Welcome! We’re delighted you’ve decided to start a Messy Church and this is your one stop shop for everything you need to get going.
Training
We recommend attending one of our Starting your Messy Church Masterclasses. These are free online Zoom sessions lasting 90 minutes. We cover:
- The Messy Church Values
- What Messy Church is (and isn’t!)
- The shape of a Messy Church
- Messy Church Goes Wild
These sessions are interactive, and we allow plenty of time for you to ask any questions you might have.
Our Starting your Messy Church Masterclass runs twice a month either during the day or in the evening. To check dates and book your place, head over to Messy Masterclasses page.
Resources
During the Masterclass, we introduce the various resources available to support you and there are some key titles we recommend:
- Starting your Messy Church
- Messy Church Does Science
- Messy Adventures
- Get Messy! Volume 2: Christian Basics Made Messy
These 4 books are available as a great value bundle from the BRF Ministries online shop.
You can browse all our resources here and see a full list of session material by theme and Bible reference here. There are also a number of free downloads available to mark special events and occasions here.
Advertising
Once you get started, you can add your Messy Church to our Directory. It’s free and simple to do. You will need to create an account with us first here – https://www.messychurch.brf.org.uk/user-register/ – and then you add the Messy Church here – https://www.messychurch.brf.org.uk/dashboard/add-your-church/
You can download the Messy Church logo and read our brand guidelines here. You can also download festival specific logos, e.g. Messy Church Christmas, and even request your own personalised version featuring your church name!
We partner with CPO who sell a range of customisable publicity material including banners – https://www.cpo.org.uk/church-supplies/courses-and-campaigns/messy-church.html. You can use them directly or use the designs there as inspiration and contact a local company to produce something similar.
We recommend the use of Canva to help make attractive, professional looking publicity. You might like to check out our ‘How to advertise your Messy Church’ video and top tips download here – https://www.messychurch.brf.org.uk/latest/resources/how-to/
Keeping people safe
Everyone involved in Messy Church is responsible for the safeguarding of young people. We recommend speaking to your designated safeguarding officer for advice before you get started. Visit our Safeguarding page for general guidance.
We have lots of forms available to help you:
- Risk assessment template
- Team role descriptions
- Family registration forms (including photo consent and contact preferences)
Keeping in touch
Sign up to receive the monthly Messy Church newsletter and follow us on social media.
Messy Meet-ups are usually held termly on Zoom and are an opportunity to meet with other Messy Church leaders to share information and ideas related to a particular topic. Head over to our Events page to see what’s coming up.
Funding
Thanks to generous funding from the Church of England, we can offer a support package to CofE Churches in areas of need wanting to start a new Messy Church. We can offer microgrants of £250 to purchase resources for your new Messy Church, a bundle of Messy Church books worth over £50, training and ongoing support in the form of an online learning community of Messy Church leaders ministering in areas of need. Find out more here.
Many denominations offer grants to establish new worshipping communities which you may be entitled to when starting a Messy Church.
For ongoing costs, check out our A-Z of fundraising ideas.
Coming Soon: Messy Church Regional Teams!
We’ve been listening carefully to Messy Church teams and leaders across the country. One thing came through loud and clear: you want more opportunities to connect locally – to share ideas, pray together, learn from one another and feel supported by people who understand the joys and challenges of Messy Church.
So we’re excited to say… it’s happening!
This autumn we’re launching new Messy Church Regional Teams – designed to bring support, encouragement and connection closer to home.
Contact the BRF Ministries Messy Church Team directly at messychurch@brf.org.uk
Registration Fee
Currently, Messy Church is resourced, supported and enabled by BRF ministries. The work of our Messy Church team wouldn’t be possible without the prayer and financial support of individuals, churches and charitable trusts.
To continue to grow and develop the Messy Church network and deepen our support of Messy Churches, large and small, wherever they are found, we are now also looking for financial support from within the Messy Church network itself.
To help finance ongoing development and the new regional teams, this Autumn we are introducing an annual registration fee of £25 per Messy Church.
Registration means the Messy Church is:
- part of the Messy Church network
- included in the Messy Church Directory
- connected to regional gatherings and support
- supported by the national team and wider movement
- use of the trade-marked Messy Church logo, royalty-free
It also contributes to the ongoing development of resources and training that benefit the whole network.
