St. Andrews Anglican Church on Nathan RoadPeople looking for English speaking churches in Hong Kong will find dozens to choose from. Hong Kong is multicultural with a large expat community. The expats and English speaking Chinese have founded large Protestant and Evangelical churches that have a large influence.
Here are our recommendations for Evangelical, Protestant and Pentecostal churches for tourists and information about other big English speaking services in Hong Kong.
Anglican: St. Andrews Anglican Church
What makes St. Andrews a good pick for a church visit is that the congregation is warm toward strangers with a lot of expats of various nationalities. The expats know what it is like to be visiting in a strange culture, so they've geared the services to accommodate newcomers.
Also, it is right in the middle of major tourist highlights in Hong Kong such as Nathan Road, Temple Street Market, and Kowloon Park. So you are only a few minutes walk from tourist highlights and close to convenient transportation.
The cathedral itself is quite big, built of red bricks in the cruciform pattern, and has a bell tower. It is beautiful inside with a mellow feel and colored strained glass. The doctrine and message has been decidedly evangelical in its history, and it isn't sectarian. Material from other Protestant churches or denominations are often used.
St. Andrew's has long been known as a very active church involved in education, social service outreach, evangelical outreach, refugee care, and community events. The multiracial congregation has an international feel and a mixture of worship styles characteristic of evangelical "born again" type expat churches in East Asia.
History of St. Andrews
Nathan Road (彌敦道) was the first road built by the British colonizers in Kowloon. It was built in 1860, and the cathedral was the first non-military building built on the road in 1906. Other more modern buildings such as the church offices and an auditorium were added to the complex later.
Essential Information
- Public hours: The building is open between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm except when there are functions.
- English services: 8:30 am in the cathedral. 9:30 am, 11:30 am, and 5 pm in the auditorium.
- Putonghua Chinese service: 11:30 pm in the cathedral.
- Address: 138 Nathan Road, Hong Kong
- Address in Chinese for taxi: 聖安德烈堂, 尖沙咀彌敦道138號
- Walk: You can walk there from the Star Ferry in about 25 minutes.
- MRT: Jordan Station D.
St. John's Cathedral, the main Anglican church building for the archdiocese, is more popular for its architecture.
Evangelical: Island Evangelical Community Church
This large, modern evangelical church stands out on Hong Kong Island for its size, multiracial community, the use of modern audiovisual technology, and many activities geared for people of many nationalities and ages. The doctrine is conservative evangelical.
The congregation is probably the largest English speaking Protestant congregation in Hong Kong besides the Vine Church. Many are educated professional expats or English speaking professional locals and local university students. There are also domestic helpers and less educated workers. There are four services on Sunday. Young children and older youth may meet in other rooms.
History
The new church opened in 1999 when about two hundred people from the Evangelical Community Church in Tsim Sha Tsui started meeting on Hong Kong Island. At first, they met in various rented facilities on the island. In 2008, the church moved into the large building it is presently in. Services are held in various floors to accommodate the crowds and for services for children.
Essential Information
- English services: 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 3 pm and 5 pm in the auditorium.
- Address: 633 Kings Road, Hong Kong Island
- Address in Chinese for taxi: 英皇道633號
- MRT: Quarry Bay MTR, Exit C.
Pentecostal: Vine Church
The Vine is the largest English speaking Pentecostal church. Like the others, it is multiracial. Though the congregation are of all ages, the services are geared towards teenagers and young people in their twenties. The Vine is known for their rock band and youth oriented fellowship, recreation, and training activities.
The church is also known for their assistance and aid for poor people and foreigners in trouble in Hong Kong. There are a lot of Africans and people from other third world countries attending.
History
In the early 2000s, a congregation of about 100 people made two former executives their pastors. Then the congregation moved into a building in Central. Then in 2009, they renovated a theater building in Wan Chai and moved in.
Essential Information
- English services: 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 3 pm and 5 pm in the auditorium.
- Address: 29 Burrows Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
- Address in English for taxi: 灣仔巴路士街29號 (京都戲院舊址)
- MRT: 5 minute walk from Wan Chai MTR exit A3
- Bus: 1, 5x, 6, 15, 23, 66, 101 and many others. The Island Tram stops near there too.
Orthodox: Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
- English service: 9:00 am
- Address: 704 Universal Trade Center, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Central
- Address in Chinese for taxi: 正教會普世宗主教聖統香港及東南亞都主教教區, 中環 亞畢諾道3號
- MRT: Central Station exit D1
Catholic: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
- English service: 9:30 am
- Address: 16 Caine Road, Mid-levels, Hong Kong Island
- Address in Chinese for taxi: 天主教聖母無原罪教堂,堅道16號
- MRT: Central Station exit D1
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