It is located in the village of Hesby on the island of Finnøy.

It is the church for the Hesby parish which is part of the Tungenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

Hesby was the seat of chiefs during the 11th century and during the Middle Ages was the residence of several notable Lendmenn.

A large tower with a steeple on the west end of the building was removed during the early 1800s.

Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in Eidsvoll later that year.