Forbes continued the Presbyterian services commenced by Clow on 31 December 1837 in the "Pioneers Church" near the north west corner of William and Little Collins streets.

The Church of England soon made exclusive claims to this communal building and so Forbes held services in Craig and Broadfoot's store in Collins Street until a temporary timber building called "The Scots' Church" was opened on the adjoining land loaned by David Fisher in July 1838.

James Forbes built a simple manse (minister's house) on the site where the Assembly Hall now stands and was later reimbursed.

[4][5] The first church building was demolished partly because of concerns that the tower and spire would collapse after it developed huge cracks and became crooked.

[2] The Scots' Church is in the Neo-Gothic style and built of Barrabool freestone, with dressings in Kakanui stone from New Zealand.

[6] During the last decades of the nineteenth century the spire of the Scots' Church was the tallest structure in Melbourne at 61 metres (201 ft) high.

The interior features an impressive collection of large and smaller stained glass windows depicting various Christian themes including the Last Supper, basalt aisle columns, timber beamed roof and an elevated floor for a good view of the pulpit.

Queen Elizabeth had been accompanied by Menzies in 1961 when they visited the Scots' Church to unveil a war memorial mosaic in the vestible near the entrance.

Campbell breaks with this trend; as do the other members of the ministry team, reflecting the changing demographics of the city, and of Scots' Church.

[citation needed] Every few years, a visiting preacher may be invited to spend some time at Scots' under the terms of the Turnbull Trust.

[citation needed] During the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in 2021, Scots' effectively moved to online services using both Zoom and YouTube platforms.

This congregation has grown under the leadership of its founder, Prof Sen Sendjaya, who also serves as an elder of The Scots' Church Session .

[citation needed] As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the ministers and elders of Scots' Church are required to ascribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the major English statement of Calvinistic Christianity, read in the light of a Declaratory Statement explanatory of certain clauses and which also allows liberty of opinion on matters not essential to the doctrine taught in the Confession.

[16][17] Two Catholics have preached from the pulpit of Scots' Church, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Sir Frank Little, in 1974 and Bishop Mark Coleridge in May 2005.

[16] In 2021, Scots' worked closely with the Salvation Army Project 614 on a campaign called "Loving the City to Life", offering encouragement to the CBD community after 'the longest lockdown in the world' due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[18] In September 2008, Francis Macnab of St Michael's Uniting Church launched what he called a "new faith" with a $120,000 advertising campaign including posters reading "The Ten Commandments, one of the most negative documents ever written.

"[19][20] The session of Scots' Church installed a poster on the Russell Street frontage facing towards St Michael's describing the Ten Commandments as "the most positive and influential document ever written".