Photo by Reformission Scotland was born out of two convictions.
The first of these is that modern Scotland is a mission field. Despite the fact that steeples mark the skyline of all of our communities there are several generations of Scots who have no knowledge of the gospel and who are thoroughly alienated from the church. Reaching our land for Christ will require Christians to acknowledge the degree of seriousness of the situation and to adopt the outlook and strategies of pioneer missionaries.
The other foundational conviction is that church planting is in the words of missiologist C.P. Wagner the “most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.” This should not be surprising. When the risen Christ sent His disciples out to the ends of the earth he sent them to establish churches which would embody in community the new life He brings by His death and resurrection.
As some of us from the Church of Scotland became more and more convinced of the need to see a reformed church planting initiative in Scotland the conviction also grew that this should be a partnership across denominations. We spoke with men from the Free Church and the Associated Presbyterian Church and found a real enthusiasm to see something happen. We needed a banner under which we could all combine effectively. Working alongside another reformed church would provide a number of advantages including the doctrinal anchor and accountability needed.
In June 2007, a meeting was had with Dr John Carson of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in St Andrews, Scotland to share our vision for a new presbytery of churches committed to reformed doctrine, cultural engagement, and radical church planting. The ARP is in many ways an ideal partner.
In Scotland, ten men with the same vision from three denominations, the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland and the Associated Presbyterian Church formed an advisory committee called Reformission Scotland. Our first church planter, Athole Rennie, was ordained on 3rd November 2009. Athole is working in the port of Leith on the edge of the City of Edinburgh.