Although Hong Kong was mainly used as a trading port, religion inherently followed the British to their newfound colony. However, it did not sweep the population. Rather, Christianity became much more potent as an means of structure through healthcare institutions and, even more so, educational spaces, than its churches.

In the Catholic community, Caritas is the official social welfare arm of the Church in Hong Kong; its services are open to the public and 95% of those who use them are not Catholic. Additionally, the first orphanage/elderly home was established in 1848 by the Catholic French Sisters of St. Paul de Chartes. Meanwhile, in the Protestant community, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui has been responsive to social needs and provides social services. In fact, many of Hong Kong's social service organizations were modeled after, initiated and promoted by the church. Currently, the Protestant community runs seven hospitals while the Catholic community handles six. 

However, though many ethnically Chinese people used and still utilise these services, health care or one's gratitude for such a system does not directly translate into religious conversion. In this sense, the Christian education system has had a much more potent effect.

In 1861, Frederick Stewart became the founder of the Hong Kong education system, bringing western-style philosophy to the east. Education was established by Protestant and Catholic missionaries who provided social services; the first school to open up Western medical practices was the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1887, which was established by the London Missionary Society (a Christian missionary at the time). Stewart's introduction of the education system coupled with the spread of Western-style education (including Western finance, science, history, and technology) through missionaries has been argued as the key to Hong Kong's successful and rapid modernization (Bray and Koo). 

The Hong Kong College of Medicine created the foundation for Hong Kong University, established in 1910. Currently there are three post-secondary schools run by the Protestant church and hundreds of Christian primary and secondary schools. Furthermore, according to the Hong Kong University Grant Committee, as of the 2011-2012 school year about one quarter (24.6%) of students considered themselves to be Christian; this makes university students twice as likely to be Christian when compared to the general public (12% Christian) (HKSAR Government). 

When paired with the historical strength of the Christian/Western education system, these statistics emphasize the effect Christianity has had, not through its churches, but through its place in the city's infrastructure. Historically, those that rose through the ranks to higher social positions, although still racially segregated, were those who completed Western-style, Christian educations. Therefore, there is a direct correlation between status and education and between education and Christianity. Thus, while Christianity may not have appealed to the masses through its religious aspects, it may have appealed to them through its educational offerings.