Chinese Heritage in British Christianity book launch

This blog post was written by Centre alumna Nuam Hatzaw, and originally published on the Church Mission Society blog on 8 April 2025.

Last week, in my role with the Acts 11 Centre for Global Witness and Human Migration, I had the pleasure of hosting the launch event for the new book Chinese Heritage in British Christianity: More than Foreigners (SCM Press) edited by Alexander Chow of the University of Edinburgh.

The book responds to an important, ongoing moment in British Christianity. On the one hand, historic denominations across Britain, such as the Church of England, are recording unprecedented decline in church attendance and membership. On the other hand, British Chinese Christianity is one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the UK today, and these Christians are revitalising existing churches or starting new, vibrant congregations that challenge us to think differently about what we mean when we talk about British Christianity.

These were some of the issues explored at the launch, which was attended by 60 people and held in Hammersmith at the historic Chinese Church in London, which was founded by Stephen YT Wang in 1951 and was one of the first Chinese churches in Britain.

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Book Launch: Chinese Heritage in British Christianity

Join us in celebrating the publication of Alexander Chow’s recently edited volume, Chinese Heritage in British Christianity: More than Foreigners (SCM Press 2025).

From the publisher’s website:

This is a critical and unique time for British Chinese Christians. On the one hand, the national churches of each of Britain’s four nations have experienced an unprecedented decline in church attendance. On the other hand, British Chinese Christianity is today amongst the fastest growing Christian populations in the United Kingdom. But there is a much longer history in the background, with the first Chinese Christian in Britain dated to the 17th century, and a sizeable population existing since the late-19th century, eventually creating the first Chinese church established in Liverpool in 1910. This book tells the story of the rise of British Chinese Christianity, and how the British Chinese have been shaping and reshaping the future of British Christianity. It brings together theological educators, church ministers, and parachurch leaders in a collaborative project speaking to the historical and contemporary situation of British Chinese Christianity, and prospects moving forward.

The launch will be held on Friday, March 28th 2025, at 7:30pm, at the Chinese Church in London, Hammersmith (69-71 Brook Green, Hammersmith, London, W6 7BE).

Please register here.

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If you are unable to access the video above from YouTube, you can also try watching it from the University of Edinburgh’s Media Hopper service.

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On November 29, 2023, the Centre held a book launch for Andrew Walls’s posthumously authored book, The Missionary Movement from the West, published in 2023 through Eerdmans. Panelists included the editor, Brian Stanley, and three respondents, Ray Burbank, Ken Ross, and Emma Wild-Wood.

If you are unable to access the video above from YouTube, you can also try watching it from the University of Edinburgh’s Media Hopper service.