United Kingdom

A. Introduction

The United Kingdom is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has played an important role in international affairs for many centuries.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Britain commanded a worldwide empire as the foremost global power. Because of this, the English language is spoken all over the world. Two world wars and the end of colonialism diminished its role, but the UK remains an economic and military power, with considerable political and cultural influence around the world.

Britain was the world’s first industrialised country. Its economy remains one of the largest but has for many years been based on service industries rather than on manufacturing. Its capital, London, is a major international centre for finance and culture.

The UK is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Its overseas community is highly diverse. Although freedom of religion is well established, over a quarter of the population of the UK identifies as irreligious according to the 2011 Census. However, Christianity was still found to be the largest religious group with nearly 60% of the population.

B. Development of the True Jesus Church

The church in the UK was originally made up of immigrants. She continues to grow due to an increasing number of members migrating to the UK over the years and the emergence of a new generation born here.

True Jesus Church members first migrated to the UK from Malaysia for either study or work in 1950. During the 1960s, these brethren began to contact each other and hold Sabbath services in various places in London.

From January 1960 onwards, members originally residing in the New Territories and Ap Chau in Hong Kong began to come to work in the UK. Initially, the majority of these brethren were single brothers and were working hard for a living. Since they were scattered in different places, they did not gather together to worship God. However, the year 1972 marked a turning point in their journey of faith after the IA sent two brethren to visit the members in the UK. A service was held for the first time in Ap Chau Restaurant in Newcastle with over fifty members attending. From 1972 to 1975, the brethren mostly from Ap Chau started to gather together to hold services and observe the Sabbath. Therefore, a number of churches were established one after another in England and Scotland from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s. The first True Jesus Church in the UK was established and dedicated in Newcastle on 12 July 1976.

An English sister and a handful of brethren from Malaysia and Taiwan began gathering together for Sabbath services in 2007 in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and a prayer house was established in 2011.

In recent years, more brethren have been migrating from China to the UK. Several places of worship holding regular Sabbath services were eventually established in the UK and Ireland. Some have even acquired their church buildings.

On 24 October 1989, a national church delegate conference was held at Newcastle Church. During the meeting, the church delegates passed a resolution to set up the General Assembly of the United Kingdom (UKGA) and elected thirteen members to serve on the first UKGA Board. Throughout these years, the UKGA has been striving to help local churches to strengthen their church organizational structure, equip brethren with spiritual wisdom and knowledge, provide training for future church development, and promote the work of evangelism in the UK.

There are currently six full-time preachers and one theological student in the UK. In addition to the pastoral and evangelical work within the country, the UKGA workers also have the opportunity to assist in overseas ministry, such as pastoral work in continental Europe and pioneering work in African countries.

As at the end of August 2019, there are nine local churches, two prayer houses, seven places of worship, and a few places for holding regular family services in the UK.

• UKGA Website