A church-planting and revitalisation project in Scotland is facing the daily reality of drug misuse in its ministry.
A recent report released by National Records of Scotland showed that the number of people who died due to drug misuse last year in Scotland had fallen by 279 deaths to its lowest in five years – 1,051.
It is the first significant drop following several years during the pandemic, when record highs were reported.
However, while this rate may have fallen, it is still more than 2.5 times that of the rest of the UK, and an even starker comparison with some European countries.
The study also found that poverty was the root cause of Scotland’s drug death crisis and stated that those living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are almost 16 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people living in the least deprived areas.
In many 20schemes church plants and revitalisation projects, this is the reality that they see each day.
Andy Robertson is the pastor of Charleston Community Church in Dundee, once called the ‘Drug Death Capital of Europe’, where the drug death rate is the second highest in Scotland (43.1 deaths per 100,000).
He said: ‘Drugs, unfortunately, play a large part in our scheme. We see many who have been caught in the throes of drug addiction from an early age and are often stigmatised by it. I can think of a number who have been associated with our church plant in the past five years who have since passed away from overdosing on alcohol or a cocktail of drugs.’
However, Charleston Community Church is meeting the need in several ways. Their location in the very centre of Charleston means that their drop-in café is used by many struggling with addiction, and they also run a Bible-study group called ‘Crossroads’ which is geared towards addiction recovery.
Andy said of ‘Crossroads’: ‘We believe that addiction of any sort is first and foremost a spiritual issue. It’s an idol that has taken the place of God in someone’s life. And like all idols it promises much but delivers nothing. We are clear that all of us are addicted to sin of some sort.
‘It is therefore our belief that recovery begins with a restoration of the relationship with the God we are made for. That can only come through Jesus and His gospel of forgiveness.’
Pete Stewart, pastor of Hope Community Church Barlanark in the east end of Glasgow, and Director of 20schemes West, said: ‘We see members of our community every day who are struggling with debilitating drug addiction.’
However, Pete pointed to a potential solution, one that 20schemes has made its mantra over the past decade of ministry: The local church is the answer.
He said: ‘There are many great charities and organisations working in Glasgow and around Scotland to help tackle the drug problem. Organisations like Hope For Glasgow (H4G) are meeting a real need on the ground. But as their CEO Terry McCutcheon often says: ‘We (H4G) do all we can do in order to help the local church do what only the local church can do.’
Scotland needs healthy and thriving local churches in our housing schemes because true freedom for the believer comes from the daily walk of fleeing sin and running to Jesus, and our gracious Lord gave us the local church family to help us on that journey.
