Two trainee ministers have been appointed to lead Free Church of Scotland congregations in the Western Isles.
Rev Murdo Campbell, 26, will lead worshippers in Barvas and Rev Thomas Davis, 31, will join the Carloway congregation.
Both men have just completed their studies for the ministry at the Edinburgh Theological Seminary and are expected to move into their respective manses over the summer.
Barvas had been without a minister since August 2010 and Carloway has not had a full-time pastor since September 2012.
Mr Campbell, a father-of-two, is from Stornoway and trained to be an electrician after leaving high school before sensing the call to ministry.
And Mr Davis, of Aberdeen, who has three children, was previously an engineer in Stornoway, where his wife Una is from.
Rev Iver Martin, minister of Stornoway Free Church, said: “We are absolutely delighted that these two vacancies have now been filled.
“Murdo and Thomas are both very talented preachers, and we are confident they will settle into their respective communities on the west side of Lewis and build bridges with those who have perhaps fallen out of the way of churchgoing.
“The pair have preached in several congregations across Scotland during their training and are held in high regard.”
A spokesman for the Free Church said it had witnessed a modest rise in the number of people attending services at congregations across the country.
He claimed it was “bucking the trend of nose-diving church attendances amidst the rapid secularisation of Scotland”.
Around 250 members of Stornoway High Church of Scotland left the denomination and joined the Free Church in May.
They decided to quit the Kirk due to what they claim is the “continuing departure” from scripture on various issues, notably the appointment of gay ministers.
About 90 people decided to stay at Stornoway High Church and the process to hire a new minister is now underway.
The congregation has been without an official leader since the retirement of Rev Willie Black in 2010.