Ferniehill Evangelical Church in Edinburgh finished the year praising God for two big encouragements in 2023 – they moved back into their renovated building and employed their first pastor, Alistair Chalmers.
For over 50 years, Ferniehill Evangelical Church has been faithfully witnessing to the local community in Gilmerton, Edinburgh.
The congregation has been without a minister as such and is ‘elder-led’, having had its roots in the Brethren movement.
Their main sanctuary was often full on Sunday mornings, and their community outreach was limited by the ‘tired’ facilities. In 2022, with the help of a loan from Christian-giving organisation Stewardship, they increased the size of their main sanctuary, made improvements to the kitchen and toilets, and created a secondary space to meet. Just one month after moving back into the building, Alistair Chalmers was appointed as their pastor.
The new space has been used for community youth activities and fellowship lunches, which were previously a challenge for the church. Speaking to en, Alistair said: ‘The goal is to use the building as a light in our community. The future for Ferniehill is exciting and we’re all anticipating with eagerness what God will use us for.’
Alistair was born to missionary parents and grew up on the mission field in Romania. He studied at the Faith Mission Bible College and Edinburgh Theological Seminary and was the assistant pastor at Bruntsfield Evangelical Church for five years before joining Ferniehill.
‘Over the past 11 months it has been a great encouragement to see a church family enthusiastic about the gospel and with a real love for Jesus.’ He shared: ‘Our main desire is to see people come to know Jesus and grow in our love and devotion to Him, as we grow in spiritual maturity. If you’re ever in the South of Edinburgh, swing by and say hello!’
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