Flowering in Scotland

Twelve years ago the Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian (RP) Church in Scotland was, like many small churches in the UK, drifting its way out of existence.

Caught in a devastating self-preservation mode, church life consisted of a one-hour service for the 20+ ‘faithful’ on a Sunday morning. The prospect was bleak — with an average age in the 70s, the writing was more than just on the wall.

Today this exclusively psalm-singing congregation in one of the most socially- deprived areas of the UK is a vibrant annually-growing community of over 90 people. Average participation at morning and evening worship is around 80 to 90 people.

All ages

The Sunday morning all-ages prayer meeting is averaging about 50, and the Bible classes have an average participation in the high 20s.

During the week, ten ‘MET’ (Bible study) groups meet with over 90 people regularly attending. Each year the congregation invests heavily in its young people by sending them to summer camps in Northern Ireland and on mission teams to Ireland, Cyprus and America. The congregation also hosts a month long American RP Missions team each June, and they arrange for college students to come and intern as part of the ‘Semester in Scotland’ programme run by the church.

How has it happened?

How has this revitalisation happened in a once small, Reformed Presbyterian church, given the backdrop of ever-declining church life in Scotland? There have been a number of factors, but the key catalyst has been a refocusing of the leadership which prioritises the building of the body of Christ, with sinners saved and believers discipled. Convinced that it’s the leadership’s responsibility to encourage and enable professing believers to live for Christ, when called to the church 12 years ago, the Rev. Andrew Quigley began his ministry by focusing on four specific areas:

1. Building a strong relationship with his fellow elders, men of God who had become discouraged by the ever-declining situation they’d found themselves in. Central to this team-building process was the starting of a weekly Session prayer meeting, which has been going for the past ten years.

2. Encouraging the members to come to worship twice on the Lord’s Day. Although initially discouraged by some from having an evening service on the basis that ‘no one will come’, through perseverance, prayer, and a very direct preaching style, the Lord has increased the average participation from 12 in 1995 to over 80 this year.

3. Encouraging the members to participate in a weekly prayer meeting. Starting with eight people meeting for ten minutes prior to worship on the Lord’s day, weekly participation is now in the mid 50s, with seven or eight groups of eight meeting to pray in the church hall before worship each Sunday morning.

4. Encouraging the members and new converts to read and study the Bible. Initially Andrew began meeting with just one or two of the members in their homes to read and study a chapter of the Bible and pray together. The goal of these monthly home Bible studies was simple — to get the members engaging with God outside the Sunday services.

MET groups

In time, the frequency and number of these studies increased to the point where it was no longer possible for Andrew to lead them all, so he began bringing individuals and families together to form what became known as the MET groups (Mutual Encouragement Times — from Romans 1.12).

As the number of these MET groups increased, men were identified and appointed from within the groups who could lead them. This in turn freed Andrew to concentrate on leading the introductory METs for the new people coming to the church. Today the church has ten METs meeting each week, with an average weekly participation of over 90.

The format is simple. The passage to be studied that week in all the METs is indicated in the weekly church bulletin, the groups meet in family homes, read the passage, discuss it, and pray. The focus is on encouraging everyone associated with the church to be actively engaged in learning from God through his Word.

The impact on the body life of the congregation has been immense. The fact that everyone in the church, from the teenagers through to the 94-year-old great-grandmother, are reading and studying the same passage each week means there is a unity of purpose. The fact that care is taken to make sure that people are learning together in an environment free from the fear of getting it wrong, means that the resulting encouragement has enabled the body to grow as it builds itself up in love. Within the past month a new weekly theology MET has been introduced and, such has been the demand, that starting another one very soon is anticipated.

The goal of the new METs is to en-courage people in their theological development, so that as the church grows there will be a group of men and women who have both the knowledge and ability to lead a variety of MET formats, primarily the weekly Bible study MET, but also new METs relating to meeting specific needs.

New building needed

As to the future, Andrew said: ‘There are 40,000 people living in Airdrie and the fields are white for harvest. If the Lord calls out his people at the same rate as he has been doing over the past couple of years, then we’re going to have to move from our present building. A few of us have identified a large retail unit in the heart of the town as one possible location, which if it were to work out could prove to be an exciting development for the congregation.

‘One thing is for sure though. If we stay focused on abiding in Christ, in his Word, and in prayer, then we’re convinced that he will use us to produce much lasting fruit to the Father’s glory in Airdrie.’

All ages

How has it happened?

MET groups

New building needed

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