When people ask me to describe St Andrew’s, I sometimes say, “We’re old, but new”. St Andrew’s is old. Next year, we’ll celebrate our 120th anniversary. That’s a long time by Hong Kong standards. At one time, our church was the tallest in the area and is still one of the oldest. But we’re also new. Around thirty percent of our people have attended our church for three years or less. We welcome newcomers here all the time.
Throughout the years, one thing has remained unchanged about our community. We seek to know Jesus and to make him known to the city around us.
Whether you’ve been to St Andrew’s for a long time or you’ve only just recently joined us, we encourage everyone to be informed about our community life. A great way to do this is to come to our Annual Church Meeting (ACM) next Sunday afternoon. At this meeting, we reflect on the last year, giving thanks for what God has been doing in our church. A personal highlight is the time of Q&A, when you have an opportunity to ask questions about the life and ministry of our church.
A key part of the ACM is the election of a new church Council. The Council consists of two Trustees (who sit on the Church of England Board of Trustees, which has governance authority over St Andrew’s, in the Anglican Province of Hong Kong), as well as twelve Council Members. The Council provides oversight on matters of church finances, property, and policy. Council members are also active leaders in the ministries of St Andrew’s. An important function is that they bring questions and concerns from church members to Council
We seek to know Jesus and to make him known to the city around us
We encourage all people who call St Andrew’s their church home to do three things.
First, pray for our church, regularly. Pray big prayers. Pray that we’d have God’s Spirit to know God better (Eph. 1:17-18). Pray for the staff, Council, volunteers, and members of our church to faithfully serve Jesus, proclaim his gospel, and grow in holiness, for his glory.
Second, be informed. We regularly communicate to our members through our weekly email. In this email, you’ll get details of upcoming events, prayer points, the upcoming sermon passage, information about our children’s and youth ministries, and a link to the weekly story.
Third, be involved. I recently attended the HK Rugby Sevens at Kai Tak Stadium. It’s far more comfortable being in the stands watching the action than being a player working hard on the field. Sometimes that’s what we prefer at church as well. But when God calls us into a relationship with Jesus, he also calls us to action. We serve, using the gifts that he gives each of us, for the benefit of others. Inevitably, that’s how God grows us, as we’re pushed out of our comfort zone. We learn more about ourselves and about God as we get connected with the needs of others. St Andrew’s seeks to be a community where every member is involved in ministry. Our church staff would love to help you to get involved.
