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Equipping a Church

Gospel For Scotland

 

The gospel is growing in Scotland, and you can be part of it!

Here's how you can be part of an accidental but effective church plant:

We moved to Scotland and planted a church in Edinburgh in 2005. It was exciting to reach students and young people in the city centre and on the university campus.

Though we were working in Edinburgh, housing costs pushed us out of the city to a town called Bathgate, close enough to access the city, but far enough outside to afford a house for six girls and one wife.

Eventually people began approaching us about the possibility of starting a church in Bathgate. At first we resisted, wanting to stay focused in Edinburgh. Eventually, however, we said, 'YES!', and began an experiment: could an American plant a Scottish church in Bathgate? Unlike Edinburgh, which is very cosmopolitan, Bathgate is very Scottish, and like Black Mountain, NC, where I grew up, it takes about twenty years to be accepted by the locals.

We began slowly and carefully, and eventually a small community of believers formed around us. We started meeting together on Sunday nights, and eventually, once a pastor emerged for Edinburgh, we turned our ministry focus to Bathgate.

Local pastors have told me that when there has been a move of God in the surrounding region, Bathgate has always been resistant. It seems that God has set his eyes on this little town, and now is the time for Bathgate! 

The exciting news is that people are coming to Christ, getting baptised, and growing as believers in this (formerly) sleepy little town. It's exciting to see people respond to the gospel, open their lives to Jesus, and grow from an informal gathering into an established body of believers.

How you can help us win

Normally with a church plant, fund-raising for the start-up costs - sound equipment, signs, and other necessary items - is done ahead of time. We did this for our Edinburgh church plant. But because of how this Bathgate church plant happened - accidentally, gradually, step-by-step - we didn't have the opportunity to seek church plant partners. The giving of this group covers operating costs, but we've outgrown the capacity of some basic equipment provided by Edinburgh. 

We want to give our CBU family the opportunity to be part of gospel advance in Scotland by partnering with our Bathgate congregation to get the sound system, signage, and other equipment it needs for its next phase of growth and ministry. For only $7500, we can equip this church to continue advancing the gospel of Jesus in a spiritually-needy region of Scotland.

Please prayerfully consider the best gift you can give to join us in this opportunity. If we each give generously, we can get this need met and go beyond so the gospel can grow in Bathgate!

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