glasgow @ worship

The elders of the church have given me the huge privilege of using the month of January for research. I am based at the ICC library during the week and plan to visit some of the churches in the city each Sunday. I thought, therefore, that I might give a brief snapshot of Glasgow at worship...starting with my home church...

Church: Cartsbridge Evangelical Church, Busby

Denomination: Independent Evangelical Church (roots in the Christian Brethren)

Date: January 6 2013

Time: 11.30am

Service: All-Age Service

Congregational Make-Up: The congregation reflected the name of the service. There was a good mix of ages and, encouragingly, this included a good number of children and young people.

Central Feature: The main component of this service was the preaching, demonstrated by the fact that half of the time was given over to this activity. Also, aspects of the first half (songs, prayers) pointed towards it. The preacher was confident in his affirmations, comforting in the assurances he gave, and challenging at the very core of his message. It was evangelistic preaching in the classical sense of that term. The focus was on the need of an individual soul to respond immediately to the claims of Christ. 

Stand-Out Moment: The most poignant moment (and one that wasn't actually scheduled!) was, in my opinion, a brief three minute testimony given by an Albanian friend. He spoke with conviction about the central place of prayer in a Christian's life.

Conclusion: Following the service 30+ young people headed off to lunch at a local café. It’s encouraging to see this kind of connection. If the church family can continue supporting them and celebrate their passion for God then this local fellowship can look forward expectantly.