The history of Flower Lane Church can be traced back to 1863 when the American Methodist Episcopal Mission in Fuzhou secured a house and lot on East Street (东街) within the city walls.

Yu Xingli (余兴礼, a Chinese Methodist pastor) purchased on East Street what used to be the mansion of a Ryukyuan king in Qing Dynasty and rebuilt it into a city institutional church named Central Institutional Church or Siong Iu Dong (尚友堂, Foochow Romanized: Siông-iū-dòng, lit.

[4] In the Republic of China Era, Siong Iu Dong was an influential religious organization, working chiefly for the official and literary class.

[3] After the communists' 1949 victory in the Chinese Civil War, all foreign missions were forced to leave this country and forbidden from interacting with churches in China.

Chen Lifu (陈立福) commissioned the German architect Dirk U. Moench (德克) to design a new community center on the plot of land adjacent to the historic monument.

Alongside a new service hall for over 1500 people the building comprises several prayer venues, libraries, study areas as well as a roof amphitheater for outdoor events.