McKERLIE James & Linda

I work as part of a team of seven leaders seeking to plant Darnley Mill Church in the South side of Glasgow. I am married to Linda and we have three children. I worked for 18 years as a Technology teacher in secondary schools in Paisley and East Renfrewshire before, in 2011, I heard the call of God to devote more time to the study of His word. I attended Tilsley College for one year, then worked as an outreach worker in my home church, Victoria Evangelical Church, in a multicultural area of Glasgow.  After which, I joined the Darnley Mill Church plant team. 

Darnley is a socially diverse area with a mixture of social and private housing. In recent years there has been a substantial amount of private houses built and this building work continues today. We estimate around 3,500 homes in the immediate area. We have a church service twice per month in a bar/ restaurant in the centre of the area called ‘The Old Plane Tree’. This has been a great base for us and we have been using it for various activities including senior citizens group and holiday children’s club. We are seeking to expand this into a weekly children’s club, toddlers’ group and possibly a discovery course. We are also seeking opportunities to be involved in local schools. In the longer term we seek to grow ‘Darnley Mill Church’ into a thriving church with a building of its own but in the meantime, partnering with the Old Plane Tree has been positive and is helping us to build relationships in the local community.