Check this out!

Catch a glimpse of the beautiful city of Edinburh, where we live and will be beginnng our ministry.

Emails Updates?

If you would like to receive email updates from us, please leave a comment below with your email address or email us at nic.ash.edinburgh@gmail.com and we will add you to the list.

P.S. We wont flood your inbox, we promise! We are only going to be sending about 1-2 emails a month. ;)

Announcement

We are so excited to announce that we now have a Missionary Agency assisting us! World Outreach Ministries will help as our Stateside office. They will send Tax Deductible receipts to our supporters and facilitate all donations to our account. Please direct all future support to their office and designate it for Nic & Ashley Alexander #172.

Ways to Give:

1. Mail checks to
World Outreach Ministries
P.O. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
Nic & Ashley Alexander #172

2. Donte Online
https://worldoutreach.org/donateonline
Our name is listed in the drop down list. From there you can follow the step by step instructions.

Thank you all for your support! We are overwhelmed by the enthusaism of everyone we have spoken to. Your support is so important to us. Thanks for being a part of our lives and minstry.

P.S. Nic told me that we have commitments for 10% of our yearly budget! PRAISE GOD! We are astounded by the response thus far. And so thankful for God's continual faithfulness and how he always provides!

Prayer Walk through Edinburgh

On Friday, we went for a prayer walk around Edinburgh. We figured since Nic is completely finished with this Master's program this would be a good first step for our ministry. We took photos along the way so you could journey with us as we prayed for different areas of the city.



 

Pray for our friend who works at Yum Yum(one of our favorite take out shops). Nic has really hit it off with him and has started to have some really good conversations with him. Pray for wisdom and guidance that Nic will have to right things to say.

 

 

The Last Drop has been a great and special place for us to develop friendships. Pray that these friendships with University Students would continue to grow.
 

This is Grassmarket, our "neighborhood." It is a really large and popular public gathering area, between really lively nightclubs and stripclubs. It is already a place a joy and entertainment, but  Pray that Grassmarket would continue to be a place of joy, but that the joy would be found in Christ.

 

This is Cowgate; it is notorious for drunkenness, partying and mischief. Pray for the safety of those who are out late at night in this area. Also pray for wisdom and boldness for us on how to engage some truly broken people.

This is part of the University of Edinburgh, called New College: Divinity School. This is where Nic attended and completed his Masters of Theology this past year. There is a good mix of Christians and non-Christians among faculty and students. Pray that God’s word will be taken seriously, and that Christian students would grow deeper in their faith and prove that Christianity and academia can co-exist. Also pray that students who are not believers would come to know the truth of who God is through their studies.
 

This is the student union called the Teviot Building. It is FULL of students all the time, amongst the 2 bars, club, and other rooms designated for student groups. This would be THE PLACE to get best connected with the student population. Pray that we would make connections here and that God would guide us as we engage students from all over the world.

Currently Edinburgh is hosting multiple festival, the more prominent being the Fringe Festival. There are thousands of comedians, actors, musicians, and other various performers doing shows all around the city. These shows reflect the values and attitude of the culture of Edinburgh, especially of young adults. Sex and nudity is everywhere, faith and religion are the butt of many jokes, and overall many performance are degrading and disrespectful. Pray for conviction for those who are attending and those putting these performances. There are some Christian performances that come and try to make their mark on the Fringe. Pray that they are creative in their presentation of the gospel and are received well.

This is the Scottish Parliament building. Pray for the Scottish government to be infused with more Godly leaders who are interested in advancing the Kingdom.

This is our new flat! Pray that we would have a smooth transition (move in date September 1). Also pray that we would actually get to know our neighbours and find a way to fill needs in the community.

 

 

This is Leith Walk. It is the main street in our new area of town, called Leith. It is a couple miles outside of city centre and has more “real” (local) people, not a many tourists. We have been told about the great community Leith has and are anxious to become a big part of it. Pray that we are accepted into the community and that we have energy to actively pursue and develop relationship.

 

This is “The Boat” (i.e. Ashley’s work). We have been so blessed by this job and couldn’t have asked for a better fit. Ashley came on as an admin, but she was promoted within her first 2.5 months to a Project Manager. Pray that Ashley would continue to work hard and excel at her job. Also pray that as she continues to develop relationships with her co-workers that she would be an good example of what Christianity real is.

Arrived!

