History of Wellsprings - Part 1

In May 2006 David & Maggie had never thought about moving home, but by the end of June they had purchased a former church on the edge of Edinburgh! It had been used as a piano workshop for 15 years, and was in need of much renovation.

Their daughter had been having a day out with Jesus on the beach in East Lothian. She was coming back on the bus, and saw a For Sale notice on the church. As an avid 24/7 intercessor, with a heart to start a prayer room, she was intrigued. She chatting to her mentor soon after, who was encouraging and 'gave her permission to dream'. A day later she went to see it with some friends. As they wandered around the building, which was crammed with pianos and other musical instruments, they sensed 'this place needs to be released for worship again'! They felt it had to be a place of holiness and purity, so were struck when they came across an old plaque that said 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God'.

She phoned up the agent, and was emailed the particulars. She asked her parents whether they wanted to come and see it too, so one sunny afternoon at the beginning of June they went out and had a look [thinking 'this is a fun, zany idea, but would be impossible']. However, as they wandered around it they felt something of excitement stir within. Maggie and David have had a heart for creative prayer and worship for several years, and God had spoken to them in scriptures, dreams and prophesies. As they walked praying around the area afterwards, giving it back to God, a 'seed was planted' for a House of Prayer.

As well as a venue for prayer & worship, they could see it being a place for Movement in Worship workshops. It is in a location designated to be a major growth area of Edinburgh to the east, and an ideal location for a church plant.

Nevertheless, there were a number of problems! The property had Planning Permission to turn it into flats, and a number of developers were interested. It was also on the market at offers over £450,000 with only 3 weeks or so left to the closing date.

As he looked into it, David realised that the only way they could consider buying it would be to sell the family home and move....no small decision after 20yrs! Also, trained as an architect, he knew the building needed a huge amount of work to bring it up to standard. It seemed that it would be a rather impulsive, even reckless step. However, try as they may to lay it aside, the thought would not go away. The following Saturday David was out sailing on Loch Lomond and felt the Lord say 'You are not to worry about this; if it is of me, I will bring it about. If it is not to be, what would the the point have been in worrying about it anyway?'.