Messy Church is a growing ministry, that engages and builds relationships with thousands of people outside the usual church context, drawing them into an intergenerational Christ-centred community, exploring God’s story through creativity, hospitality and celebration.
Our 2026 survey suggests that for nearly 50% of people who come to Messy Church, it is their only church. Week by week, new Messy Churches are starting across the UK in towns, cities and rural locations. Throughout 2025, approximately 143,850 people attended a Messy Church, 52% of which were children and 48% were adults, demonstrating that it is a tried and tested way of bringing the generations together. We hear stories of 4 generations from the same family rediscovering faith through Messy Church.
The BRF ministries Messy Church team are here to help churches get started, providing training, advice, an info-packed website, directory, resources, research and best practice guidance to help you sustain your community. Launching this Autumn, our new regional support teams will provide more opportunities to connect locally, share ideas and pray with other leaders.
It’s an amazing intergenerational ministry and now a global movement, but it all costs time and money.
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. We’d love you to enable other Messy Churches to benefit from receiving our resources and encouragement when they need it.
To help finance ongoing development and the new regional teams, we are introducing an annual registration fee of £25 – that’s less than 50p per week!
Registration means you are:
- 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.
We realise that asking for support from the Messy Church network itself, alongside our normal individual donation and charitable trust routes, is a change to the way that the UK Messy Church ministry is funded and it is vital to us that cost is not a barrier for any Messy Church. Therefore, if paying the registration fee is genuinely difficult in your context, please get in touch at messychurch@brf.org.uk. We’re committed to ensuring Messy Church remains accessible and can offer bursary support or reduced rates where needed.
FAQ’s
Why do I need to be registered on the Messy Church directory?
Messy Church is an exciting, growing, intergenerational ministry and we’d love you to join us on the journey. Registration means you are part of the global Messy Church network, joining in with God’s mission to reach new people for Christ.
It means you’re included in the Messy Church Directory. After the home page, the Messy church directory is the most visited page of our website. It received 1,611 views between 1 – 30 April 2026, helping people find a local Messy Church. Your registration also helps us provide data for funding bids for new projects and innovations.
Joining the directory will enable you to get connected to regional gatherings and support. These new teams will be able to provide more local and contextualised support. As leaders you are never alone!
You will continue to receive support from the national team and wider movement. For example, you can apply for a customised logo and have access to the latest resources as we develop our training offer and work on new projects for the Messy Church movement.
Registration also gives you royalty-free use of the trade-marked Messy Church logo.
Who needs to register?
Each individual Messy Church should register annually. Registration is for the Messy Church as a ministry, not for individual team members.
Do individual volunteers or leaders need to pay separately?
No. The annual registration fee is paid once per Messy Church and covers the whole team involved in planning and delivering that Messy Church.
Why are you introducing a registration fee?
Individual giving continues to decrease significantly across the charity sector. We are reliant upon fundraising and gifts in wills to deliver our ministries. As a charitable organisation, to see continued growth and development within the ministry, we are seeking financial support from the Messy Church network.
With an annual renewal process, we will have a more accurate idea of when and where Messy Churches are happening and more importantly, people will be able to find your Messy Church when they search on the directory.
I thought you received funding from the Church of England?
Messy Church currently has partnership funding with the Church of England for the Messy Momentum youth project. The 3-year funding is specifically for this innovation project, together with micro-grant funding for Messy Churches starting in CofE churches in areas of need. The funding is due to finish in early 2028. This funding does not cover Messy Church business as usual outside of this scope.
When is this all going to happen?
We hope to start inviting Messy Churches to register during Autumn 2026. Each year from the date you register, you will be invited to renew your registration. This will help keep the directory up to date, so new people can find your Messy Church.
What if my church can’t afford the £25 registration fee?
We realise that this is a change to the way that the UK Messy Church ministry is centrally funded and do not want cost to be a barrier for any Messy Church. If paying the registration fee is genuinely difficult in your context, please get in touch messychurch@brf.org.uk. We’re committed to ensuring Messy Church remains accessible and can offer support or reduced rates where needed.
What do I need to do to register?
During Autumn 2026, we will send you an email with instructions of how to register and pay your annual fee. Please make sure your current Messy Church listing is up to date, so that we contact the right person. We’re still working out all the finer details. No doubt the process may be a little messy, so please bear with us as we make this change. We’ll be posting regular updates through our social media, monthly e-newsletters and will continue to add info to this page.
When do I need to register by?
We don’t have a date yet, but we’ll be posting regular updates through our social media, monthly e-newsletters and will continue to add info to this page.
My Messy Church is not within the UK or Ireland – do I still register?
Messy Church is a global ministry and it’s exciting to see how it is developing in other countries. Everyone is welcome to register with us; however, please check if you are in a country that hosts its own directory. If so, we encourage you to link with your national team and register your Messy Church there. Check out our Overseas coordinators webpage – they would love to hear from you.
If your country does not have a directory or a national team, then please register with us – perhaps God is calling you to help champion Messy Church more widely in your country? If so, please get in touch!
I am already a ‘Friend of Messy Church’ – will this scheme continue?
Thank you for your generous support for this exciting ministry. This BRF Ministries welcomes and relies upon support in the form of regular gifts from both Messy Churches and individuals. Our Friends of Messy Church scheme asks supporters to give a regular monthly gift of £2 per month of more. Please see our website or contact our fundraising team on 01865 319700. We hope that you will be able to continue to give as an individual to Messy Church, even once the registration fee has been introduced.
I am an individual – how do I donate to Messy Church?
Thank you so much for championing this important ministry. You can make a difference by praying for us, getting involved with our network or by financial giving.
Ways you could help financially:
- Give a personal one-off donation online
- Give a regular donation by direct debit or standing order – download a giving form (PDF) – (see information about the Direct Debit Guarantee)
- Discover how you can make a difference through making a gift in a will https://www.brf.org.uk/give/gifts-in-wills/
- Give as you live https://www.brf.org.uk/give/other-ways-to-donate/
