In Depth:  20 Schemes

A church-planting and revitalisation project in Scotland is facing the daily reality of drug misuse in its ministry.

A recent report released by National Records of Scotland showed that the number of people who died due to drug misuse last year in Scotland had fallen by 279 deaths to its lowest in five years – 1,051.

Three new churches are being planted this year in working-class communities in the West of Scotland.

The initiative is being led by the organisation 20schemes, which is committed to planting and revitalising churches in Scotland’s poorest areas, known locally as ‘schemes’.

Nine churches have been planted in just ten years in a pioneering Scottish project – thanks to believers who have grasped the concept of ‘missional living’.

20schemes is a church planting ministry set up and run by Niddrie Community Church, which is located in the scheme of Niddrie, south-east Edinburgh. And this year the initiative is celebrating a decade in action.

A BBC News article has been ‘a lightning rod’ for a Scottish organisation’s mission to bring the gospel to the poorest and those afflicted by addiction.

Twenty Schemes says the news item has helped it refocus towards planting churches in the poorest areas around Glasgow. Peter Campbell of 20Schemes writes: ‘On 30 July 2021 BBC News published an article announcing that Scotland’s drug death total for 2020 was 1,339 people. It means that Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug rate in Europe, and over three and a half times that of England and Wales. The worst-hit areas are, of course, the poorest, with the schemes (housing estates) being 18 times more likely to have a drug-related death than other areas.

A pioneering Scottish church planting initiative is hoping to establish three new congregations.

Ben Hansen of 20Schemes writes: ‘Almost one third of Glasgow’s population resides within the top 10% of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

20schemes is a project committed to seeing healthy churches established in the schemes (housing estates) of Scotland. In 2021, they hope to launch something called 20schemes Retrain. Communications Manager, Ben Hansen, writes:

20schemes Retrain is an initiative to provide job-skills training, business platforms, and start-up loans for our indigenous converts, so that they can grow in their faith and also their careers. An indigenous convert is someone who was born and raised in the schemes, who then comes to faith in Christ. A crucial aspect of Retrain will be helping people understand that work is a good gift from God. It’s a pre-Fall reality – in other words, work is not part of the curse. Even this simple idea is revolutionary for people in the schemes. Work is a good gift from God, and we want to treat it as such.

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted 20schemes in significant ways. The months-long nationwide lockdown has had severe effects on Scotland’s poorest communities.

Some of the impacts of lockdown are more obvious. Along with churches across the UK, none of our churches have been able to hold Sunday services. Our church-planting teams have had to put things on hold – including one that had to postpone the launch of their church, which was scheduled for May of this year. Some effects, however, are more hidden.