Posted by: Ashley

Nic is officially Stateside. He arrived in Chicago yesterday at 2pm (Chicago time) and headed for Indianapolis shortly after landing. I received a message at 3:20 (Edinburgh time) that he had arrived safely. :)

Please continue praying for Nic as he travels around the Midwest. Lots of people to see and places to visit. You can see his schedule here....http://down-to-earth-edinburgh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/coming-soon.html.

Pray for me to that I will keep busy and not be too lonely. It has been strange without Nic here and I am not quite sure what to do with myself.

We will keep you updated! Thanks for praying.

COMING SOON!!!

Post by Nic

IT’S ME! I AM COMING SOON!

I will be in the States from August 23- September 6 and I hope to meet with as many of you as I can. I have lots of places to visit and lots of people to see.  So I thought it would be a good idea to schedule times for a quick chat in advance. If you would like to meet with me take a look and see what works best for you and let me know. You can comment below or send me an email (nic.ash.edinburgh@gmail.com) or send me a message on Facebook. Can’t wait to see you all J

Here is where I will be when:

Indianapolis, IN – August 23-27

Springboro, OH- August 28-29

Lincoln, IL- August 30-31

Bolingbrook, IL- August 31-September 4

Chicago, IL – September 5-6

Greetings from Scotland!

Nic is a few weeks away from finishing his Masters of Theology. Studying at the University of Edinburgh has been a phenomenal experience for Nic. He has learned and grown so much as an academic and a scholar. However, it has become SO clear to us that God brought us here for more than JUST school.

Since moving to Edinburgh, we have been heavily involved with a church movement called Mosaic. They are a small community of believers that are trying to be and show Jesus to a culture that rejects him and finds the church cold, out of date, and irrelevant.  It was only about 100 years ago that Edinburgh was selected as the location for the world missionary conference and was considered the beacon of Christianity in Europe. However, with the rise of postmodernism/postchristianity, interest in the Church and Christianity experienced (and continues to) sharp decline. The rise of Secular Humanism has only added to the idea that church is unnecessary and there is no need for exclusive faith-based religion, never mind life devotion to God. Here people are encouraged to be self-sufficient at a young age and think that they can find life’s purpose on their own.

While, Edinburgh has gorgeous cathedrals and chapels throughout the city; many of them struggle to retain (and grow) their congregation, others stand vacant and some do not even functioning as a centre for worship any longer. While some churches trying to become more contemporary and relevant, many of the churches in Edinburgh remain quite traditional, or at least outdated.  Environments such as these are not exciting, attractive or inviting to those who are really in need of a church community and experience. It has become clear that for ministry to be effective here it must look and function differently.

Mosaic has realized the need for a new and different approach in order to reach people and it attempting to penetrate the city for Christ through alternative means. This is done through weekly worship gatherings, community groups, and missional living. Mosaic has been a great place of growth and encouragement for both of us even in the relatively short time we have been connected with them. One of the things that we love most about Mosaic and their vision is that they recognize and encourage everyone to use the gifts and passions they have to reach people within their immediate communities, those they see every day.

 Through Nic’s connections and relationships at the University, we have discovered our passion for engaging and interacting with young adults and the university students. The leadership of Mosaic has recognized and affirmed our calling and gifts to this group. As a student at the University, Nic has had an opportunity to understand the heartbeat of young adults here. We know their struggles and needs, the difficulties they face as young adults, and the important cultural, political and religious issues they wrestle with because we are right there, living life alongside them. There are 10+ colleges and universities in Edinburgh, and the city is crawling with students (over 57,000 in total), all of who are craving community and a sense of purpose in their life. We want to help them find both!

 We believe God has used this year as a time of preparation and growth for both of us. Since May, we have been intentionally praying and thinking about this ministry. The Mosaic leadership has asked us to officially partner with them and for us to develop a ministry for university student and young adults. We are beginning this ministry in September and have committed to this ministry for a minimum of three years. The basics of our ministry will include: 1) building up and disciplining a Christian community through worship, small groups and missional living; 2) joining and facilitating social groups to engage and make relationships with non-Christians throughout the city; and 3) taking part in social activism/justice opportunities to make a positive impact for the kingdom.

 Our goal is to raise about $1800 USD per month for living and ministry expenses. It would be great if you could support us in this new adventure. Whether or not you are able to financially support us, we really need your prayers and encouragement. Enclosed you will find a letter from James Petticrew, the leader of Mosaic, as well as a commitment card. We look forward to hearing from you. Nic is making a trip to the States on August 22- September 6 to generate interest and support in our ministry and would be glad to meet with you.

 Yours Truly, 

Nic & Ashley Alexander