It is one of the churches for the Vågsfjord parish which is part of the Trondenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Regardless which theory is accurate, a new church was built on the island around the year 1640.

A new cruciform church was built on the site in 1766 to serve the parish.

In the 1880s, it was decided to close Sandsøy Church and move the building to Bjarkøya.

So in 1885–1886, the building was disassembled and moved to the neighboring island of Bjarkøya, where it is located in the village of Nergården and it is now called Bjarkøy Church.