St Columba's Free Church of Scotland

What St Columba's Free Church of Scotland does

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland is a registered Scottish charity (SC016551) and a congregation within the Free Church of Scotland denomination, located at Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2PW. It provides Christian worship, biblical teaching, pastoral care, and community fellowship to a broad Edinburgh audience — described by the church itself as "followers of Jesus, sceptics, and the curious." Core activities consist of two Sunday worship services (10:30 AM morning and 5:30 PM evening), midweek City Groups organized by geographic area, and an extensive discipleship and pastoral programme portfolio that includes Grace Groups, a Trainees ministry-training pathway (linked to Edinburgh Theological Seminary and Cornhill), Open Book women's Bible study, Men's Fellowship, youth groups, Students and Young Workers gatherings, and Kids' Church and Crèche for children. The church operates with approximately nine staff (including Church Administrator Donna Macleod) and is governed by a Kirk Session and Deacons' Court under Free Church of Scotland Presbytery oversight.

The digital infrastructure supporting these ministries consists of the stcolumbas.freechurch.org website, an Elvanto church management platform for internal administration, YouTube-based live streaming of Sunday services, and a 1000+ sermon audio/video library hosted on a third-party sermon platform and distributed across six podcast networks (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast, TuneIn) plus social channels on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. There is no commercial product, pricing model, or fee-bearing service.

Revenue is generated entirely through voluntary donations from congregation members, channeled into a General Fund, a Hardship Fund, and two Church Planting funds (Winchburgh and Hope Church Leith), with UK Gift Aid reclaim capability for eligible UK taxpayers. The church maintains strategic alliances with Edinburgh Theological Seminary, Cornhill, the wider Free Church of Scotland denomination, and other local Edinburgh churches (joint Youth Group), and operates in compliance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.

Name

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland

Legal name

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland

Website

https://stcolumbas.freechurch.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland is a registered Scottish charity congregation within the Free Church of Scotland, based at Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh. It serves followers of Jesus, sceptics, and the curious with Sunday worship, Bible teaching, pastoral care, and a structured discipleship and community programme portfolio funded by voluntary donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services (Church Congregation)

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious Organizations (813110)

akta.pro primary industry

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Protestant Mainline Broadcasting (MPABALAD)

Keywords

• Christian worship services
• Sermon archive podcasts
• Biblical discipleship programs
• Pastoral care ministry
• Church community fellowship

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tithes and Offerings: Voluntary financial donations from congregation members including General fund, Hardship Fund, and Church Planting initiatives (Winchburgh and Hope Church Leith). Church accepts Gift Aid (25% reclaim from UK tax authorities). No collection taken during service; collection box provided instead.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland is a Christian congregation that fundamentally offers regular Sunday worship services (10:30 AM and 5:30 PM) at Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, along with a live-streamed service, an online archive of over 1,000 sermon recordings, structured discipleship and pastoral programs (City Groups, Grace Groups, youth and children's ministries), and an online donation platform with Gift Aid reclamation. The offerings are aimed at followers of Jesus, sceptics, and the curious seeking spiritual community, biblical teaching, and pastoral support in Edinburgh.

