SENDING the ELLIOTTS
to SCOTLAND

Many of those who find their way to Upper Room Church have fled their homeland in the Middle East (primarily Iran) and traveled through Europe by extremely vulnerable and often horrific means. Some have fled their homes due to political dangers, some due to unsafe family situations, but most because of their interest in Jesus and the Gospel. In Iran, where converting from Islam to Christianity can result in a prison sentence or even execution, many people are still hearing about Jesus, being called to follow Him in a dream, or being boldly invited to underground churches to learn about the Gospel. These churches, however, often get discovered by the Islamic secret police leaving people forced to leave the country with only a moment’s notice. Many have to pay smugglers an entire life’s savings or even meet sexual demands of smugglers to take them into a foreign land with almost nothing. 

While Glasgow, Scotland is no short journey by ground or water transportation from southeastern Europe (where a smuggler would drop them off), it is one of the more welcoming nations to those seeking refuge. After an unimaginable and traumatic journey, it becomes their unfamiliar and strange new home. The Upper Room Church, which gathers on Monday nights for Bible study and Thursday nights for worship in another church’s sanctuary, gives these folks a warm welcome, and a safe community to learn that they are loved by God, and about the hope and new life that Jesus offers.

At the heart of the Free Methodist Church’s vision is the desire to see God igniting a Spirit-filled movement worldwide. We see this call to make disciples and empower leaders in this community in Scotland as a manifestation of this mission. On a grander scale, we are witnesses to how God is calling many people of Muslim-background to become disciples of Christ, and then missionaries to both the West and Middle East. Scotland is a place where the church once thrived, but has been dying away over the past several decades as the culture has secularized and become more and more “post-Christian.” The need for the hope and life that Jesus brings is as desperate there as anywhere. Yet the gospel is sounding forth from smaller congregations on fire for God like Upper Room Church, with the potential to impact both the culture around them, and those back in their homeland in the heart of the Middle East. 

The Elliotts will be going with their two kids, Sophie (4) and Calum (1), and one on the way, to serve this church for at least 3-5 years. Jake is an ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church and currently working on a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies. As lead pastor, his focus at the Upper Room Church will be on Bible teaching, pastoral care, and mentorship of future leaders, while also helping with worship, and discipleship ministries. 

Just over a decade ago two missionaries, Wes and Cindy White, began a small Bible study in a pub in Glasgow, where an Iranian man named Saied attended. This man invited more of his friends and the study soon outgrew the pub. Then it outgrew Saied’s own apartment. Then it outgrew Wes and Cindy’s 3 bedroom house, with over 70 people, most of whom were Iranian asylum seekers, coming each week to hear about Jesus and worship Him. It was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit among this people group who were exiles in a foreign land.

In 2021 Jake and Breean Elliott moved their family to Glasgow for 1 year to learn and work alongside Wes and Cindy and their whole team, now composed of a handful of Iranians, Brits, and Americans. After moving back to Santa Barbara, CA to continue work with Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara for 2 years, Jake and Breean received word that Wes White, lead pastor of the church had passed away from a pulmonary embolism. The church was sent into shock and grief at losing their shepherd. 

Following months of prayer and seeking God’s will for the church, the leadership team invited Jake and Breean to move back and pastor the church. The Elliotts feel strongly that God is inviting them to continue the assignment of discipling and shepherding this community where Pastor Wes had left off. Wes believed that although these people have been labeled as refugees, they had been called by God to become missionaries for Jesus in both the UK and to their families back home in the Middle East.