenth century, the present Cheung Chau Baptist Church can only claim that her continuous history started at the beginning of the twentieth century.