Greetings brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ. I have recently returned from a trip to Scotland and I wanted to share with you an amazing experience I encountered while touring that great (and my ancestral) land!

It is no secret that the Christian church is on the decline throughout Europe, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Everywhere we went on our tour we saw beautiful old churches, but many of them were no longer functioning as houses of worship. Some had become museums, others community centers, and some had even become shopping centers, bars, or nightclubs. It was very depressing to see these once worshiping bodies turned into places of commercialism.

When I am traveling on a Sunday I always try and find a place to worship. This trip was no different and on a cold Sunday morning I found myself in Edinburgh Scotland, searching for a church to worship within. I was walking past an unassuming building when I noticed a church sign out front. It read “Carrubers Evangelical Mission, Founded by Rev. D. L. Moody.” Now, for those of you that may not know, Rev. Moody was one of the most famous and leading evangelists of the 19th century. Being able to join in worship in such a historic location was too intriguing to pass up. So I walked inside and expected to be sitting with a small selection of older people for a quick devotional.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The church was packed with more than two hundred persons of all ages! There were dozens of children running around, people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. The atmosphere was bright and worshipful. The pastor preached with a deep scottish brogue and preached the Gospel of Salvation. He preached the dangers of sin but also the abundant and all-encompassing grace of Jesus Christ. It was not a new message or new-age concept, it was the tried and true message of Christ’s salvation through resurrection. It was the Gospel!

I spoke with the Vicar after the service, who was a younger man in his late thirties. I asked him why his church was so full while others were empty. His answer was one that I shall never forget. He said, “The people here are seeking the Gospel, and the Gospel is what we give them. We do not seek to be political or socially relevant, we seek merely to preach the truth of Jesus Christ.”

There it is friends, the Gospel is alive and well in Scotland. But you may not find it in the gothic old churches who merely operated as places of social prominence, you will find it where the truth of Jesus is being preached and lived authentically.

We see this happening in our own country right now, even as we read this! In the past week revivals have broken out across college campuses in our country. Universities like Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, Baylor, Asbury, and many others are having mass revivals with hundreds being baptized in the name of Jesus!

The Gospel is alive and well my friends, and we here in Freestone County get to be the hands and feet of that Gospel. Such a prospect fills me with humility and excitement!

Remember what is written in Romans chapter one; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

Let the Revival Roll!

Pastor Mike McVey
First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – US Coast Guard, Station Galveston
Chaplain – Texas Game Wardens Association
Email: pastormike@fumcfairfield.org
Cell: 919-935-2513