Global Context and the Birth of Ap Chau

To understand Ap Chau, one must begin with the True Jesus Church.

♦ The True Jesus Church was founded in the Chinese Mainland in the early 20th century and began its missionary work there. Before World War II, missionaries established a church and provided medical care in the Sha Tau Kok market (Tung Wo Market). At the time, waterborne communities from the northeastern New Territories came to the market to sell their catches, and through this contact, many of them converted to the faith.

♦ By 1949, the church had left the Chinese Mainland. Ap Chau was chosen as the new site for the Sha Tou Kok Church because it was a popular docking spot for fishermen, and a considerable number of the church's adherents were "people-on-the-water" in the northeastern New Territories. With limited resources, a wooden church was built, which gradually attracted more fishermen to dock there and come ashore.

Over time, Ap Chau received support from various sectors, including:

♦ Fishermen's village: providing accommodation for fishermen who moved ashore

♦ Water supply: a reservoir was constructed in So Lo Pun and underwater pipelines were laid to provide fresh water to Ap Chau

♦ School: to improve fishermen's literacy, a Fishermen's Children School was established by using the church hall, and a new school building was completed in 1956

♦ Church reconstruction: the original wooden chapel was rebuilt in reinforced concrete, completed in 1965