Gracemount is a housing scheme in Edinburgh with a population of approximately 3000 people. Although it’s a tight-knit, friendly, and protective community, it falls into the ‘Most Deprived’ category of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). In regards to income, employment, health, education, housing, and crime, Gracemount is ‘statistically significantly worse than the Scottish average.’
However, the biggest need, the most urgent crisis, and the most crippling poverty in Gracemount is spiritual. Most living there are spiritually dead, trapped, lost, unreached and unengaged by the church. Though there is a small Church of Scotland congregation in Gracemount, the need is great and the labourers are very few. Without the sustained witness of a gospel church, with the vision to engage and reach those who are ‘most deprived’ with the gospel, this need will remain unmet.
Hope for Gracemount
In 2013, Switch, a Christian parachurch organisation working with the youth of Gracemount, recognised the need for a local church and started a discussion with 20schemes. The leader of Switch was Sarah who would marry 20schemes church planter, Andy Prime. After years of labouring, Gracemount Community Church held its first service in 2017 on Easter Sunday. Gracemount Community is now an established church in Gracemount that reaches the people of Gracemount with the gospel of Jesus.
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