Messy Church

To be honest, Messy Church isn’t rocket science. There are thousands of church leaders, children's workers and Sunday school teachers all over the country who’ve been doing the Lucy More thing week in week out, for decades. But the point is, there are thousands more who also want to lead interactive, family friendly, engaging Bible exploration for all ages, but don’t know how, or don’t have the resources.

Plenty will rave over the vast collection of story ideas, craft activities, recipes and worship plans that Lucy brings together as Messy Church. But the bit that comes nearest to rocket revolution is how she makes it work. For one thing, she proposes getting Messy only once a month. Burn out is high in children’s workers; week in week out is costly, but Lucy’s plan is for one high quality event once a month avoiding the slide into exhaustion, over familiarity or even mediocrity. So give her the credit and give your children’s workers the recognition they deserve – and a break! Get Messy once a month and see the difference in your church, your community and faces of your faithful Sunday school teachers.

The first part of this book gives an introduction to what Messy Church is about, what it aims to do and how, including an inspiring reflection on Jesus feeding the 5000 as well as practical things like recipes, what equipment you might need and safety notes. The second part is 10 outlines for Messy Church sessions with ideas for craft activities, what to cook, and an outline of the celebration with suggested songs, talk and prayer response. I found this book helpful and inspiring and it has given us the confidence to go ahead and get started with our Messy Church project.