THE hundreds of buildings currently being disposed of by the Church of Scotland should be made available to the country’s diaspora churches, whose lack of premises is a “missional leash” on their growth, a new report suggests.
Churches Without People and People Without Churches: Diaspora congregations in Scotland, by Brendan Research, argues that the ministry and mission of the Church in Scotland has been “turned upside down and inside out, with the majority world now coming to Scotland to minister and evangelise, where once Scotland went in mission to the world”. It records that, while church attendance in the country fell by 40 per cent between 1986 and 2016, diaspora churches are “one of the true success stories of mission”.
Drawing on interviews with 66 leaders of diaspora churches, it concludes that, despite being some of the fastest-growing and most active Christian congregations in Scotland, such churches are often isolated, and hampered by a lack of understanding or support from the wider Church.
It diagnoses a “failure of the Scottish Church to properly steward its buildings”, arguing that, rather than pursue profit, Churches such as the Church of Scotland should use their surplus buildings to establish multicultural and multiracial church partnerships, offering them for free, or at reduced rates.
Currently, it reports, diaspora churches are “being frozen out due to a lack of consideration from majority white denominations, or by prohibitive costs. The result is that ‘missional leashes’ are being placed on churches which are able — and ready — to grow.”
Diaspora churches in Scotland — defined as distinct congregations of Christians from another country — now number 204, the report calculates. In 1999, Scotland had 14. Drawing on reports by church leaders, the researchers estimate that such churches welcome about 22,000 people to worship each week, comparable with the size of denominations such as the Scottish Episcopal Church, which reported a membership of just under 24,000 in 2022.
The churches are predominantly in urban areas, with a “notable concentration” in socially deprived regions. A total of 70 per cent are of African origin. English language remains prevalent in worship. With regard to denomination (a total of 35 were reported), 61 were “independent”, and 57 members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Almost three-quarters of leaders defined their congregations as Pentecostal.
When asked why they had started a church or ministry in Scotland, most respondents spoke of a “divine call” or “leading” from God. Other leaders mentioned starting a church to cater for the spiritual and social needs of specific groups. These included helping people to overcome language barriers; promoting social and community integration; navigating immigration issues; and worshipping and praying meaningfully in one’s language of choice. Several expressed concern about “the lack of vibrant Christian expressions and a decline in faith within traditional churches in Scotland”.
A key challenge reported by church leaders was a lack of suitable places for worship. While 28 per cent of the congregations worship in their own property, 25 per cent share a sacred space, and 42 per cent hire a secular public space. Respondents reported a lack of support from mainstream denominations and the government, mentioning the limited opportunity to buy available church buildings, and the absence of subsidies or assistance from local councils. Discrimination, racism, and hostility were identified as “significant challenges”.
The authors call on the wider Scottish Church to embrace the contributions of diaspora churches with “openness and enthusiasm”, and lament that the desire of ethnic-minority Christians for “fellowship and shared worship, ministry and mission” is not shared by some white Christians.
In the coming years, the Church of Scotland is expected to dispose of about 30 per cent of its churches, or between 350 and 400 buildings. The authors of the report argue that “stewardship in the Christian Church cannot be equated with the maximisation of profit, but the use of properties for the glory of God and the need of Church and world.”
They write: “Whether the use of buildings were free or provided at a reduced rate, such partnerships would be mutually beneficial to all parties. They would help to preserve ministry and mission in under-churched areas; they would benefit growing diaspora congregations; and they benefit Scottish communities. They would also achieve what many of our respondents dream of: diaspora and white majority congregations working in missional partnership to the secular Scotland of today.”
The “resacralisation” of public space, as diaspora Christians repurpose abandoned churches, office blocks, and retail units for Christian worship, plays a part in “raising the plausibility of faith”, they write.
The report was commissioned by Action for Churches Together in Scotland. The authors — the Revd Dr Fiona Tweedie, a statistician with the Church of Scotland (Interview, 1 November); Dr Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, a Ghanaian scholar based in Scotland; and the Revd Dr Liam Jerrold Fraser, Minister of Linlithgow Parish Church — pay tribute to the Revd Dr Wes White, a lecturer in biblical studies at the Nazarene Theological College, who pioneered a community of Iranian and other Christians in Glasgow. He died in April.
