Latin Link

Latin Link is an international 'community with a calling' to love and serve God and our neighbour, through multi-directional mission work. The community includes over 140 members, from around 20 nations, serving in 15 Country Teams across Latin America and Europe.

Britain and Ireland is one of the largest country teams in the international Latin Link community. They are passionate about multi-directional mission: that is, sending and receiving mission workers to and from Latin America. They have offices in England, Scotland and Ireland.

Latin Link's vision is to see vibrant, Bible-believing Christian communities in every part of Latin America, impacting their neighbours, their societies, and the wider world.

Latin Link works in partnership with churches to send and receive individuals, families and teams, to or from Latin American communities, to share the love of God.

Their members work with local Christians to meet a diverse range of needs, from caring for street children to training church leaders; from supporting prisoners to generating employment opportunities. It's all about holistic (integral) mission; they believe that sharing the gospel means addressing both practical and spiritual needs.

Latin Link works through three inter-related programmes:

Step: Short-term teams for 2-16 weeks
Stride: Individual and family placements for 6-24 months
Stay: Longer-term individual and family placements for more than 2 years

At Avendale & Drumclog, we have supported the work of Joel Gonzalez and Mayra Gomez financially and in prayer since they first went to Mexico. They have paid two visits to us here, speaking at services and meeting more informally with people. They join our weekly Zoom-based Wednesday prayer meetings about once a month – it’s quite exciting to see them, share their news and pray together.

Joel, Mayra & JF

From Joel, Mayra & Joel-Fernando:

We have been in Puebla in Mexico for six years now and our roles so far for 2021 involve the following areas: Lecturing, counselling, writing material, hosting Bible and prayer meetings online and networking with other church leaders, missionaries and churches in various countries. Until June, hopefully, we will continue doing all ministries online, with very few exceptions when a one-to-one counselling approach is necessary.

We both lecture in Vanguardia Institute. Each academic year Joel teaches seven courses, two in Old Testament studies and five in Systematic Theology. Mayra teaches five courses, two on the Old Testament, one on the Synoptic Gospels, and two courses on how to study the Bible. Together, we run premarital counselling and pastoral counselling for couples and families. We are hosting online Bible and prayer meetings in order to plant a church in the near future.

Mayra is involved in the Latin Link GuateMex (Guatemala-Mexico) regional team, both in terms of leadership and Member Care, and also functioning as a temporary Short Time Coordinator for new short term mission workers in Mexico.

Joel is working with other local leaders with the view to plant new churches locally and nationally. This is in liaison with Latin Link and the Anglican Diocese of the Southwest, and our local pastor. He also writes material for a discipleship project on the topics of spiritual and Biblical reflection.

Joel Fernando is now in his first year at secondary school.

Please pray for:

More mission workers to come to Mexico, and for more churches to partner with us in prayer. We're especially praying for more church planters and Bible teachers to join us here - those who are willing to train and facilitate others.
For wisdom, vision, and good health for us as a family as we continue to work for the Kingdom of God.

You can read Joel & Myra's most recent newsletter here.

To find you more about Latin Link, please visit their website here.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

The church meets every Sunday at 9.30am at Drumclog and 11am at Avendale.

Sunday worship continues to be live-streamed from Avendale each Sunday at 11am on the Avendale & Drumclog YouTube Channel.

At Drumclog we meet at:
Drumclog Memorial Kirk
Drumclog
South Lanarkshire
ML10 6QG

At Avendale we meet at:
Avendale Old Parish Church
59A Kirk Street
Strathaven
South Lanarkshire
ML10 6LB

For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it at both Avendale & Drumclog. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up and show you where the disabled toilet is located if required.

Our Service - Drumclog Memorial Kirk

Drumclog

At Drumclog, the service begins at 9.30am with a warm welcome from our Minister, or the person leading the service. During the service we usually sing 2 or 3 songs/hymns. The Minister or a member of the Worship Team will usually read aloud from the Bible and lead the congregation in prayer. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. The Minister, or person leading the service, will then give a sermon that is Bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church.

The service lasts approximately 45 minutes. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service. After the service we serve refreshments (tea, coffee and biscuits) in our church hall. This is a great way to meet people and enjoy fellowship together. We would love to chat to you there!

Our Service - Avendale Old Parish Church

Avendale Wide

At Avendale, the service begins at 11am with a warm welcome from our Minister, or the person leading the service. Before the service begins, we will show a loop of news and notices on the screens in the church. This is a good way to find out what's going on in the life of the church. During the service we usually sing 3 or 4 songs/hymns, often led by our church praise band 'The Elastic Band'. The Minister or a member of the Worship Team will usually read aloud from the Bible and lead the congregation in prayer. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it's all part of our connecting with God. The Minister, or person leading the service, will then give a sermon that is Bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. Throughout the service, we may also show videos on the screens in the church to help us reflect on what is being shared during worship or in the sermon. We then share news and notices, usually about what's going on in the life of the church.

The service last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. After the service we serve refreshments (tea, coffee and biscuits) in our church hall. This is a great way to meet people and enjoy fellowship together. We would love to chat to you there!

images: Services

What about my kids?

At Avendale, we have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 4 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/carer at all times.
His Kids (5-10 years)
Yoof (11-18 years)

Children stay with their parent or carer at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and short Children's Talk. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the Children's Talk, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy the first time you come along to church.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, Bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

For more information about what happens in the children's and youth work please visit the Children's Ministry page and/or the Youth Ministry page.

N.B. - there is no children's programme or youth programme during the service at Drumclog.

Getting Connected

Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our Home Groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out our Home Groups page and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a Home Group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group. If you would like us to put you in touch with a Home Group leader, please let us know via our Contact Us page.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team here.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Other Groups in the Avendale & Drumclog Community

The following groups are also part of the life of our church:

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Rev Calum Stark - Minister		David Moreland - Session Clerk

To find out more about our staff and leaders, please visit our Staff & Leadership page.
We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

Calum Stark - Minister