You may remember Iain Kennedy visiting Grace London in May ‘23 to preach for us. Iain leads one of our partner churches, Glasgow Grace (the same name is purely coincidental!). He and the team in Glasgow have been a blessing to us over the years, so we’ve asked him to introduce himself and give us an update since last spring. Read more below.

Both ‘Graces’ are part of the Advance Movement, a network of churches stretching five continents, united by a vision to see new churches planted and healthily growing. The movement seeks to see the gospel reach every nation, community, and person - for the good news of Jesus to reach the ends of the earth. Grace London is one of over 130 churches in Advance.

Iain, tell us about yourself.

I’m married to Lyndsay, and we have two kids, Annabel (6) and Finlay (4). I was born in Glasgow, and after Lyndsay and I got married, we settled here for a few years. However, we increasingly felt called to the church plant, so we moved south. We first wanted to be part of a church that 1) honours God’s Word, 2) eagerly desires the gifts of the Spirit, and 3) is determined to reach the lost for Jesus, but not many churches in Scotland fitted that description. So, we settled in the South Coast and instantly felt at home at Gateway Church, Poole.

Why did you decide to plant a church in Glasgow?

After an encouraging weekend as a church exploring the gift of prophecy, we gathered for a leaders' breakfast. Over coffee and eggs, the team started to pray and prophesy over us. The prophetic words were clear about us returning to Glasgow to establish a new church, and after more than a year of prayer and discernment with the elders, we all agreed that we should plant Glasgow Grace!

What’s been happening in the life of the church since your visit to London last spring?

The past year has been full of new life. We have seen more and more people come to faith, including from completely unchurched backgrounds, and there have been loads of child thanksgivings! We are so thankful to God after a couple of really tough years. Only 18 months ago, we were nomads meeting in random venues at various times and were struggling financially. We have now made up our monthly deficit and have a growing team getting ready to plant in the southeast of Glasgow. The gospel is desperately needed there. With all this going on, I’m thankful for the strength of our expanded eldership team – Dennis and Lewis have been seamless and brilliant additions.

What’s been most encouraging about this time?

It’s hugely encouraging to see people who have come to our meetings week after week finally taking the plunge and trusting Jesus with their lives. Perhaps most surprising is the impact this is having on their colleagues, friends and family members. They keep turning up now. We pray that this is just the beginning!

How can we pray for you?

With growth comes great joy and added complexity. Please pray that we will both celebrate what God is doing and make wise decisions about how to go forward together as a church family. Please also pray for how we engage with what is going on in the culture around us.

What does it mean to be part of the Advance Movement?

Being part of Advance has strengthened us in all kinds of ways. We have benefitted from excellent teaching, encouraging worship, financial help (including your extremely generous support last year) and prayer after prayer. These are simply the overflow of genuine gospel friendships. There are very few like-minded churches here in Glasgow, so we are very thankful to be able to walk this road with you and other churches in the UK and abroad. Thank you for partnering with us. We love you guys and continue to pray for you.

Let's thank God for what he's doing at Glasgow Grace and pray for Iain & Lyndsay and the rest of the team there!