Merchant City Church has officially launched its weekly Sunday services.
At the end of August the community gathered to mark the beginning of a new congregation dedicated to sharing the gospel in the centre of the city.
Leading up to the launch Sunday a week of events were held. A music night featuring Ellyn Oliver from Hope City Church in Edinburgh and an outreach with speaker Mark Ritchie took place.
Rev David Trimble said: “The Merchant City is a neighbourhood of culture where music and comedy are celebrated and important for people. The building we meet in even hosted events for the Glasgow Comedy Festival back in March. We want to meet our city where it is and show that the gospel speaks into every aspect of life, including art, music, comedy, and culture. In both these events God was glorified and the gospel shared. We pray that the Spirit would work on those who heard it.”
Rev Neil Longwe described the week, saying: “Throughout the week, we encountered hundreds of people. It felt like what Jesus saw when he looked out and described the crowds as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” We met people in every imaginable condition those searching for fulfilment in their sexual identity, new agers, Muslims, atheists, people trapped in addiction, those with visible scars and markings like the man with “cursed” tattooed on his forehead, and others broken by grief and loss, like the woman whose husband had passed away that morning.
We also met people wrapped up in the relentless pursuit of success and materialism too busy to stop. But we also saw openness. Some asked for Bibles. Others were visibly moved by the conversations. One man told a member of our team, “I wish it was true, but Jesus couldn’t accept a wee toe rag like me.” That stayed with us. Our prayer all week was that the gospel would linger in people’s hearts like a stone in their shoe, something they couldn’t ignore, something they had to wrestle with.”
They added: “By God’s grace, here’s what we saw during launch week:
Music Night: We had 32 people attend. David spoke about how music points us to Jesus and how the gospel invites us to sing a new song.
Comedy Night: Around 80 people came to hear Mark Ritchie perform his show “Too Close for Comfort.” Roughly half were not yet Christians. The gospel was clearly and compellingly presented, and many left with literature. A particular encouragement was that two members of our core team live next to our venue, The Social Hub, and they were able to invite neighbours directly. Several of their neighbours came along in response to their invite.
Launch Sunday: We welcomed 62 adults and 8 children, including many well-wishers from partner churches. A handful of non-Christians also attended. We began a new teaching series in Genesis title “Wrestling with God.” We pray that this series will help people inside and outside the church navigate deep questions of identity, purpose, and faith.”
Church planters Rev Neil Longwe and Rev David Trimble share a vision of building a church that engages Glasgow’s culture, reaching out to those in search of spiritual renewal in this dynamic city. They both have a heart for the city and its people.
Over the past eight months, the pair, along with a core team of people, have been meeting together to pray, study God’s Word and to look at plans to begin this new ministry in the Merchant City area.
As way of getting to know people, Neil and David have desks in a shared workspace, “The Social Hub”, where they work alongside startups, students, artists, and creatives. The area has a large student population, including many international students, and they are engaging with Christian campus workers.
Sunday services are being held at the Social Hub in Glasgow. Mid-week activities include community Bible reading and a Book group.
Neil said: “Thank you for the continued prayers, support, and love from people within the wider denomination. We realise without God we can do nothing, so we covet the prayers of God’s people.”
To find out more about the Merchant City Church, follow them on Facebook and Instagram or go to their new website: https://merchantcitychurch.co.uk/
