Kinmen Christian Church Introduction
In 1922, Pastor Ouyang Hou initiated the construction of a new church due to the inadequacy of the old church. The church was established in 1924 on part of the land purchased from the site of the former county magistrate’s office during the Qing Dynasty, which included a meeting hall and the affiliated Pei De Elementary School and kindergarten, and was completed in December 1924. In June 1934, Pastor Huang Weimin went to Southeast Asia for fundraising and gathered materials to build the pastor's residence. After the five ports were opened for trade in the late Qing Dynasty, Western missionaries came to Xiamen and Kinmen, but initially, the old customs did not harmonize, resulting in a small number of believers. In the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), the British London Missionary Society established meeting halls in two locations: Shamen in the east of Kinmen Island and Xiyuan Salt Field. The following year, another hall was set up in the South Gate of Houpu, with about a hundred practitioners; that same year, Presbyterian pastor Shao Dezhen preached in Kinmen and established a hall in the North Gate of Houpu, specifically on Lieyu. In 1900, the Chinese Christian Church was established, merging the London Missionary Society and the Presbyterian Church. The first president, Huang Hecheng, purchased land to build a church at the site of today’s Zhongxing Road in Beimen Village. In 1922, due to the increase in believers, the old church was no longer sufficient. The church decided to raise funds for reconstruction, and in April 1923, under the leadership of President Ouyang Hou, part of the land from the former site of the county magistrate's office was purchased to build a meeting hall along with Pei De Elementary School and kindergarten, costing over four thousand silver dollars, and completed in December 1924. The Houpu Christian Church is situated on elevated terrain, giving it a majestic appearance. The church is a single-story structure resembling a western-style building, while the pastor's residence, located in the Hulong area, is a "Wujiao Ji" western-style house. Source: Ministry of Culture.
