Glasgow City Mission and the Recovery Church

“Everyone’s Recovering from Something”

The Recovery Church is rooted in the belief that whether recovery follows an addiction to substances, shopping, food or our own destructive ways of thinking and being; we’ve all been held back by something in our lives.

By showing us that recovery can unite instead of divide us, the Recovery Church breaks down the shame and isolation that makes this journey harder than it needs to be.

At 7pm on the first Friday of every month at Parkhead Nazarene Church, the Recovery Church welcomes anyone interested in drawing strength from each other and God in their healing process. They are invited to join others in worship and listen to the testimonies of those with lived experience of all types of addiction. This has included people struggling with eating disorders, coping with grief as well as those dependent on drugs and alcohol. Through listening and connecting with these stories, people who come along discover community, compassion and hope, in a world where these qualities are increasingly difficult to find.

Following lockdown and the temporary suspension of the Recovery Church, Glasgow City Mission partnered with Parkhead Nazarene Church alongside other local organisations to re-launch this vital service, acknowledging the immense value it brings to our community. Two years on, our partnership with the Recovery Church remains strong and we regularly draw in a congregation of around 200 people at services.

The Recovery Church provides essential support for guests who engage with our Rehab Pathways program. This service emerged to address the high number of drug related problems in Glasgow. The 2023 National Records of Scotland indicate that Scotland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths than any other European nation, with Glasgow and Dundee reporting the most concerning figures[1].

Our Rehab Pathways team welcomes individuals struggling with addiction who are willing to take the first steps towards recovery. Project workers mentor and champion guests throughout their challenges and triumphs, partner with them to access the right rehab services, and introduce them to a life-long community of supporters with shared experiences and goals. Guests have the opportunity to engage with tailored one-to-one support as well as group work focused on addiction recovery, crisis support and Bible studies focused on development and growth. Unlike many other services, our support is not time-limited. This allows the team to build trusting affirmative relationships with each individual, which becomes foundational to their recovery journey.

At Rehab Pathways, guests who would like to include faith in their healing process are invited along to the Recovery Church. Our project workers find that those who join the Church often feel it is hugely beneficial to their recovery. By engaging with this community, guests can pull from this important support system to motivate and carry them throughout their lives.

Tim, our Project Coordinator at Rehab Pathways, summarises the value of our partnership with the Recovery Church; “the link with Rehab Pathways and Recovery Church has been a really positive one, providing folks who are searching for faith an opportunity to engage with a larger community and continue to grow and develop. It’s been great to watch some of the folk that have come through Rehab Pathways, gone away to rehab and now share their stories of hope and transformation in Christ at Recovery Church.”

Join us on Friday 7^th February to see first-hand how the Recovery Church makes a difference.