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A Scottish congregation in Aberdeen is defying statistics.

They’re growing, and hoping to take on a restoration project that will revive an 1848 category B-listed church building in Woodside.

Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen is raising funds to purchase the £195,000 stone landmark, along with an adjacent church hall.

Pastor John-William Noble told Caldron Pool that the congregation’s bid was recently accepted and will become a central part of their ministry.

This means the old church’s new custodians face the lengthy task of buying the structure, as well as having the job of renovating the 176-year-old architectural gem.

They’ll need all the help they can muster.

Category B-listed constructions in Scotland are buildings with historical significance and/or interest.

Because they reflect Scotland’s heritage and character, the buildings are protected.

Renovating the church will come with strict restrictions on how the building can be repaired, altered, or extended.

As everyone who has ever stepped into a renovation knows, this means hidden costs and a focus on keeping budgets tight.

Supporters can contribute to the confessionally Reformed Baptist congregation’s purchase and add to their renovation fund through PayPal here.

For context, Woodside’s historic church is among 80+ (at the time of writing) former buildings being liquidated by the Church of Scotland. (See here.)

Capitulation

Now a shell of its former John Knox shelf, the CoS’ eagerness to enter the real estate business reflects its changing values.

From promoting homosexuality to confusing climate change with creation care, right up to accommodating racist Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ideology, CoS has its doctrines firmly fixated on feelings-centred theology from below.

For example, its top three priorities are the forced-speak totalitarian trifecta: same-sex marriage, climate catastrophism, and transgenderism.

Additionally, CoS eagerly adopted COVID-19 protocols, including the controversial vaccines.

They repurposed church buildings to be used as vaccination centres, then ‘urged people’ to waive informed consent and take the shot because: “Love your neighbour.”

On 14 January 2021, CoS head Rev. Dr George Whyt declared,

‘We support the COVID-19 vaccination programme across the community and we encourage people to be vaccinated so that they keep themselves and their neighbours safe.’

The large number of buildings being sold by the Church of Scotland strongly suggests its embrace of the West’s self-centred zeitgeist has caused that church to flatline.

This is a direct consequence of putting the culture before Christ.

Revivifying

As GBCA Pastor John-William Noble told me,

‘The positioning of our prospective building with a pulpit, pews, organ, and local people gathering to hear God’s Word being proclaimed, is a heritage that the church has actually sought to attack and ridicule.

‘It’s a huge issue.’

Noble is among the few Christian leaders in Scotland – and around the world, who, during COVID, rightly condemned churches for putting authoritarianism over and above God’s authoritative moral law.

Churches, Noble said, including the CoS, had lost sight of moral biblical imperatives, and were pandering to socio-political expectations instead.

In 2021, he called for pro-mandate churches to repent, noting that unquestioning compliance is compromise.

When compared to Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen’s bold and lively revival, the CoS has no pulse.

You can help John-William and his team restore Woodside for worship by donating through PayPal here.

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Photo by Miquel Rosselló Calafell.