Church Planting
Planting churches that will plant more churches
Generation is the Free Church of Scotland’s church planting ministry
Generation exists to help plant and establish healthy gospel churches across Scotland, so that more people and communities can come to know Jesus Christ through faithful gospel witness, word-centred ministry, and prayerful dependence on God.
Find out more about our current church plants, and how you can pray for and support their work.
Edinburgh & Lothians
Hope Church Leith
Derek Lamont leads Hope Church Leith, a church plant in the heart of Edinburgh’s Leith community. Weekly Sunday services began in 2025, and a committed core team is growing around a clear vision to love God, love one another, and love Leith. In a diverse and densely populated urban area with significant gospel opportunity, the church is building relationships, establishing a visible Christian presence, and using its building as a welcoming base for mission and community engagement.
Our main needs are prayer for lasting fruit in evangelism and discipleship, funding to sustain ministry and develop the building as an effective gospel resource, and strong gospel partnerships. As the work grows, we also seek support to expand the team, including provision for a second worker, to increase capacity for outreach, pastoral care, and long-term sustainability.
Haddington Community Church
Ali Sewell leads Haddington Community Church, a growing congregation serving the town of Haddington and the surrounding area in East Lothian. Having recently purchased a building in the heart of the town, the congregation is excited about a long-term base for worship, community life, and gospel outreach. As a congregation of around 130 per week, roughly one third of whom are children, they are seeking to connect deeply with their community to share the good news of Jesus and ultimately plant further churches in the area.
Our main needs are prayer for wisdom as we move into a new stage of life as a church with a building – that we would steward our resources well and develop funding to support ongoing ministry and building costs, to ensure long-term financial sustainability. We would also value prayer and partnership as we seek to strengthen the team, training new workers and growing capacity for mission.
Gilmerton
Colin Ross leads the Gilmerton Church Plant in south-east Edinburgh – a diverse and rapidly growing community marked by both deep need and significant opportunity. Gilmerton is home to over 37,000 people, yet has very limited gospel presence. The church plant is made up of ordinary people whose lives are being shaped by Jesus, gathering to worship, pray, and follow him together. Through Sunday worship, missional communities, and regular community events, the church is building relationships and creating welcoming spaces where neighbours can explore the good news of Jesus.
Our main needs are prayer for spiritual growth, funding to support ongoing ministry, and practical support to deepen engagement with the local community. Looking ahead, we also need financial partnership to secure a building that can serve as a hub for mission and to build a wider team, enabling sustainable worship, outreach, and future church planting.
Winchburgh Community Church
Robin Silson leads Winchburgh Community Church in West Lothian, a growing church plant in a rapidly developing community. Emerging from small groups and Bible studies, the church has come through a challenging season and is now seeing encouraging growth, with new members joining and many local people exploring church life. The congregation is building a strong foundation around God’s Word, prayer, and hospitality, with regular outreach through ministries such as a baby café and work in local schools. As the church moves towards greater stability, plans are developing for consistent weekly worship and wider community engagement.
Our main needs are prayer for continued spiritual growth, financial support to resource the launch and consolidation phase of the plant, and provision for a suitable building to enable sustainable worship, outreach, and community presence. We would also value partnership to help develop leaders, musicians, and ministry capacity as the church continues to grow.
Galashiels Free Church
Craig Anderson leads Galashiels Free Church in the Scottish Borders – an area without a Free Church presence for over 120 years and where less than 1% attend a Bible believing church. The church plant is slowly growing with encouraging signs of gospel fruit emerging, including professions of faith, baptisms, and growing engagement through relational outreach and community connections. There is also the prospect of securing a building, which would provide much-needed visibility, stability, and capacity for ministry in the town.
Our main needs are prayer for continued conversions and spiritual growth, more mature Christians and families to join us, and funding to enable growing a ministry team and the potential redevelopment of a building. We would also value partnership and encouragement as we strengthen leadership and grow deep, lasting gospel roots in the Borders as we seek to plant a church that will plant a Presbytery.
