The mainstream church is quickly dying in the UK, in large part because it lacks the gospel. MTW missionaries Keith and Rachel Knowlton and more than a dozen other families are spread out across Scotland and England, embedded within the local church, helping to strengthen them. Their strategy is to come alongside national partners who have a vision for church planting work, helping provide structure and support.

The Knowltons have partnered with the Free Church of Scotland and serve at Buccleuch Free Church in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Edinburgh, right on the edge of the university. One of the ministries they started is an English conversation gathering called Connect. It’s an opportunity for English-learners to come once a week and practice their English in a casual environment, to be able to build friendships with one another, to engage in culture exchange, and also for believers to weave gospel threads into every aspect of that ministry. It’s not an overt Bible study, though Bible studies have sprung out of it. But it’s been a way to build community in a diverse context. The ministries of each MTW partner church in the UK may look a little different based on the local context.

The hope is that the Church in the UK will grow to have a greater impact in an increasingly secular community, to see a return to the Scotland that was birthplace of Presbyterianism and the battleground for the Reformation, and to see a gospel revival.