Why Scotland Needs Jesus

Scotland is a nation that captures your heart the moment your feet touch its soil. The rugged beauty, the deep history, the warmth of the people, and the stories carried through generations — it all feels sacred. But beneath that beauty lies a spiritual reality that becomes clearer the closer Lisa and I get to stepping into our calling there.

Many people don’t realize this, but there are more active Christians in a single small American town than in the entire nation of Scotland. Fewer than 1% follow Jesus in a committed, Bible-believing way. That means entire communities — entire generations — are growing up without ever hearing the Gospel in a relational or life-giving way. Scotland, the land of Knox, the land that once sent missionaries to the world, has now become one of the most unreached English-speaking nations.

And our hearts break for that.

But even more, our hearts burn with purpose.

Scotland doesn’t just need religion.Scotland needs Jesus.

It needs the hope that breaks cycles of despair.The love that restores broken families.The truth that brings clarity in a culture wrestling with identity and meaning.The light that pushes back the loneliness and isolation so many silently carry.

This isn’t just a statistic problem. It’s a soul problem.

It’s a generation searching for something real. It’s communities longing for belonging. It’s young people hungry for purpose but drowning in questions no one is answering.

And yet — in all of this — God is moving.

The closer we get to leaving for Scotland, the more the Lord opens our eyes. The more conversations we have. The more pastors we speak with. The more stories we hear. The more we recognize just how urgently this region needs the hope of Christ.

Scotland is not too far gone. It is not forgotten. It is not spiritually dead.

Dry ground is often the exact place where God brings new growth.

Jesus is needed in Scotland for the same reason He is needed everywhere:Without Him, people walk in darkness. With Him, they find life.

Scotland needs Jesus because:

• He restores hope where hope has faded.

• He heals.

• He brings unity to hurting communities.

• He offers peace in a nation wrestling with anxiety, addiction, and isolation.

• He calls people into family — something many have never truly experienced.

• He redeems stories that feel too broken to fix.

And here’s the part that humbles us daily:

God is sending His people — including us — to carry that hope.

To walk into the Highlands, into Inverness, into the surrounding villages and everyday places where Jesus is no longer known but still deeply needed.

We don’t go with all the answers.We don’t go with our own strength.We go because Jesus still saves, still heals, still restores, and still calls.

Scotland needs Jesus.And Jesus loves Scotland more than we can imagine.

As we take these final steps toward our move, please continue to pray for us — for open doors, favor, protection, and provision. But even more, pray for Scotland. Pray that hearts would be softened, communities would be reached, and the Gospel would once again flow like a river through a nation that once carried revival in its bones.

The need is great. But our God is greater.