Nine churches have been planted in just ten years in a pioneering Scottish project – thanks to believers who have grasped the concept of ‘missional living’.
20schemes is a church planting ministry set up and run by Niddrie Community Church, which is located in the scheme of Niddrie, south-east Edinburgh. And this year the initiative is celebrating a decade in action.
But more Christians are needed to move to areas of Scotland where further congregations can be planted.
Andrew Leitch of 20schemes says: ‘Scotland’s schemes (Scottish housing estates) need godly mature Christians to move in and serve the Lord in the local community.
‘So far, nine churches have been planted in Scotlands poorest areas – praise God! Unfortunately, despite this work, many in the schemes are not hearing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
20schemes has now started a new initiative called MOVEin. The organisation is asking for godly, mature Christians to consider moving into the schemes of Scotland to serve the local church, witness to the community and help to disciple new ‘indigenous’ Christians.
20schemes’ most-northerly church plant, Merkinch Free Church, in the city of Inverness, is one example of people coming to live in the scheme and serve the local church.
Merkinch is still in the pre-planting phase and will soon launch in earnest. Located in the city of Inverness, Merkinch ranked eighth in the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) report, which considers criteria including crime, income, health, education, and unemployment in almost 7,000 locations across Scotland. Despite being less than two miles away from one of the wealthiest areas, it struggles with many social problems, especially poor mental health and drug & alcohol addictions.
Chris Davison, 20schemes church planter in Merkinch, realises the importance of ‘missional living’. He says: ‘The most encouraging thing is people have recently decided to move into the community, to join our church and be on mission. They’ve come with the mindset of ‘I want to be part of this family, encourage one another, be grafted in here, but also serve outwardly in the community’ ’.