Glasgow & West
Merchant City Church
Neil Longwe and David Trimble lead the Merchant City Church in the heart of Glasgow’s Merchant City. Planted in 2024, the church is wanting to build a vibrant, Christ-centred community in a culturally diverse and urban setting. With the core team growing, the church is laying foundations for mission and outreach, using its venue at the Social Hub as a base for engagement with local residents and workers.
Our main needs are prayer for continued growth in witness and discipleship, funding to support ongoing ministry and the costs of city-centre outreach, and gospel partnerships to reach more people with Christ’s love. We would also value prayer for the expansion of the team as we move towards sustainability and look to make a lasting impact in Glasgow.
Govan Free Church
David MacPherson leads Govan Free Church in Glasgow’s Govan area, a community marked by rich cultural diversity and significant social and spiritual need. Building on years of local ministry, the congregation meets in Bethesda Hall with a growing desire to be a visible “House of Grace,” sharing the gospel of Jesus through worship, service, and community engagement. Encouraging developments are being seen, including new professions of faith, baptisms, and increasing commitment within the congregation, as the church seeks to grow.
Our main needs are prayer for conversions and sustained spiritual fruit, support for community engagement through ministries such as the foodbank and recovery work, and resources to develop discipleship and leadership across all ages and cultures. We would also value partnership as we seek to strengthen leadership capacity and establish long-term sustainability.
Crossbridge
Nate Taylor is serving as Church Planting Facilitator for Crossbridge, a new church plant in the Bearsden and Milngavie area of northwest Glasgow. Having moved from a core group model to weekly public worship in April 2025, the church is gathering a diverse group of people, including families, young people, and those exploring Christian faith for the first time. Meeting in a local Scout Hall, Crossbridge is focused on deepening fellowship, engaging thoughtfully with the local community, and creating welcoming spaces where the gospel of Jesus can be heard and lived out.
Our main needs are prayer for continued spiritual growth and conversions, financial support to sustain and develop ministry in a busy and transient context, and provision for suitable midweek space to enable discipleship, youth work, and outreach. We would also value partnership as we seek to strengthen leadership capacity and establish long-term sustainability as a local church.
Highlands & North
Merkinch Free Church
Chris Davidson leads Merkinch Free Church, a church plant located in the heart of Merkinch and South Kessock in Inverness – a historically working-class neighbourhood now ranked among Scotland’s most deprived areas. The church was planted in partnership with 20schemes in September 2018 and meets weekly for worship and gospel community. With a focus on loving and serving a community facing deep social and economic need, the church runs a community café and local activities as practical expressions of Christ’s love and is seeing encouraging signs of engagement and new believers.
Our main needs are prayer for gospel impact and new conversions, financial support for sustaining and growing local outreach ministries, and resources to strengthen discipleship, leadership development, and church-family life. We also value prayer and partnership as we build a resilient, welcoming church presence in Merkinch and beyond.
Tornagrain Community Church
Innes Macsween serves as minister of Tornagrain Community Church, a young congregation in a new town just outside Inverness. Planted in 2023 and particularised in early 2025, the church is seeing encouraging gospel fruit, with new people coming to faith and local believers being gathered into a growing community. The church has also begun afternoon services in nearby Ardersier, with a view to establishing a future church plant there as gospel opportunities continue to open.
Our main needs are funding for a manse, support for a future church plant in the region, and the practical and spiritual resources needed to continue evangelising and discipling a growing congregation. We would also value partnership as we steward and develop the building purchased in 2023 for long-term gospel ministry.
Capstone Community Church
- 01348 880776
- Capstone Community Church
Iain Macaskill leads Capstone Community Church in the Highlands, a rapidly growing church plant reaching people from a wide range of backgrounds. Inducted in early 2025, the church has seen significant gospel fruit, with new believers coming to faith, growing numbers gathering for worship, and a strong emphasis on discipleship, prayer, and community connection. Through initiatives such as Café Connect, youth ministry, and wider chaplaincy work, the church is establishing a visible and welcoming gospel presence, with momentum towards becoming a fully sanctioned charge sooner than anticipated.
