Exciting Days
Back in October, Forthside Christian Fellowship began holding our first church services in Dalgety Bay, Scotland. The months since then have been busy, encouraging, exciting, and so much more. When we moved to Scotland we knew God wanted us to start a church, but we really had no idea how that would work out, or when things would take shape. Seeing this church grow and develop over the past few months is a testament to God’s faithfulness in spite of our own uncertainties and shortcomings.
When we began services, we knew there would be a time of trial and error as we worked out the kinks of a new church plant. Over the past few months, we have tried various ministries and formats, and we have begun to settle into a groove. It has been awesome to see visitors coming along, but it has been particularly encouraging to watch the development of a core group of people committed to the growth of this church. There has been such a spirit of unity between these families, and it has been a joy to be a part of. We have been meeting together every Sunday for a meal followed by an afternoon service and then classes for all age groups, though we will soon be switching to morning services followed by a meal and the classes.
We continue to meet every Tuesday and Friday for Bible studies during the week, and we have begun a new ladies Bible study on Wednesdays.
On Fridays, the group meets in a coffee shop in Dunfermline, and we consistently have 6-10 people coming along as we study through the book of Acts. Tuesdays, we meet in Dalgety Bay and often see 10 or more people coming along for our most recent study digging into the sermon on the mount. We had been meeting in a small coffee shop, but our growing numbers required a change of location, so we moved across the road to our church premises.
The ladies group on Wednesdays might be the most exciting development this past month. The group began as a way to minister to one or two specific women who aren’t able to make it to the other meeting times. However, once they began meeting, we quickly found there was a lot of interest, and this group has now grown to 10 or more ladies meeting together to discuss the Bible together. The group has been studying through Philippians, and we have had several new visitors come along to this group as their first point of contact with Forthside Christian Fellowship.
The spirit of the church is full of enthusiasm and evangelism. Many are eager to tell their friends and neighbours about what God is doing in Dalgety Bay, and one individual has planned his own outreach ministry, which he has asked Trevor and Tim to be a part of.
Caroling at the local shopping centre
As we settle into our identity as Forthside Christian Fellowship, we are excited to see what God has planned in the upcoming months. We are going to begin advertising more intentionally to the community of Dalgety Bay. We have started a monthly board game night that we are hoping will appeal to some in the community and will be looking at beginning more outreach focused ministries soon.
With all of this going on, we humbly ask you to continue praying for our family and our church.
Rejoice with us in the faithfulness of our God and the fruit He has already cultivated!
We continue to meet with people regularly who are not believers or part of any church, and we would ask you to pray specifically that these relationships are fruitful for the gospel. As our hearts swell with joy at the growth of our church family, it aches for those we’ve come to love who have yet to recognize their need for a Saviour.
Pray for our church. The early stages of a new church plant are so impactful and exciting - much like those of a new believer! We recognize that it is when we are also the most vulnerable, so please pray for God’s hand of guidance and protection.
We also ask you to please pray for spiritual protection for us and our teammates. In spite of all of the excitement and the encouraging developments, the enemy still finds ways to discourage and distract from what is important. We are so thankful that we have teammates working hand in hand alongside of us in this ministry, and we are thankful for the prayer partners who remember us before the throne of God.
