We had a great Messy Church training morning in May, with over 50 people attending from 15 different churches. Two churches were at the initial stages of looking to start a Messy Church, whilst others had been running them for several years. We had plenty of helpful and encouraging testimonies to share with the newer teams.
It was lovely to welcome Jane Butcher, our Messy Church regional co-ordinator, who brought lots of experience, laughter, encouragement and thought-provoking training, stirring plenty of questions from the floor. There was a real sense of networking buzz as people mingled and chatted, sharing stories and ideas with other teams.
Our topics for the morning included:
· how to make the most out of our Messy Church
· transitioning Messy families into church
· engaging older children
· how to engage all ages during worship
· what discipleship looks like.
[pullquote]Discipleship is like walking your friend home
[/pullquote]“Discipleship is like walking your friend home” a valuable and helpful quote from Jane to put into perspective how teams can come alongside both individuals to reach and disciple our families.
Practical ideas were suggested, ranging from adapting games with the older children into linking them with themes from the Bible story, to adding more craft creativity by involving specialist skills from others within the church such as woodwork. Jane even gave a great example of how you can turn the latest trend for children, fidget spinners, into a visual object lesson on the Trinity!
Quotes from the delegates:
“I feel encouraged and want to develop and improve what we do.”
“I’m going away more inspired.”
Let’s join with these Messy Church teams in praying for them as they continue to faithfully serve and reach out to many families month by month.
written by Fiona Stutton, Thrive’s Children’s Ministry Adviser. If you would like help setting up or running a Messy Church event do contact Fiona.