五十年來香港基督教會事工的發展

A Perspective of Hong Kong Christian Churches Development in the Last Fifty Years

LEE Chee Kong

In the last fifty years, Christian churches in Hong Kong have undergone obvious changes and adaptations in order to catch up with the steps and needs of the rapidly evolving society. The churches gradually established their own hierarchies and systems that enable multi-functional developments. The developments of local churches in the second half of the twentieth century can be divided into four major periods. In each period of time, the churches had a particular concern which reflects the needs of the society of Hong Kong at that moment.

1. Physical Concern — period for refugees relief (1950-1960);
2. Intellectual Concern — period for establishing educational systems (1961-1975);
3. Spiritual Concern — period for theological education (1976-1983);
4. Holistic Concern — period for setting up multi-functional developments (1984-2000)

These four major concerns reflect how the churches reacted to the social needs of different times and the allocation of resources to support the society. On the other hand, Hong Kong churches never gave up their duties of evangelistic out-reach and offering people holistic salvation.

Since the 1950s, the society of Hong Kong has faced different kinds of problems; the government itself has its own barriers on implementing policies and has created various obstacles. Local churches found themselves with the role of providing services to fulfill social needs in different situations. The churches provided services based on physical, intellectual, spiritual and holistic concerns to individual members of the society. It reflected how the churches firmly followed biblical teachings.

Fifty years ago, the local churches were still suffering from serious shortage of resources and were dependent on support from overseas Christian bodies. Now, most churches are not only self-sustained, but are also able to carry out worldwide missionary works. It also witnesses to the fact that God’s blessing has come to this place.