How we worship

The highest intention of our worship services is to join as God’s believing people to offer a sacrifice of praise to the glory of our Good and Triune God.
Since the bible is our highest authority for what we believe and how we are to live, the central focus of our services is the systematic study of books from the Old and New Testaments as we seek to grow in our knowledge of God and understand His will for our lives. (We use the ESV translation).

During worship we sing both psalms and hymns.

​School age children attend age-specific Sunday school classes at 10.10am before joining with the full congregation for morning worship at 11am. A creche facility is available for toddlers and younger children during the service.  
Immediately following our morning service, refreshments are served and we enjoy a time of fellowship together. 

What we believe

The Free Church of Scotland is presbyterian in governance and reformed in doctrine, holding to the Westminster Confession as her subordinate standard. As a congregation our interpretation of biblical doctrine leads us to believe:
  • The scriptures of the Old and New Testament as being verbally inspired by God and inerrant and infallible in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority.
  • In one God eternally existing in one essence, yet co-equal persons, the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  • That Jesus Christ was begotten by God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to the virgin Mary.
  • In the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is the life of the believer and He empowers the preaching and teaching of the Gospel.
  • That mankind was created in the image of God, sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but spiritual death, which is separation from God, and that human beings are born with a sinful nature.
  • That the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are forgiven and justified before God on the basis of His shed blood.
  • That salvation is granted as a gift of God's Sovereign Grace and is ours through faith alone and in the person and work of Christ alone.
  • In the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His ascension into heaven and His present life there as High Priest and Advocate for us.
  • In the blessed hope, which is the personal, visible and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
  • That all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
  • In the existence of a personal devil, who is still working in the world to destroy the souls of men and that he, his angels and all who do not receive Christ as their personal Saviour will eternally perish in hell.
  • In the Church, whose mission it is to preach the Scriptures to all the world, all of its endeavours being guided by multiple leadership and supported by the wise stewardship of God's people.
  • That the ordinances of the Church, given by the Lord, are Baptism and the Lord's Table (Communion).

Leadership

As a Presbyterian church, we are governed by Elders in accordance with the teaching of Scripture. 
Acts 15:6 | Titus 1:6-9 | 1 Timothy 3 | 1 Peter 5:2-4
​
These men are called to act as under-shepherds who teach, serve and care for the flock of God's people entrusted to their care.

Minister

Rev Paul Gibson

Elders

​Mr John McFadyen, Mr Alisdair Smith, Mr Finlay MacSween, Mr Richard Tallach, Mr Calum McGregor

Membership

WHY IT MATTERS
Church membership may sound like a meaningless formality or even the stuff of man-made religion. However, membership is important since the church exists in order to display the glory of God in this world. In the church's membership the world should be able to see a reflection of the God who is Holy, graciously willing to save and powerfully able to transform His people. 

WHERE DO WE SEE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP IN SCRIPTURE?
  • The first biblical underpinnings for church membership are seen in the Old Testament where God makes a clear distinction between his people and the rest of the world (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:3; Deuteronomy 7:3). 
  • Christ said that entrance to the kingdom of God means being bound to the church on earth (Matthew 16:16-19; 18:17-19). 
  • The New Testament clearly refers to some people being inside the church and some people being outside (1 Corinthians 5:12-13). 
  • When we read the phrase "one another" throughout the New Testament this is almost always in the context of an exhortation to the local church. These instructions should therefore help us understand how the life of a church member should be lived.

WHAT DOES CHURCH MEMBERSHIP SIGNIFY?

1. A Living Faith in Jesus Christ
When a person becomes a member of a local church they are publicly declaring their trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and their submission, by God's Grace, to His Lordship over their life. It is a statement to the world that something definite has taken place and changed in the person's life. Whereas once they lived with little or no regard for God and His glory, they have come to see that they are a sinner saved by His Grace alone, through faith alone and in Christ alone.  

2. Commitment to serve & support the body of Jesus Christ  
In the bible, the church is often presented to us as being symbolic of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ: He is the Head; His people are the body. When someone joins a local church, then, they are publicly declaring their commitment to serving Christ, by serving His body. In practical terms this means making a personal commitment to giving a fitting proportion of our time, abilities and money for the church's use. 

3. An acknowledgement of, and submission to, the spiritual authority of the Church's leadership
Because the church exists to glorify God and because membership of a church signifies a person having been brought from darkness to light, how we live as church members is of fundamental importance. God has therefore entrusted Elders to the church in order that they might act as His "under-shepherds", providing pastoral care, teaching and leadership to the members ("the flock"). When we become a member of the local church we are therefore agreeing to submit to the spiritual authority and discipline of the church's leadership. 

HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER?
At Knox Church, we hold several membership classes throughout the year, at which those wishing to join can be refreshed in the essential doctrines of the Christian faith and the meaning of church membership. Each new member is then invited to meet with the Elders to be officially welcomed into the fellowship. 

History

Denomination History
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 2 in London and 5 in North America, plus sister Churches founded by mission work in India, Peru and South Africa. The Church has a full time college 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. ​

Local History
Immediately following the Disruption, Perth - “where the Scottish Reformation first sprang from thought into action” - had five Free Church congregations. Knox Free Church, which became the sixth congregation, began as a Mission Station Outreach to working class folk in the Meal Vennel just off South Street.

Through the labour of Walter Davidson, the first pastor, the congregation grew rapidly and a church building was opened on 25th March, 1857. This building, which fronted onto South Street, Perth, was in use for almost 100 years until it became a burden to the then much reduced congregation.

After several years in a hall above licensed premises in North William Street, a new church building was opened in the Tulloch district on the site of the present church. Unfortunately due to a major design fault and inadequate foundations, this building lasted for less than twenty years. It was demolished and replaced by the present church which was opened in September 1989 by the late Professor Douglas MacMillan of the Free Church College, Edinburgh.

In May 2002 The General Assembly united the congregation of Aberfeldy, Glenlyon and Pitlochry with the congregation of Perth under the name of Perth and Pitlochry Free Church and under the pastorate of Rev. Duncan M. Macleod. However, more recently the church's name has been changed to Knox Church Perth, reflecting the fact that our primary area of mission is the city of Perth and all surrounding villages and towns. 

Ministers who have served the congregation during the past fifty years include:- Rev  Kenneth MacKay, Rev Donald Fraser, Rev John W Heenan, Rev David Paterson, Rev Duncan M Macleod and our present Minister, Rev Paul Gibson.