Our main needs are prayer for continued spiritual growth and conversions and support to strengthen and expand the ministry team.
Garioch
Ben Traynor leads Garioch Free Church in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Garioch, a district of Aberdeenshire in northeast of Scotland, is a fast-growing area with significant gospel need. Inverurie sits at the heart of a region where many churches have closed, and a large proportion of the population now identifies as having no religion. A launch team of adults and children has recently been formed and is meeting regularly for Bible study, prayer, training, and fellowship as foundations are laid for public worship and community engagement. The vision is to establish a healthy gospel church that reaches Inverurie and becomes a staging post for future gospel work across Aberdeenshire.
Our main needs are prayer for the launch team and early ministry to take root, financial support to resource the initial years of planting, and provision for suitable meeting and office space. We would also value partnership as we seek to establish sustainable rhythms of worship, discipleship, and outreach, and to prepare for future church planting in the region.
Fife
Leven Free Church
Geoff Murray leads Leven Free Church, a church plant in Levenmouth — a post-industrial coastal community in Fife with real social and economic challenges and significant gospel need. They launched public weekly Sunday services in 2025, and meet at the Forth Street Hall. They are committed to loving Jesus and loving their town, bringing the good news of Christ into the heart of the community. A core team is forming and local relationships are growing as the plant seeks to be both for the community and available to the community.
Our main needs are prayer for gospel growth and conversions in a context marked by economic hardship, financial support for ongoing ministry and outreach, and practical resources to engage with children, youth, and families in discipleship and community life. We would also value prayer and partnership as we build team capacity for sustained mission.
Tayside & Angus
Grace Church Montrose
Ciarán Kelleher was ordained and inducted as the planter for Grace Church Montrose in 2022. Ciarán is married to Sarah, and they have three young children. Grace Church was planted by a small group of local Christians who desired a faithful and clear Bible teaching church in the area. In the last number of years, as the church has sought to make and mature disciples, the congregation has grown through people returning to a faith once abandoned, families joining and others coming to saving faith in Jesus for the very first time. As they look ahead, the congregation is seeking to build stronger and healthier structures for discipleship and mission in the town and region.
Our main needs are prayer for deepening trust in Jesus, growth in gospel impact, wisdom as to how best reach Angus, and provision of a suitable building to meet and grow. We would also value partnership to deepen discipleship in the local area and long for more workers to join in the mission here.
Charleston Community Church
Andy Robertson leads Charleston Community Church in Dundee, focused on establishing a gospel-centred congregation in a community with significant spiritual and social need. Charleston, a housing scheme with over 4,500 residents, faces high unemployment and severe social challenges, including Scotland’s worst drug death rates. Yet, the greatest need is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Charleston Community Church is committed to bringing hope and transformation to this area. Over the past eight years, the church has grown from a small core team to a vibrant congregation, with many local people now engaged in worship and outreach.
Our main needs are prayer for continued gospel growth and conversions, financial support to make the work sustainable, and practical resources to strengthen community engagement, particularly with children, youth, and families. As the church grows, we also seek partners to help build capacity for leadership development and further church planting in similar communities across Scotland.
Our Needs
Church planting is a spiritual work, and we depend on the Lord for everything. To pursue the 30×30 vision, we set a target of recruiting 35 church planters. Please pray for a growing pipeline of men who are being trained and prepared to plant, and for the Lord to raise up the right teams and supporting churches around them. Alongside this, our fundraising target for 30×30 is £5,500,000 (or $6,800,000). These funds help support planters and their families, resource new works, and provide long term stability as church plants take root and grow.
How to partner with us:
Pray: Sign up for prayer updates
Give: Support 30×30 financially
Join: Come and be part of planting a church
If you would like to partner with us, or find out more, please get in touch.