Messy Church 2: Ideas for Discipling a Christ-centred Community: v. 2

Messy Church 2: Ideas for Discipling a Christ-centred Community: v. 2

by Mrs Lucy Moore (Author)

Synopsis

This is a follow-on from the hugely-successful Messy Church book which is on its third reprint. It presents a year's worth of new material, plus new content to take Messy Church visitors deeper in Christian faith the rest of the month. It moves Messy Church on through quality worship, reflective storytelling, creative crafts and prayers, recipes and easy-to-learn songs. It explores the implications of being church, rather than a children's club, including child protection issues. It includes input from churches that have set up Messy Church initiatives.This title is suitable for clergy, lay ministers and those responsible for all-age outreach to the wider community looking to build on the success of the Messy Church initiative with a view to discipling and faith development. It is an adult readership, but material designed to resource people of all ages.Alongside the usual mix of creativity, fun, Christian hospitality and thanksgiving this second volume of Messy Church explores the importance of discipleship, faith development and training for leadership. The material includes insights into the theology of the sacred in the ordinary and ideas for practical ways to promote a sense of fellowship and community. The book contains a further fifteen units, again covering a year's worth of material, but this time with a view to enabling those taking part to go deeper with God. Topics include: key events in Jesus' life; Christian basics; biblical stories of faith; and, baptism and Holy Communion.

$3.83

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Quantity

4 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Publisher: Barnabas
Published: 21 Nov 2008

ISBN 10: 1841016020
ISBN 13: 9781841016023

Media Reviews
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
Author Bio
Lucy Moore is part of BRF's Barnabas team. She makes use of original performance poetry, mime, storytelling and a variety of drama workshop activities in her work. Lucy is author of many books including The Gospels Unplugged and Messy Church, all published by Barnabas.