How Trinity Earley is growing a new Hong Konger church community

The story of Trinity Earley is being shared as part of a new series of national Church of England videos highlighting the impact of strategic investment. The videos are being shown to dioceses across the country to share lessons about how investment can help churches respond creatively to the changing needs of their communities. 

For many Hong Kongers who have made their home in the UK in recent years, finding a church has been an important part of rebuilding their lives and community. At Trinity Earley, that has grown into something much bigger. 

The first Cantonese-speaking services began at Trinity Earley in 2022. Today, more than 300 people worship there, while a further 200 attend a congregation at Winnersh, which was planted out of Trinity Earley. 

Revd Fung Lau has been central to that work, alongside Revd Jon Salmon (Project Leader), Katie Woo (Project Manager), and the Ven Stephen Pullin (Archdeacon of Berkshire). 

Revd Fung Lau describes the call to serve the community simply:

“I was called to come here.” 

The strategic investment has enabled Fung to work alongside a team of Hong Kong pastors, many of whom do not come from an Anglican background, helping to build relationships between the different Christian traditions and the Church of England. 

Fung’s ability to speak Cantonese and understand the cultural experience of the Hong Kong community has been an important part of that bridge-building. Over time, the ministry has developed its own rhythm of worship and discipleship, including a Cantonese Alpha course and opportunities to explore Eucharist, confession and confirmation. 

The community has also looked beyond Sunday worship. Its weekly outreach café attracts between 30 and 40 people who are not regular churchgoers, creating a relaxed place to meet, build relationships and explore faith. 

Since the ministry began, Revd Jon Salmon has also baptised around 30 people, mostly adults alongside some young people. 

For the Ven Stephen Pullin, Archdeacon of Berkshire, the growth demonstrates what can happen when churches are prepared to listen and adapt. He said:

“This only happened because people on the ground, whose hearts were for Jesus, recognised a group of people on the margins of society and were willing to change in any way to reach out to them, give them a home and worship together.” 

The story also demonstrates the importance of allowing leadership and ministry to emerge from within a community, rather than expecting people to fit immediately into existing structures. 

The aim is not to create a permanent parallel church community. Fung’s vision is for the Hong Konger community to become increasingly connected with the wider Church of England. Fung said:

“We support our members to merge into the local church, and I think unity is the next step and also we build up one body of Christ. So one church is the next step.” 

For those who have had to leave their homes and rebuild their lives elsewhere, the opportunity to worship together in their own language has been particularly significant. A congregation member said:

“This church means a lot to us Hong Kongers, who unrooted from our countries, from our church lives, so that we can come and be gathered together and worship in our own language.” 

The experience at Trinity Earley offers a number of important lessons for the wider Church of England: the value of recognising communities that may otherwise find themselves on the margins; investing in leaders who understand those communities; working collaboratively across different Christian traditions; and being willing to adapt existing structures to make space for new communities to flourish. 

The next challenge is to build on that growth, strengthening connections between the Hong Konger community and the wider Church of England while continuing to support new leaders, new congregations and new opportunities for mission. 

Trinity Earley is one of many similar stories supported local mission.

More than 500 people now worship through the growing Hong Konger Christian community in Berkshire, following a strategic investment that has helped create a new expression of church, raise up leaders and build bridges between the Church of England and other Christian traditions. 

Follow the story from the early days at Trinity Earley’s Hong Konger Community: 

• In 2023, Trinity Earley reported growing from 120 people to just over 450 in just 10 months. 
• In 2025, Revd Fung Lau was welcomed to Trinity Earley as an Associate Minister and Katie Wood joined the diocese as Hong Kong Communities Enabler. 
• Earlier this year (2026) the Church of England launched a new national steering board, Hong Kongers in the Church of England, to support the rapid growth of Hong Kong Christians in parishes. 

For those involved, the experience demonstrates the potential of strategic investment to do more than fund individual projects. It can create the conditions for new leaders to emerge, new communities to flourish and new expressions of church to take shape. 

As the Church of England continues to respond to changing communities across the country, the experience at Trinity Earley offers an example of what can happen when investment is accompanied by trust, local leadership and the freedom to build something new.