About Gilcomston Church

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Congregation

We are a lively family of all ages who gather from all over Aberdeen. Many who are working for a short time here from other countries worship with us, as do many students. We are building strong links with the local community, other churches in the area and the varied crowds who pass by our increasingly open door. We enjoy a blend of traditional and contemporary hymns and songs when we gather on Sundays. Children, young people and older folk are very much a part of the family here and all play an active part in the life of the fellowship. It is our pleasure to welcome newcomers to Gilcomston from any church background or none.

We aim to be a learning church, engaged in God's mission in this world, positive about the city in which we live. As such, our core activities are learning from the Bible, praying together, caring for one another and communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ on the street and community and around us.

We are part of the Church of Scotland and so we hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith; we recognise liberty of opinion on those things that aren't part of the core of the Christian faith. We try to measure everything by what we read in the Bible.

Click here to find out more about what we believe

Congregation

Inside Gilcomston Church

Ministry Team

Dominic Smart was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Scotland since 1979 and has been the Minister at Gilcomston since 1998. He was previously a Minister in Dundee. He is a regular speaker at conferences such as the Keswick Convention as well at universities and other venues. He is a visiting lecturer at the Highland Theological College. Dominic and his wife Marjorie have four children, a dog and two cats. He became a Christian in 1973 after a gospel meeting in Bradford City football ground, and for many years was involved in United Beach Missions. He has written several books, including When We Get It Wrong, on failure; Grace, Faith and Glory, on the Bible's antidotes to legalism; and Kingdom Builders and Kingdom Growth on the book of Acts (all published by Authentic Media), 40 Days with Jesus and 40 Days with David (published by Christian Focus Publications). He likes jazz music and Indian food and roasts his own coffee (yes, he's hooked!).

Angela Tudor
From England via New Zealand and Tanzania to Scotland; from Anglican to Baptist to Presbyterian (like the Vicar of Bray!) – a brief story of my life. Angela Tudor

Most of my early life was spent in Buckinghamshire near Windsor. While training as a physiotherapist in London I became a Christian at a Christian Union houseparty. Submitting to Jesus Christ as my saviour and Lord changed my life.
After a few local physiotherapy jobs I emigrated to New Zealand. In a small hospital there I gained all round experience on the wards and in outpatient work. It was also there that I felt God’s call to overseas mission. Returning to England I studied at All Nations Christian College and went to Tanzania with BCMS (now known as Crosslinks). I loved being in Africa and being involved in the local church and in the medical work, initially in a general hospital and then in a specialist leprosy hospital. It was with great sadness that I had to return home because of illness – but if I hadn’t come home I wouldn’t have met Geoffrey!
We lived in Chichester in West Sussex. I worked in a psychiatric hospital – a new area for me. When Geoffrey got a job with Grampian Regional Council and we moved to Aberdeen, I worked mainly in the care of the elderly wards at Woodend Hospital. My last job for the National Health Service was as a Community Physiotherapist, which included working at Croft House.
Our church in Chichester had a long tradition of supporting mission partners. One of these partners was leading a translation project in which I was invited to participate actively as a trustee. The work was completed in 2001. The church also had a local outreach programme in which it was good to be involved. In Aberdeen we became members of Gerrard Street Baptist Church. It was a considerable privilege there to be asked to lead the Mission Core Group and in that role to get to know personally those who had been serving long term overseas and to assist others considering such work. One of the achievements of the Core Group was to send Alistair Brown, our Pastor, to visit all of our overseas partners. So Dominic, beware!
For the last three years we have been at Gilcomston, where we have appreciated so much the Biblical expository preaching, and the friendship of the people we have come to know. I am amazed and delighted to have been asked to continue serving Christ’s church, here, as Parish Worker. The words of Jesus in John 15:1-17 have spoken to my heart at various times in the past and do so again now.

Josh Malone was born in the United States and has followed a circuitous path to Aberdeen with
his wife Emily and two children, Rebekah and Luke. He studied electrical engineering at Texas A&M University and then worked as a design engineer, during which time he attended seminary in Dallas, Texas. He transitioned into vocational ministry after five years in engineering and served as a college minister in Dallas, then a young adults minister in Iowa City, Iowa. From there he came to Aberdeen to study Theology in 2009, completing his masters in 2010 and then beginning his doctoral research on the Trinity. Josh became a Christian at a young age and points to the ministry of his uni church as instrumental in shaping his interest toward theological studies and his desire to teach. He hopes to serve as a theological educator, in service of the church, after finishing his PhD. When he’s not studying, he spends as much time as possible with his family exploring the countryside and sampling 'exotic' Scottish cuisine.

Philippa Lind was born in Northern Ireland and moved to Aberdeen in 2006 to study Theology at the University of Aberdeen. Whilst at university she was involved in the Christian Union where Pip she met her husband Alec. They got married on the 4th September, 2009 in Gilcomston South Church and are enjoying sharing their lives together. In their spare time they love having people over for dinner, going for walks and travelling. Philippa became a Christian at the age of 16 whilst attending a conference in Northern Ireland. After school, she took a GAP year with SIM and travelled to Uruguay. In Uruguay she spent her time working with young people both in the church and in the British School. She met some great friends in Uruguay and hopes to visit some time soon. Philippa is delighted to be part of the team here at Gilc and looks forward to seeing God continue to work in Aberdeen. She hopes to become a R.E teacher in the future.