A welcome for the coming king

On Sunday September 23, the people of St. Andrew's were preparing for an important visitor.

Prince William, the heir to the throne, was due to make a public appearance for the press before beginning his university career in this small, ancient Scottish town. There was great excitement - hours before the official appearance groups of young girls were beginning to appear behind the barricades.

The University of St. Andrew's had experienced a rise of some 49% in applications, many from young women from the USA. A week after all this excitement another beginning occurred in St. Andrew's almost at the same spot. Unnoticed by the media and most of the inhabitants, a new church was begun.

A town of martyrs

St. Andrew's has a significant historical background. Having the largest cathedral in Scotland, St. Andrew's was closely involved in the events of the Reformation. Patrick Hamilton was burnt for heresy - the place where he was executed is marked by a stone just outside Martyrs. George Wishart was also martyred here. The end of the Cathedral came in 1559. John Knox preached a series of sermons in Holy Trinity Church for three days from June 14. He had barely finished speaking when the mob, orchestrated by the Protestant lords, made off to attack the Cathedral and to 'purge the Kirk and down the altars and images to all kinds of idolatry'.

It is impossible for anyone with any sense of history not to be aware of the significance and depth of these events when visiting St. Andrew's. To some extent this history still has a part to play in modern church relationships - most of the churches are keen to put aside the divisive past and work together in the ecumenical movement. However, the price for this is to generally ignore or discard the gospel doctrines for which Wishart and Hamilton were martyred.

Help from Dundee

St. Peter's Free Church in Dundee, some 12 miles away, had for a number of years received regular visitors from St. Andrew's who were looking for a Reformed Evangelical church. Concern was expressed that St. Andrew's was the only university town in Scotland where there was not a strong church which proclaimed the doctrines of the Reformation. For a number of years there was a group within the Church of Scotland who had been praying that one of the reformed Bible-teaching men within that church would be called to one of the four Churches of Scotland in the town. The Free Church did not have a congregation in St. Andrew's and the nearest Free Church (St. Peter's) had fallen on hard times and was itself in need of revitalisation. However St. Peter's has experienced growth and renewal over the past nine years and, although still a relatively small congregation (about 80 people), it was decided to investigate a possible church plant in St. Andrew's.

Studying the problem

A study was done over a period of one year. It came up with some interesting conclusions. Despite being known as a 'religious place', over 80% of the population of 16,000 rarely if ever attend any church. The two major evangelical churches, the Baptist (attendance of 200) and Eden Fellowship (attendance of 100 plus) were doing a good work but there was still a need expressed for a church with a strong emphasis on Bible teaching. The Christian Union is considered to be a lively and vibrant community. It is the largest active student society in the university with an attendance of between 150-200 on a Friday evening.

What kind of church?

The question remained, what kind of church? We had looked at two main options - either plant an independent church or one which belonged to the Free Church. The first option was the favourite before we began the research, but after the research was done it was quite clear that this would not be the wisest course.

There was significant suspicion expressed of an 'independent' church. Furthermore, we discovered that in this non-denominational post-modern age many people were more comfortable with and less threatened by what they perceived to be an established and 'traditional' denomination.

Planting against the rules

St. Peter's therefore decided to go ahead on its own and plant a new Free Church in St. Andrew's. In some ways this church plant goes against all the church growth rules - there was no core group, no core families and it was evident from the beginning that this was going to be a church that primarily appealed to students. Yet the Lord has seen fit to bless and to encourage the work. Martyrs Church of Scotland were prepared to let their building on a Sunday afternoon and so St. Andrew's Free Church now meets at 4.00 pm every Sunday during term time. During the first term attendances varied from 15 to 70 with a core group of about 12 being established.

Most are students and come from a variety of religious, social and national backgrounds (Dutch, American, Chinese, English, Irish and even Scottish!). A prayer/fellowship group has been started and St. Peter's has appointed an elder and a deacon to help develop the new congregation. The wider Free Church has agreed to support the work and the church is currently looking for a suitable pastor.

What kind of pastor?

Prayer is asked for the ongoing work, for a suitable pastor to be found and for a couple of families/couples to come and help, especially with hospitality and outreach. St. Andrew's Free Church will be an unusual church reflecting the cultural background in which it is set. Most of the congregation will move on every three years. Yet perhaps because of that it also has the potential to be of significance throughout Britain and beyond. If we can instil a love for God's Word and bring people to Jesus then it may be that the story of the St. Andrew's Seven (men who went from St. Andrew's all over the world preaching the gospel) will be repeated. May the King of Kings be welcomed and exalted in St. Andrew's.