Messy Church 2: Ideas for discipling a Christ-centred community

Messy Church 2: Ideas for discipling a Christ-centred community

Author : Lucy Moore
£8.99

Another messy outing from Lucy Moore, this book follows on from the popular Messy Church, which has sold over 4500 copies since it was first published in 2006. Alongside the usual mix of creativity, fun, Christian hospitality and thanksgiving Messy Church 2 explores the importance of discipleship, faith development and training for leadership.

Title Messy Church 2: Ideas for discipling a Christ-centred community
Author Lucy Moore
Description

Another messy outing from Lucy Moore, this book follows on from the popular Messy Church, which has sold over 4500 copies since it was first published in 2006. Alongside the usual mix of creativity, fun, Christian hospitality and thanksgiving Messy Church 2 explores the importance of discipleship, faith development and training for leadership.

The material includes many ideas for practical ways to promote a sense of fellowship and community. The book contains a further fifteen units of fun, food, crafts and mess, with a year's worth of material that your Messy Church will love. There is also the guidance to enable those taking part to go deeper with God.

Topics include:

  • Key events in Jesus' life;
  • Christian basics;
  • Biblical stories of faith;
  • Baptism and Holy Communion.

Messy Church 2 is ideal for clergy, lay ministers and those responsible for all-age worship; it is also ideal for those involved with outreach to the wider community looking to build on the success of the Messy Church initiative. The book is written for an adult readership, but contains material designed to resource people of all ages.

Details
  • Product code: 9780857462305
  • Published: 22 June 2012
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • Dimensions: 130mm wide and 198mm high

Another messy outing from Lucy Moore, this book follows on from the popular Messy Church, which has sold over 4500 copies since it was first published in 2006. Alongside the usual mix of creativity, fun, Christian hospitality and thanksgiving Messy Church 2 explores the importance of discipleship, faith development and training for leadership.

The material includes many ideas for practical ways to promote a sense of fellowship and community. The book contains a further fifteen units of fun, food, crafts and mess, with a year's worth of material that your Messy Church will love. There is also the guidance to enable those taking part to go deeper with God.

Topics include:

  • Key events in Jesus' life;
  • Christian basics;
  • Biblical stories of faith;
  • Baptism and Holy Communion.

Messy Church 2 is ideal for clergy, lay ministers and those responsible for all-age worship; it is also ideal for those involved with outreach to the wider community looking to build on the success of the Messy Church initiative. The book is written for an adult readership, but contains material designed to resource people of all ages.

... a wealth of well-judged, practical and supremely usable material. 'The Methodist Recorder'
Lucy Moore is part of BRF's Barnabas team. She makes use of original performance poetry, mime, storytelling and a variety of drama workshop activites in her work. Lucy is author of many books including The Gospels Unplugged and Messy Church, all published by Barnabas.

From Regent's Reviews - October 2010

In recent years the Bible Reading Fellowship have been publishing some fantastic resources for churches to engage with children and families in worship. At the forefront of this has been Lucy Moore, who has spearheaded the phenomena that is 'Messy Church'.

A previous book introduced Messy Church to a wider audience. Messy Church 2 continues with a new set of ideas for an all-age and creative way of being church for the unchurched, but also with a desire to explore what 'Messy Discipleship' might look like. (If you are wanting an introduction to Messy Church, it is best to get a copy of the first book, as Messy Church 2 is written to readers who know what Messy Church is and are already running events.)

What I found especially interesting about this sequel is a commitment to seeing how Messy Church might also encourage discipleship at home, recognising that a couple of hours a month is not enough to sustain discipleship (and neither is a couple of hours a week!). Messy Church is not the only future of the church, (and Moore in no way claims this), but it does seem to offer an excellent way of engaging with families, as a means of exploring the bible and the Christian life and left me wanting to give it a try.

Reviewed by Andy Goodliff, Belle Vue Baptist Church, Southend on Sea


From Country Way Magazine Autumn 2009

Sequels can be problematic, especially when following something of real innovation and value. Less than a year after reviewing Messy Church (in Country Way 49), Lucy Moore's second book is on my desk. This is an indication of how significant Messy Church has been, especially as both books successfully negotiate the no man's land of all age... whether worship, church or community. And this is where Messy Church 2 develops from the initial resource, taking seriously the context of church as community and of discipleship within community.

The five-fold messy ethos is maintained and a broader range of themes is introduced; 15 in all, including fundamental discipleship issues (e.g. loving your neighbour), Christian seasons (e.g. Lent), biblical role models (e.g. Ruth), theological foundations (e.g. who is Jesus?) and means of grace (baptism and 'messy' communion).

Once again there is a simple, but subtle, theological introduction - this time concerning what discipleship means for people with messy lives in a messy world, and how this can be encouraged. There is helpful guidance on how teamwork lies behind this approach, and a substantial section on food and shared meals as a means of engagement, discipleship and growth. And some frequently-asked-questions are answered.

A thoroughly rewarding and important resource for any contemporary church.

Reviewed by Simon Martin


From The Good Bookstall - June 2009

Messy Church 2 is a great follow on book - make sure you read Messy Church first! The concept of Messy Church is that families come together once a month to enjoy each other's company, eat together, make things together and worship together.

Because the idea of Messy Church is that it is church in its own right and not means of increasing Sunday morning congregations, Messy Church 2 sets out to address the issues that will arise once a Messy Church is up and running. Much of the book is focussed on how to disciple people and move them on in their Christian journey when Messy Church meets monthly and the worship session lasts only 15 minutes. The book suggests forming smaller groups to meet in between times, and also has lots of ideas for families to try at home which will help them to pray and learn about God together. It gives much to think about for a new Messy Church community and shares lessons already learnt (both successes and failures) by those that have been established for a while.

If you are buying this book because you have already used all the craft ideas, meal suggestions and worship outlines in Messy ChurchM, then fear not! The back section of the book is loaded with ready to roll ideas and recipes and will take you through your second year and beyond. It even includes a Messy Church Communion and a Messy Church Baptism!

The beauty of these two books is that they really are packed with do-able crafts and worship suggestions. We have been running for a year and have found there have been more than enough ideas for each session in the book, meaning that busy people can do Messy Church without needing to do lots of planning! Well done to Lucy and her team for paving the way for the many Messy Church communities now springing up around the Country!

Reviewed by Kathy Bland