Dalgety Bay
One of our primary objectives during our initial time here in Scotland was to seek specific direction on where God would like us to plant our church. God opened doors and directed us to Dunfermline, and since then, we have been getting involved in the community and getting to know some of the churches and believers in this area. God has continued to guide and direct, leading us to target the area of Dalgety Bay. Dalgety Bay is a coastal town, just south of the city of Dunfermline. It is technically still part of the greater Dunfermline area, but it is also considered a town in its own right. Dalgety Bay has a population of roughly 10,000 and is a relatively new town, being developed primarily in the 1960’s from what was previously a large private estate. About 30% of the working population commutes to Edinburgh, which is just a 30 minute train ride away. The rest of the working population mostly work within Dalgety Bay or Dunfermline. The town has a good mix of young families and retirees, with two good sized primary schools, a large community centre, and several supermarkets. In Dalgety Bay, you’ll find nice areas with with scenic views, as well as your standard residential areas.
As we have been talking to local believers and churches in the area, Dalgety Bay has come up multiple times as a town in desperate need of the gospel preaching church. Dalgety Bay has never had an evangelical church, and we have met a few believers who have shared their burden for such a church to be planted in their community. We have been holding weekly Bible studies in Dalgety Bay for a few months, and we are now at the stage of thinking and planning the initial steps of our church plant there. We are asking you all to please pray for a few things in particular. Pray that we are able to develop a solid core group of believers over the next few months who are as excited as we are about seeing this church take root in the community. Pray that we are able to find a place to meet that suits the needs we will have. We would really like to find a place that is visible inthe community, flexible to accommodate meetings throughout the week, and not too expensive. Dalgety Bay is primarily a residential area, so finding suitable, affordable, meeting places can be more difficult than somewhere like central Dunfermline. Pray that we make wise decisions as we organise the specifics of how church services will function and how initial things are structured.
As well as planning our first services, we have other things planned for this summer you can be praying for. We have been planning a children’s ministry that will last the whole summer. We plan to meet weekly on Sunday afternoons and be open to primary school ages. Due to the restrictions of space and helpers, we have a limit on the number of children who will be able to attend, and we expect to be at capacity! It will be set up for parents to stay, rather than drop off their children, so pray that this is an opportunity for Gospel conversations with parents as we minister to their children. It is likely that this will be the first time most of these children will ever have heard the gospel presented to them, so please pray with us that the gospel is clear to both children and parents. Tim will also have the opportunity to preach at another BMM work a couple of times times over the summer, as the missionaries there will be in the US.
We are so grateful to those of you that regularly uphold us in prayer. We often hear from you and are so encouraged by your heart for our family and especially your shared heart for the people of Scotland.
