what we do

The church exists for the non member; we are not here for ourselves. So many church buildings are only used for a few hours on a Sunday. We believe that church is a 24/7 responsibility and buildings are merely tools through which we can touch the community. For us, the Christian message, while deeply spiritual has an intensely practical outworking in meeting the needs of people. The church does not exist to be a haven from the world but rather a haven for the world around us.

We currently have 150-200 people from the community attend our mid week activities in Leith most of whom don't attend our Church services. Little Leithers , our parent and toddlers group (which is now running on 3 days with 50 parents attending weekly) works closely with local health visitors who refer single or isolated parents to the service we provide.

We offer support for the growing Polish community with over 80 people signed up for our English lessons.

Our work with local teenagers happens in two groups; " Wildlife " for 11-14 year olds and " The Rock " for 15-18 year olds.

The Olive Tree is a weekly gathering for the over 50s, which helps combat isolation by providing a welcoming environment and a place to socialise over a cup of tea.

We have an accredited counsellor on staff and we have started offering a free counselling service to the community; our plan is to develop a team of accredited counsellors who can serve across the city.

We run a marriage course designed to help married couples enhance their marriage, and also offer pre-marriage preparation available for couples in the congregation and wider community.

Debt advice is also available to those who need it.

We have partnered with "Care for the family" to offer parenting advice and work in partnership with " Bethany Christian Trust " to provide overnight accommodation for the homeless in our building.

All these services are completely free and open to anyone.

January 2008 saw the launch of the Destiny Angels help line here in Edinburgh (this initiative was launched in May 2007 from our Glasgow Church) which will offer local support to those who have nowhere else to turn. Since May they have had 177 requests for help, with 80 people getting additional support after their initial need was met. Requests have included: food, loneliness, counselling, advice, and practical help.

In addition to all that we also host ceilidhs, motivational speakers and run various popular annual events such as conferences and short film competitions here in our building.

We plan to duplicate and expand this work both in Leith and at our new building in Gorgie. We want to serve the city as much we can and let them know the reason why:

because we love Jesus.