London:

A recent report from the Bible Society shows that the Chinese Church is currently the UK's fastest-growing church. The Chinese Church has seen a rise of 28.8% over the past two years, outpacing the Pentecostal Church (3.3%) and other minority ethnic churches (1.8%). A projected 83,072 Chinese Christians attended 138 churches in Britain in 2021 to worship. Currently, there are 201 churches with 114,976 Christians.

Congregations that speak Cantonese predominately are experiencing growth. The study was conducted by Dr. Yinxuan Huang for the Bible Society. “If we compare that to the growth rate in the ten years from 2011 to 2021, it is ten times higher. I believe the Home Office's BNO (British Nationals Overseas) visa program, which has drawn around 150,000 migrants from Hong Kong to reside in the UK since 2021, is the primary cause of the growth,” the researcher said.

"I believe that churches draw people because they can provide daily care and spiritual support to those going through such life transformations. New immigrants find the social role of the church to be quite enticing. And frequently, it's the only location where a new immigrant can find unwavering affection and support for anything from learning how to register with a utility company or the NHS to more crucial emotional care. Thus, these encouraging testimonies in and of themselves eventually compel more people to seek out information about the faith,” he added.

Former fellow at the London School of Theology Dr. Huang continued: "The Chinese Church in Britain is in an exciting period right now. As more people from the Chinese community are drawn to the Church, it is experiencing a period of phenomenal growth that also presents a missional opportunity. It's also a period when congregations in the area that speak English can invite worshippers from Hong Kong. There is a great chance for development, but also for mutual learning.”

According to the survey, not all Chinese Christians go to Chinese churches. One-fourth choose to go to an English-speaking church.

The Manchester Alliance Centre, which has expanded by a factor of six, is one of the Chinese churches with the quickest development. According to its pastor, the Rev. Wai Chor Chiu, "It was quite exciting when the UK government welcomed Hong Kong people to move." More than 1,500 people attended the church after it was six times bigger than before. It's a big change.

In 2020, the government declared that its new visa would allow British National Overseas nationals from Hong Kong and their dependent family members to immigrate to the UK and reside there for up to five years. They can then submit an application for permanent residence, which will lead to British citizenship subject to applicable qualifying requirements.

The strategy was implemented following the adoption of a new National Security Law by the Chinese government in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.