Back Free Church is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO38164. We are part of the Free Church of Scotland.
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Rev Colin Macleod
Minister, Back Free Church
Son of the late Rev Murdo Alex Macleod, Colin moved with the family and lived in Glasgow, Dingwall, Inverness, and Stornoway. On leaving school he served in the army for 6 years before coming home and marrying Aileen in 1993.
Colin was ordained into the ministry of the Free Church of Scotland in September 2000 and served in the congregation of Muir of Ord for 5 years. On sensing God’s call to the military, Colin re-joined the regular army and served for 12 years in the Royal Army Chaplains Department, before returning to pastoral ministry in Leith, Edinburgh. Having served there for 4 years he was called to the congregation in Back and moved to Lewis in October 2021.
“Aileen and I have been married since 1993 and we have a grown-up family of 2 daughters and a son who are making their way in a variety of career paths. In our travels we have learned a lot about ministry, and we are so thankful to God for all His blessings. As Christians our desire is to honour the Lord and follow Him in every level of our lives and that means the Bible is central to everything. The Good News of Jesus Christ is the greatest message in the world and our hope is to share and explain it as much as we can to as many people as we can! As individuals and as a church our goal is clear – to be Christ centred, Bible-based and Spirit filled.”
Our Beliefs
At the heart of Christianity you find a message about a person – Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the absolute declaration of God that the way to be saved is through having a personal and living relationship with Jesus that is based upon repentance from sin and faith in who He is.
As we explore the Bible, personally and without prejudice, we discover that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That’s the bad news – we are all sinners in the sight of God. This is why the emphasis in all the activities of our Church is placed clearly and with conviction on the belief that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – that’s the Good News!
The importance of this has been superbly summarised by CS Lewis who said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
How we respond to the Gospel is of the greatest significance and to be right with God, there is only one way to respond: our worship.
Our Worship
The main business of the Christian Church is to worship God and honour His name.
Worshipping together is vital to the growth and development of our faith in God. When we come to church, we are reflecting a desire to be under the power of God’s Word which is why the Bible is at the centre of what we do in Church and how we live our lives every day.
Our services follow a pattern that includes communal singing of psalms, prayers, a message to the children and a sermon.
Both services at 11am and 6pm follow this pattern and usually last for an hour.
We would love for you to join us as we explore the Gospel together and take God’s Word to our heart. This is a message for everyone and there is a place for you here.
“We must commit ourselves, heart and mind, soul and will, home and life, personally and unreservedly to Jesus Christ. We must humble ourselves before him. We must trust in him as our Saviour and submit to him as our Lord.”
— John Stott
It is this message, far more than any historic or cultural distinctive, that defines us. This is what we are about.
Our Denomination
Back Free Church is a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland. It is a Presbyterian congregation, one of 19 congregations that make up the Presbytery of the Western Isles. This Presbytery is in turn part of a number of Presbyteries representing the whole of Scotland allied to a number of other congregations beyond the Scottish Border.
Further details about the Free Church of Scotland can be found via the link below.
It would be our pleasure to welcome you along to any of our services or activities. We hope and pray that you will feel at home with us and enjoy being with us as a congregation.