An Aberdeen congregation is redeveloping a building acquired in Autumn 2018 as a place of welcome and witness for the city.
Trinity Church, Aberdeen was born in 2011 and had been renting Sunday space from a local hotel ever since. In recent years the congregation has been growing to include undergraduate students and, as a congregation of the International Presbyterian Church, Trinity looks to expand its ministry training capabilities.
Offered vacant church building
In 2017 the Lord provided an incredibly exciting ministry opportunity. The congregation had been saving for permanent premises of their own for several years and, out of the blue, were invited to view a church building which was about to become vacant. David Gibson, Minister of Trinity, explained: ‘We went to visit and found ourselves in a truly majestic set of buildings dating from 1904 and which includes, it turns out, Aberdeen’s biggest church at some 22,000sq foot. We were captivated immediately by the space on offer and the potential for gospel ministry.’
A long process of negotiation followed, but in September 2018 Trinity became the new owners of the building. David commented: ‘Our congregation was overjoyed and have risen to the occasion with generous and sacrificial giving and now we are thinking through together how best to renovate and restore the premises. From top to bottom, this stunning building is in need of some tender loving care to return it to its former glory and to refit it for purpose for future generations.’
Trinity’s new building is located in the very heart of Aberdeen’s civic, judicial and economic centres in the city. David said: ‘In many ways, if you were looking to plant a church in Aberdeen you couldn’t get a better location in terms of the variety of gospel need around us on every side. We will have opportunities for mercy ministry alongside student ministry as well as unprecedented opportunity to reach out to the workplaces on our doorstep.’ Trinity has engaged an architect and design team to co-ordinate a thorough refresh of their building to reconfigure several of the spaces to be open and accessible aids to gospel ministry.
Wise stewardship
The renovation plan for the building is ambitious and not one Trinity is embarking on lightly. ‘We’re not a huge congregation and we’re trying to balance wise stewardship with forward-looking trust in the Lord. We are also trying to think through what it will mean to become a city-centre congregation; that will be new step for us. We want our church facilities to be open throughout the week as a place of welcome and witness for our city, and we long for those around us to come to know Christ as King’, David explained.
Trinity would welcome contact with anyone wishing to partner with them in the significant costs of their renovation project. Full details of how to give are available on their website, www.trinityaberdeen.org.uk/ media along with a four-minute video which tells something more of their story. Further information can be obtained from David directly on david@trinityaberdeen.org.uk