Product overview

St Columba's Free Church of Scotland is a traditional church congregation offering a digitally integrated ministry portfolio. The core offering consists of in-person Sunday worship services (Morning at 10:30 AM and Evening at 5:30 PM) supplemented by a live streaming service via YouTube, an extensive sermon audio and video library (over 1000 recordings) hosted on a third-party sermon platform with podcast distribution across major podcasting networks, online giving functionality, and a structured discipleship program including Grace Groups, City Groups, pastoral teams, youth and children's ministries, and trainee ministry training. The digital presence is anchored by the main church website, which serves as a unified portal connecting these individual programs and resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person Worship Services Weekly Sunday worship services (Morning 10:30 AM and Evening 5:30 PM) at Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, featuring singing, prayer, scripture reading, preaching, and Communion twice monthly, delivered to followers of Jesus, sceptics, and the curious in Edinburgh.
• Live Streaming Service Live video stream of Sunday morning and evening worship services broadcast via YouTube, allowing remote congregation members and visitors beyond Edinburgh to participate in real time.
• Sermon Audio and Video Library A digital archive of over 1,000 sermon recordings available as MP3 audio downloads, podcast streams, and YouTube video, organised by series, preacher, and date, accessible to the congregation and the wider public.
• Discipleship Programs A suite of mid-week and Sunday programs including Grace Groups (in-depth Bible study), City Groups (regional house groups), pastoral teams, student and young worker groups, youth group, Kids' Church and Crèche, Open Book (women's Bible study), Men's Fellowship, and trainee ministry training programs, delivered to congregation members across age groups.
• Online Giving Platform Online donation system accepting contributions to General Fund, Hardship Fund, Church Planting - Winchburgh, and Church Planting - Hope Church Leith, with Gift Aid (25%) reclaim capability for UK taxpayers, offered to congregation members and supporters.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Edinburgh Theological Seminary (ETS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrainees from St Columba's study at Edinburgh Theological Seminary as part of their ministry training programme for those entering full-time preaching and pastoral ministry.
• CornhillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSome trainees study at Cornhill (biblical training institution) as part of their programmes preparing for ministry in the local church.
• Other Local Edinburgh Churches (Edinburgh Youth Group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdinburgh Youth Group is run in partnership with other local churches, providing monthly social events for teenagers across the wider Edinburgh area.
• Free Church of ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Free Church of Scotland denomination with connections to Presbytery and central databases maintained at The Mound, Edinburgh. Supports church planting initiatives and wider Free Church ministry and training.
• Lothian BusesminorOthersPublic transportation provider serving Edinburgh with bus routes near the church on George IV Bridge.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Free Church of Scotland (Denomination HQ): The national denomination of which St Columba's is a congregation. Provides governance, training pathways, and central databases. Comparable as the umbrella organisation governing St Columba's operations and church-planting strategy.
• Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB): A large, well-resourced Anglican evangelical church in London known for Alpha Course and extensive digital content. Not a direct competitor (different city, denomination, and scale) but a benchmark for sermon-archive-driven digital reach and discipleship programming.

Direct peers

• Destiny Church Edinburgh: A multi-generational evangelical church in Edinburgh with comparable Sunday services, youth and children's programmes, and community outreach focus. Relevant peer for benchmarking engagement programmes.
• Cornerstone Church Edinburgh: An evangelical congregation in Edinburgh offering comparable Sunday worship, small-group ministry, and Bible teaching. Relevant peer given shared city and evangelical positioning.
• Charlotte Chapel Edinburgh: An evangelical church in Edinburgh operating Sunday services, discipleship programmes, and a comparable community-focused ministry model. Most directly comparable peer given same city, similar evangelical theology, and similar size bracket.
• St George's Tron Church Glasgow: A Presbyterian/Reformed evangelical church in central Scotland with comparable theology, Sunday services, sermon archive, and discipleship structure. Highly relevant peer within the same Scottish evangelical Reformed tradition.
• King's Church Edinburgh: A non-denominational evangelical congregation in Edinburgh with Sunday services, midweek groups, and student ministry. Comparable in size, mission posture, and target congregation profile to St Columba's.
• St Peter's Free Church Dundee: A fellow Free Church of Scotland congregation in Dundee, operating Sunday services, sermon archive, and discipleship programmes. Most directly comparable peer within the same denomination and similar size bracket.

Emerging players

• Hope Church Leith: An emerging Free Church of Scotland church plant in Edinburgh that St Columba's actively supports through designated giving. Comparable as a faith-based ministry start-up operating in the same city and denomination.

Regional players

• Greyfriars Kirk Edinburgh: A Church of Scotland congregation in central Edinburgh with historic premises and active Sunday services. Comparable on city, central location, and historic-presbyterian heritage, though operating in the Church of Scotland rather than Free Church of Scotland.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stcsfreechurch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/stcolumbasfreechurch
• Facebookfacebook.com/stcolumbasfreechurch
• Instagraminstagram.com/stcsfreechurch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-columba's-free-church-of-scotland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Columba's Free Church of Scotland