Investigating and reporting on the mission and experiences of diaspora churches in contemporary Scotland.
Brendan Research, with funding from ACTS and support from the Scottish Church Leaders' Forum, are delighted to publish our research exploring the scope, nature and experiences of ethnic minority and new migrant congregations in contemporary Scotland.
This work was led by Dr Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, author of "The Changing Landscape of the Church in Post-Christendom Britain: New Churches in Glasgow 2000 – 2016", supported by Rev Dr Fiona Tweedie and Rev Dr Liam Jerrold Fraser, author of "Mission in Contemporary Scotland", as well as Rev Dr Ibidun Daramola and Dr Stefanie Conradt.
"Churches without People, and People without Churches" identifies over 200 diaspora congregations in Scotland and underscores the transformative role of multicultural Christianity in Scotland’s future. Key findings reveal that diaspora churches represent some of the fastest-growing and most active Christian congregations in Scotland. Ethnic diaspora congregations in Scotland typically exhibit youthful membership and leadership, and demonstrate a strong commitment to mission, church planting, and social outreach initiatives.
Diaspora churches welcome over 22,000 people to worship each week in Scotland.
A new diaspora congregation has been planted every 8 weeks since 2000.
If the Diaspora congregations were 100 churches....
• 70 would be African, 17 Asian, and 8 European,
• 80 would be in cities, 16 in large towns, and 3 in small towns,
• 53 would be members of networks such as MECTIS or local ecumenical groups,
• 28 would worship in their own property, 25 would share a sacred space, 42 would hire a secular public space,
• 44 have already planted a new church, 36 are working towards it,
• 18 would have female leaders, 70 would have bi-vocational leaders,
• 83 use English in their worship.
However, these vibrant communities face challenges, notably regarding suitable places for worship, with church building homelessness being a key issue. To address these challenges and harness the potential of ethnic diaspora churches, recommendations from our report include a call to the wider, established, Scottish church to foster connections and missional partnerships with diaspora congregations. Initiatives such as sharing or selling vacant church buildings at moderate prices to support diaspora congregations is also proposed.
In addition to this report, conference slides are available here, and a short paper will be published in Theology in Scotland in the Autumn.
For more information, please contact Dr Akomiah-Conteh at sheila.akomiah@brendanresearch.com
