Planting a new congregation

For the people of St. Andrews in Scotland, life after Prince William is slowly returning to normal.

Although property remains over-priced and four years of tight security has left its mark, Prince William’s time here will gradually be confined to history. And we all knew this would happen. However within a week of the prince’s arrival, there was a small church starting whose future was far less certain.

The need

Regular readers of Evangelicals Now will remember a front page article five years ago reporting that St. Peter’s Free Church, Dundee, had just made the bold move to plant a new church in St. Andrews.

St. Andrews has a rich historical background, being at the heart of the Reformation in Scotland. Men such as Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart were martyred for the sake of the gospel. John Knox preached fervently, attacking the falsehoods of the Roman Catholic Church.

Despite this history, students with similar Reformed convictions to Hamilton, Wishart or Knox were travelling 13 miles to Dundee every Sunday in search of strong Bible teaching.

St. Peter’s then took steps to plant in St. Andrews. In doing this they broke the unspoken rules of church planting. The initial core of about 12 students would not be there for more than four years, there were no core families and the church would appeal mainly to transient students. Nevertheless the church plant went ahead — against the odds.

Moving forward

For two years the congregation met on a Sunday afternoon every week. This time saw slow, but steady growth. Instrumental to this early development was the preaching and pastoring of Grant MacAskill, an elder in St. Peter’s and PhD student at St. Andrews University. The church was then granted funding from the Free Church centrally to appoint a minister. The search for a suitable person started. And in September 2003 the Free Church appointed Alasdair I. Macleod as pastor. Alasdair was the perfect candidate for the job. His gift for teaching to a contemporary audience would appeal to students, while his experience in the ministry would ensure the church was taken in the right direction. Moreover Alasdair and Cathie’s passion for people would enable them to provide the hospitality and support that so many students need.

So, at the beginning of the academic year of 2003, St. Andrews Free Church started morning and evening services with the new pastor in place. From this point the church has gone from strength to strength. Undergraduates found the church a place of teaching and fellowship; several postgraduates settled in the church as the right place for them and their families; and a local family from nearby Cupar also joined the church. Now, in the third year of Alasdair’s ministry, there are regularly 70 attending services during term-time.

Despite the growing numbers, the church was not making much headway into the un-reached community. So in August 2005, the church was in the position to appoint a pastoral assistant for two years. Having recently graduated from the university, I was given the task of running youth and community projects for the church. Thanks to a youth group ran by students, around 15 young people and their families now have regular contact with a church. In addition to the youth work, flyering, public lectures and a ‘Christianity Explored’ course have all helped raise the profile of the church in the community.

Lessons for church planting

In St. Andrews, we have learned:

* First, there can be no substitute for faithful preaching of God’s Word. Alasdair’s week in, week out explanation and application of Scripture has been undoubtedly the catalyst in church growth. As a church we can put on dynamic programmes, interesting talks and informative courses, but if God’s Word is not at the centre, all these are in vain. They might interest or excite some, but it never lasts. The only thing that satisfies the soul is the Word of God.

* Secondly, reaching out should be done with the right medium. The preaching and ethos of the church must be sensitive to the audience. For St. Andrews this means an informal setting with a high level of teaching. It also means creating an environment that is relaxing and encourages Christian fellowship.

* Finally, a new church must show itself trustworthy. St. Andrews Free Church has worked hard at raising the profile of the church. We have found locals to be sceptical and suspicious of anything new. Therefore we run talks with non-threatening advertising, offer help for the community, and ultimately know how we can best serve them. Our aim is that local people come to trust the church. So when they come to seek after life, they will turn to the church and not to what the world has to offer.

Moving beyond a plant

The future of St. Andrews Free Church is still not certain. We have a strong number of students and a couple of core families, but we would still like to ask for your prayers. Pray that God would continue to make breakthroughs into the local community. For the long-term future, as well as the make-up of the congregation, local families are important.

Thank God for Alasdair and Cathie and their faithful, gracious ministry. Pray for wisdom and strength as they deal with all the joys and challenges of working with students.

Finally, pray for St. Andrews that although they do not have the prince in their town, they would have the King in their hearts.

Matt Ford

© Evangelicals Now - March 2007
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