How Messy Church is reaching out to the community- and how you can be part of it.
I’ll admit it, I quite like statistics. Sometimes they help you take stock. We can take part in some aspect of church life for years and never really stop to think, is this working? Are we spreading God’s kingdom in this activity? And if we are, how do we know?
Measuring and counting are only part of the picture of discerning the mystery of how God is at work, but they help to build up a picture. We thought we would share some statistics about Messy Church at Christ Church, and we hope you’ll agree that they speak volumes.
Fact: Since Messy Church at CCD was set up in September 2015 we have consistently had an average of about 70 guests: primary aged children and younger, and their parents, grandparents and carers.
Fact: Currently 31 families who come to Messy Church CCD would count it as their main or only form of worship. That’s 34 adults and 74 children meeting with God each month through activities and worship, and spending time together over a hot meal.
Fact: in 2018 24 adults and 28 children joined Messy Church for the first time. Of those, 16 adults and 24 children were new to worship.
Fact: 167 different people came to Messy Church in 2018: to explore, to create, to chill, to reflect (and some of them to make sure it all happened smoothly!
What does it mean?
Behind every one of those numbers is a face: a wonderful face, precious and loved by God. We never lose sight of that: we certainly don’t have much time for counting and analysing when we are at Messy Church but we do get to see the lovely faces and talk with these precious people.
Messy Church is all about relationships, and we pray that more team members come forward so that we can spend more time with each person, getting to know them and sharing God’s love with them.
But the facts and figures help us to see just what an amazing opportunity we have here to plant seeds of faith; to water them; to pray for them to grow; and to nurture the young plants.
What does it cost?
Our families donate towards the cost of meals. Our amazing team of home cooks prepare food for tea.
The time spent with our families is priceless. The time we spend praying for Messy Church is time well spent for the Kingdom. The time our brilliant team put into preparing, working and washing up is given sacrificially. The love poured out by Jesus Christ for us and for all in the community of Downend is beyond reckoning.
So pray for us. Visit us. Join us.