Despite a difficult period within the Church of Scotland, evangelicals within the Baptist Union of Scotland (BUS) have reported great encouragement, with significant increases in church attendance and membership.
There is a ‘great sense of unity of vision and purpose’ among the conservative evangelical family of 155 BUS churches, said the Revd Dr Brian Talbot, minister of Broughty Ferry Baptist Church. Dr Talbot, who serves on the BUS Board of Ministry, said they are ‘greatly encouraged by the sense of both spiritual and numerical growth’ during 2022.
His comments follow a BUS Council Meeting in Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, in March where General Director Martin Hodson reminded delegates of their ‘vision for increase’ over the next decade.
Three strategic priorities for the vision were identified: prayer, church planting across Scotland and ‘pathway’ (training and supporting new church planters and evangelists). Significant progress in the first year of implementation of this vision was reported, including several regional prayer gatherings and a new training programme for church planters.
Delegates were also given news of increased church attendance by children and young adults, and a rise in the number of believer’s baptisms last year. Dr Talbot said that the many challenges facing Christian churches in increasingly secular Scotland were acknowledged, but delegates gave thanks to God for the ‘encouraging signs of progress in God’s work’ – praying for further encouragements this year.
