The fastest-growing church? Maybe not what you think

A new report from the Bible Society has revealed that the fastest-growing church in the UK is the Chinese Church.

In just the last two years, there has been 29% growth in the Chinese Church in the UK – a large jump from the 7% growth they’d seen in the previous ten years. This is largely due to people emigrating from Hong Kong to Britain.

Before the report was published, the Pentecostal Church was considered the fastest growing denomination in the UK – however, in the same period of two years (2021–2023), it grew by a comparatively slow 2.8% (The Times).

This increase in Chinese Christians has also seen new Chinese Churches begin. Before 2021, there were 174 Chinese Churches in the UK, but there are now 201. Talking to The Times, Wai Chor Chiu, 52, shared that his congregation in Manchester has increased tenfold, and he’s had to open three new premises to welcome them. ‘Before the lockdowns we had 200 people, including adults, children and teenagers,’ he said. ‘Now we have 2,000.’

Since the UK Government’s introduction of the British National (Overseas) visa just two years ago, nearly 160,000 Chinese people have come to settle in Britain and the total number of ‘ethnic Chinese Christians’ has shot up to over 115,000.

Anecdotally, it seems that many Chinese people who are new to the country seek out a church where they know other Chinese Christians are, being drawn to people who speak the same language and can help them settle. As Dr Yinxuang Huang, who carried out the survey, said: ‘This is an exciting time … It is a missional opportunity as others from within the Chinese community are drawn to the church’ (Premier Christianity).

However, this doesn’t just offer missional opportunity for Chinese Churches. The report also discovered that a quarter of Chinese Christians prefer an English-speaking church.

In an article for The Spectator, Researcher in Church Growth John Hayward commented on the impact immigration has on church growth. He acknowledged that it is ‘a huge factor’, but ‘growth, once established, can go on for generations as it pulls in other people.’ He shared a personal story of how he had been at a meeting with representatives of Nigerian churches, and the majority in their congregations weren’t migrants. ‘Growing communities don’t just make believers, but “disciples”, who are able to pass on the faith’, he said.