By Marty Drake and Leyla Wagner Messy Church Leaders of Community UMC of Huntington Beach and Messy Church USA Regional Coordinators
As we consider the reasons for the decline in Sunday morning worship, we must then look at new possibilities for worshipping together. That is why we have organized the Messy Church Training 2018 event on October 6, 2018 at Community UMC of Huntington Beach from 9:00AM to 3:00PM designed for ministry leaders who want to envision something new for their church.
What We Know: We know that families are busy and pulled in many different directions and are looking for a time that they can spend together. We know in this world of social media we are losing our face to face relationships. We know that there is great value in worshiping and gathering together with people of all ages. The young learn from the old and the old learn from the young. We know that Messy Church is a community that offers all of these.
The Messy Church movement began at a small church in England in 2004 by founder Lucy Moore. Today there are close to 4000 Messy Churches throughout the world that meet monthly. The Messy Church movement is relatively new to the United States. Messy Churches are led by laity and clergy from a large variety of denominations.
What We Wish: We wish for those that are single or partnered, young or old, tidy or messy, have questions or doubts, are churched or unchurched, are filled with joy or struggling with life to have a place like Messy Church where they are welcomed. Having seen first-hand how transforming Messy Church can be for those who come, for those who are on the Messy Church planning team and for those churches that host this new alternative style of worship, we wish to introduce others to this new and exciting ministry. We also wish for the Messy Church Training to be a place to support, connect and learn from others who are already participating.
What We Need: We need laity and clergy who are curious about what is working, who are looking for a place to feel supported in trying this new thing, and who want to connect with other Messy Church teams to share ideas and learn from each other. We need prayers for those attending Messy Churches around the world, for those that are leading and for those that are still finding their way on this messy journey.
The time is now to step into God’s current of Transforming Christian Leaders!
