Hong Kong AG Celebrates Centennial

In recognition of 100 years of Assemblies of God history in China, dating from early missionaries W.W. Simpson and Victor Plymire, the Assemblies of God of Hong Kong (incorporated as Ecclesia Ministries Limited) recently held four months of commemorative events.

Simpson served on the first AG Foreign Missions Committee in 1917. His years in China were marked by deep personal hardship, including the murder of his missionary son, William E. Simpson, by bandits. He remained in China until 1949, giving focus to ministerial training and helping churches to become self-sustaining.

Plymire, another AG missions visionary, labored 16 years in northwest China before baptizing his first convert in 1924. In 1927, Plymire lost his wife and son to smallpox. He remarried and continued to minister in China and Tibet. His son, David, has extended the family’s missionary influence in Asia beyond the century mark.

Centennial observances in Hong Kong culminated in November convocation at the AsiaWorld-Expo Convention Center. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the U.S. Assemblies of God, was the featured speaker at the service.

“Because Dr. Wood’s parents served as missionaries in China when he was a child, that speaks a lot to the Chinese people,” said Pastor Benjamin Sun, chairman of Ecclesia Ministries Limited and pastor of First Assembly of God in Hong Kong.

“It was a great privilege for me to minister at the services and relate the stories of some of the early Assemblies of God missionaries to China,” Wood said.  

The Hong Kong centennial reflected the deep commitment of the Assemblies of God to reaching the Asian metropolis with the gospel, both through local churches’ public message and congregations’ compassionate ministry to those in need.

“The future of the church is global,” said Edmound Teo, senior pastor at International Christian Assembly. “We live in a very transient world where people can live in several cities at the same time. God will help to bring greater diversity. In particular at ICA, I want to see us emphasize the baptism in the Holy Spirit as our foundation for being international, intergenerational, Pentecostal in ministry and doctrine, and missional.”

See the full story and images from Assemblies of God World Missions here.

Image used in accordance with Creative Commons license. Photo credit: Pasu Au Yeung, Flickr

Scott Harrup

Scott Harrup is senior editor at Convoy of Hope. He previously served as managing editor of the Pentecostal Evangel.