MP: Tell us about how you became a missionary to Scotland.
Emily: I love remembering the details of how God led us to Scotland. The way ahead often seemed foggy and road curvy but everything is straight and clear as I look back! As I said, Mikey and I co-led a 6-week missions trip with 8 other students from TMC the summer of 2000. We worked at 2 churches in the Glasgow area doing children’s work and then spent two weeks at Carrubbers Church participating in an outreach during the Edinburgh International Festival that is now called Room 65. We preformed music in a coffee house environment and chatted with people listening at tables about our faith along with a team from Carrubbers. In the months that followed as Mikey and I were preparing to get married and we prayed about our future, a desire to return to Scotland started growing in both of our hearts. Mikey began ravenously devouring books on Scottish church history. Also, someone from GMI came to one of his seminary classes and spoke about opportunities in England and Northern Ireland. Mikey proposed going further north to Scotland and was encouraged to pursue opportunities. In June 2003 we came on an exploratory trip. We stayed with one of the pastors in Glasgow to observe his ministry. We also came through to Edinburgh to speak with Wayne, the pastor at Carrubbers, about being an American in Scotland (he’s from NY, wife is British). He expressed the desire of Carrubbers to partner with Grace Church and TMS in giving ministry experience and helping to place men in churches. Then when we came back to Carrubbers at the end of our month’s stay we met with another leader in the church. Over lunch he explained that the leadership had met and decided to invite us to oversee the university student ministry. Thrilled, we returned to the US to finish seminary, gain the blessing of GMI and raise the support needed to go. 14 months later we landed in Edinburgh on a foggy, wet afternoon, truly a Scottish welcome!
Emily: I love remembering the details of how God led us to Scotland. The way ahead often seemed foggy and road curvy but everything is straight and clear as I look back! As I said, Mikey and I co-led a 6-week missions trip with 8 other students from TMC the summer of 2000. We worked at 2 churches in the Glasgow area doing children’s work and then spent two weeks at Carrubbers Church participating in an outreach during the Edinburgh International Festival that is now called Room 65. We preformed music in a coffee house environment and chatted with people listening at tables about our faith along with a team from Carrubbers. In the months that followed as Mikey and I were preparing to get married and we prayed about our future, a desire to return to Scotland started growing in both of our hearts. Mikey began ravenously devouring books on Scottish church history. Also, someone from GMI came to one of his seminary classes and spoke about opportunities in England and Northern Ireland. Mikey proposed going further north to Scotland and was encouraged to pursue opportunities. In June 2003 we came on an exploratory trip. We stayed with one of the pastors in Glasgow to observe his ministry. We also came through to Edinburgh to speak with Wayne, the pastor at Carrubbers, about being an American in Scotland (he’s from NY, wife is British). He expressed the desire of Carrubbers to partner with Grace Church and TMS in giving ministry experience and helping to place men in churches. Then when we came back to Carrubbers at the end of our month’s stay we met with another leader in the church. Over lunch he explained that the leadership had met and decided to invite us to oversee the university student ministry. Thrilled, we returned to the US to finish seminary, gain the blessing of GMI and raise the support needed to go. 14 months later we landed in Edinburgh on a foggy, wet afternoon, truly a Scottish welcome!
MP: How long have you and your husband served in Scotland? What is Edinburgh like as a place to live?
Emily: We came to Scotland in August 2004. This week we will complete our fourth year of ministry to university students. We live on the northern edge of the city centre and love city life! We are able to walk everywhere! The grocery store is 5 minutes away, Botanic Gardens 10 and the center of town 20 minutes. Beautiful old buildings line the streets, green patches and parks are around every corner and various hills provide towering vistas throughout the city. The half million people who inhabit our city come from all over the world. This is truly a romantic place to live.
Emily: We came to Scotland in August 2004. This week we will complete our fourth year of ministry to university students. We live on the northern edge of the city centre and love city life! We are able to walk everywhere! The grocery store is 5 minutes away, Botanic Gardens 10 and the center of town 20 minutes. Beautiful old buildings line the streets, green patches and parks are around every corner and various hills provide towering vistas throughout the city. The half million people who inhabit our city come from all over the world. This is truly a romantic place to live.
MP: Tell us about your husband’s ministry and what he does?
Emily: Mikey is currently the assistant pastor at Carrubbers Church. He agreed to come for 5 years to gain ministry experience with a view to future pastoral ministry in Scotland. His main responsibility is overseeing INDEX ministries, the student and young worker ministry for those 17-30. We meet on Sunday evenings following the evening service from about 8:30-10. We usually welcome 50+ young people to our meetings. Mikey teaches weekly and leads our core team of 8 leaders. Regularly leading services and preaching at the main services of Carrubbers are also part of his responsibilities. He is also the pastoral leader over 2 homegroups that meet twice a month. When someone becomes a member of Carrubbers they are placed into a homegroup for accountability, care, and fellowship. All of these varied responsibilities are meant to give him broad ministry experience. Throughout the last four year he has also sought to network with other churches and pastors throughout Scotland. As we near our final year at Carrubbers, we are seeking God’s wisdom for his next place of ministry for our family. Mikey desires to be in pastoral leadership at a church in Scotland that is eager for God’s Word and discipleship.
