In Depth:  Free Church of Scotland

August has marked a significant milestone for two new Scottish church plants as they launch new weekly Sunday morning services.

Leven Free Church, in Leven, and Hope Church Leith, in Edinburgh, have each begun holding regular Sunday times of worship.

A church plant in the Merchant City area of Glasgow is embracing the historic motto of the city: “Lord let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of thy word and the praising of thy name.”

Neil Longwe and David Trimble share a vision of building a church that engages Glasgow’s culture, reaching out to those in search of spiritual renewal in this dynamic city. They are building a core team while worshipping with their “mother church”, Christ Church Glasgow. Given Glasgow’s drug crisis, they are exploring partnerships with mercy ministries to bring hope to those struggling with addiction.

Around 90 people from congregations in the Glasgow and Argyll Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland have attended the first ‘Healthy Church Gathering’ organised by the Free Church of Scotland.

Two main sessions were held. The first session focused on what it means to be a healthy Christian and what a healthy church looks like. Andrew Giffen, CEO of the Free Church of Scotland, spoke about these topics, with opportunity for discussion around tables.

Around 70 delegates attended the ‘In a Big Country’ conference about rural ministry held at Dingwall Free Church in Scotland.

The conference, which was organised by the Free Church of Scotland, was a great opportunity for delegates to study God’s word, to hear what He is doing in rural Scotland, and to encourage each other.

A new pastor is to be installed at Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Free Church of Scotland.

An Edinburgh Theological Seminary graduate, The Revd Joe Hall became a Christian in his teens and studied social anthropology at Edinburgh University. He will be inducted at the church at the end of August, subject to Scottish Covid-19 regulations. Reflecting over the past year, Joe said it was during the pandemic that he was first put in touch with Bon Accord through his online placement. Joe is originally from Romford, Essex and married to Susy, a doctor, and a pastor’s daughter.

The Free Church of Scotland will facili-tate a focused outreach initiative called ‘Generation19’ which aims to encourage local churches to reach out to their com-munities with the gospel.

In 2017 a census of Scottish churches was carried out by Brierley Consultancy which indicated a sharp decline in church attendance and engagement. The report showed that ‘some 390,000 people regularly attended church, being 7.2% of the Scottish population, down from 17% in 1984.’ This decline was the equivalent of ‘losing ten congregations per month’.

A congregation in the Highlands has given every household in their village a free copy of an evangelistic book explaining the Christian faith.

Copies of Magnificent Obsession, written by David Robertson, have been handed out as a Christmas and New Year present to the 300-strong Wester Ross district of Coigach.