MISSION MATTERS

A monthly take on some of the mission work the Free Church is involved in by our Mission Director, DAVID MEREDITH

Ou simple vision statement of ‘A Healthy Gospel Church for every Community in Scotland ’ has been so helpful .

Certain elements stand out. The key word for me is ‘gospel’. It’s a debated term. On the liberal side of the Church there is the claim that it’s been hijacked by fundamentalists. It’s a synonym for a rather narrow and doctrinaire literalist interpretation of the Bible. On the conservative side there is the claim that it has replaced Christ as the distinctive marker of the Church. Are we ashamed of the name that is above every name?

We are clear in what the gospel is. It is primarily the message that ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures’ (1 Cor 15: 3,4). A Christian is a person trusting in this truth and casting themselves on Christ by faith alone. Proclamation of the gospel is a declaration of this truth and a call to repent and believe the gospel.

The mission of the Church is simple. It is to make disciples of all nations. Making disciples is the primary task of the Church. Evangelism and teaching by instruction and example are how we disciple. Evangelism is spreading the gospel as widely as we can; teaching involves preaching and living out our faith within the Christian community and wider society.

I like the word ‘healthy’. Size is not the main issue. There can be very healthy small churches and patently unhealthy large churches. It challenges us to be most in the main things. Health comes from having the basics functioning well. Healthy churches foster winsome Christian character and tend to make the unbeliever believe that ‘God is really among you.’ (1 Cor 14:25) Healthy means that there is a joyful spirit and if there is conflict, that it’s healthy. Healthy means that believers thrive in a Christ-saturated atmosphere.

The call to minister to ‘every community’ is a game-changer for the Free Church. The truth is that for various historical reasons our strength was in the Highlands and Islands. Our history need not make us ashamed as that strength was created through a history of revival combined with a sense of social justice. We were not the Church of the landlords but of the people. Today, however, we aspire to minister to every type of community. It is not unthinkable to imagine a new presbytery in the Borders. A number of churches in Angus and the Mearns may be a way off, but not impossible. It calls us to humility because reaching the whole of Scotland cannot be done by ourselves alone. The thought of that is ridiculous. Remember, we are the church of Thomas Chalmers, one of the greatest catholic Christians Scotland has ever seen.

We are Easter people so we believe that life can come through the process of death. The week before Easter, the last service was held at Leith Elder Memorial. That congregation has now come to an end. There is hope because we hope to start a new congregation in the first quarter of 2024 when Rev Derek Lamont moves from St Columba’s to plant in Leith. Once we had only two churches in the centre of Edinburgh, soon we will have two in the historic area of Leith. We have not forgotten Wick, Paisley, and Greenock which we yearn to see replanted or revitalised. We ask that ministers both new and old consider the call to ‘every community in Scotland’ and be open to go to towns like Campbeltown or Dumfries.

Local churches should be sending churches. It may be tiny South Uist and Benbecula who sent a couple into a challenging mission situation. I think of Kilmallie who sent a young couple to Athens, Greece and who were so encouraged by a visit from their minister. This is Free Church global mission today. We have direct mission interest in so many parts of the world as well as a ministry to diaspora people groups in the UK.

It is an honour to play a small part in the developing culture of mission in the Free Church. All growth is dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit. This must be stated and not taken for granted. There is no doubt that we are in leaner times but we are not in barren times. God is still at work, people are being saved, the dead still receive new life. •