Nairn Free Church

We are a congregation of The Free Church of Scotland.

Murdo MacLeod, or Mud as he is more affectionately known is the minister of our church

The Free Church of Scotland was formed in 1843 when most of the evangelical ministers in the Church of Scotland resigned because of state interference in its internal affairs.


Under a system known as Patronage, landowners could nominate and present ministers to congregations, irrespective of whether those ministers were evangelical or even whether the congregation wanted them. This was regarded by many as totally unacceptable.


They understood the historic position of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland to be that the Church and State were independent in their own spheres and that they ought not to interfere in each other's business, but rather help one another for the Christian good of Scotland.


The result was that in 1843, in what became known as The Disruption, a new denomination was formed. This was initially called the Church of Scotland, Free, but later became The Free Church of Scotland.


The denomination currently has over 100 congregations in Scotland, as well as two in London, plus sister churches founded by mission work in India, Peru and South Africa. The Church has a full time seminary in the middle of Edinburgh for the training of its ministers and other Christian workers.


The Free Church is in fellowship with many other Reformed churches throughout the world and stands firmly in the tradition which accepts the Bible as its supreme standard and the Westminster Confession as its subordinate standard.


Central to our worship therefore is the preaching of the gospel - the good news of salvation through the sovereign grace of God in His Son Jesus Christ.