Emily: Mikey is currently the assistant pastor at Carrubbers Church. He agreed to come for 5 years to gain ministry experience with a view to future pastoral ministry in Scotland. His main responsibility is overseeing INDEX ministries, the student and young worker ministry for those 17-30. We meet on Sunday evenings following the evening service from about 8:30-10. We usually welcome 50+ young people to our meetings. Mikey teaches weekly and leads our core team of 8 leaders. Regularly leading services and preaching at the main services of Carrubbers are also part of his responsibilities. He is also the pastoral leader over 2 homegroups that meet twice a month. When someone becomes a member of Carrubbers they are placed into a homegroup for accountability, care, and fellowship. All of these varied responsibilities are meant to give him broad ministry experience. Throughout the last four year he has also sought to network with other churches and pastors throughout Scotland. As we near our final year at Carrubbers, we are seeking God’s wisdom for his next place of ministry for our family. Mikey desires to be in pastoral leadership at a church in Scotland that is eager for God’s Word and discipleship.
Carrubbers, their church
Mikey, in the blue shirt, meeting with other men
One of the rooms in Carrubbers
MP: Tell us about your ministry?
Emily: Although helping Mikey and caring for the children take most of my time, the Lord has provided some other exciting opportunities. This year we have four females on our INDEX core team. I meet with them fortnightly. We’ve gone through two books, Biblical Womanhood in the Home and Shopping for Time. These are both excellent and facilitated great conversations about femininity and how to make the best use of our time! These meetings are also rich with encouragement, admonition and prayer. Recently I taught the women at INDEX. I enjoyed the challenge of making time to study and prepare to talk to them about the protection of purity. I also meet up with other girls from INDEX who seek me out for fellowship or counsel. Within our homegroups there are various opportunities, including praying for the members, encouraging the wives of each group’s leader, hospitality for the groups, planning ladies’ fellowships and organizing care for individuals in need. Recently, I’ve enjoyed opportunities to get to know mommy neighbours who are transplanted from various corners of the globe.
Emily: Although helping Mikey and caring for the children take most of my time, the Lord has provided some other exciting opportunities. This year we have four females on our INDEX core team. I meet with them fortnightly. We’ve gone through two books, Biblical Womanhood in the Home and Shopping for Time. These are both excellent and facilitated great conversations about femininity and how to make the best use of our time! These meetings are also rich with encouragement, admonition and prayer. Recently I taught the women at INDEX. I enjoyed the challenge of making time to study and prepare to talk to them about the protection of purity. I also meet up with other girls from INDEX who seek me out for fellowship or counsel. Within our homegroups there are various opportunities, including praying for the members, encouraging the wives of each group’s leader, hospitality for the groups, planning ladies’ fellowships and organizing care for individuals in need. Recently, I’ve enjoyed opportunities to get to know mommy neighbours who are transplanted from various corners of the globe.
MP: What are some unique challenges you face?
Emily: Thankfully the challenges that we face here in Scotland don’t seem very unique. We are sometimes surprised by the worldliness of many of our students. It can be challenging to spur them on to holy thinking, decisions and actions not because we have to keep rules but because we love Christ. Because of our biblical counseling backgrounds, the influence of psychology on Christians grieves us. And our winter days are short, dark and rainy but that is necessary to enjoy the sunny, green, forever days of summer!
Emily: Thankfully the challenges that we face here in Scotland don’t seem very unique. We are sometimes surprised by the worldliness of many of our students. It can be challenging to spur them on to holy thinking, decisions and actions not because we have to keep rules but because we love Christ. Because of our biblical counseling backgrounds, the influence of psychology on Christians grieves us. And our winter days are short, dark and rainy but that is necessary to enjoy the sunny, green, forever days of summer!
Here is a picture of some Index members who had Mikey and Emily over for dinner, as well as our stm team...
Another thing Mikey is very gifted in is giving Scottish church history tours. There is a LOT of very interesting history and Mikey is very knowledgeable. Here he is giving us one of his tours...
This is a very cool picture taken on the tour of a prison used for the Coventors...
And here is a picture of John Knox's grave. That yellow marker is where he is buried. Unfortunately, now, there is a parking lot right over that spot. He was such a great, godly man of God and the only grave he has is this marker.
Next we will hear about how to pray for this family, ministry, and country.
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