Are you confronting challenges in your Messy Church?
We recently checked in with churches that attended our Get Started in Messy Church training in October 2021 and in January 2022. We focused on their Moments of Joy in a post last week. Today we focus on the challenges these new Messy Churches have faced. Next week we will receive their prayer requests. Commiserate and identify with the challenges they have encountered as they have started Messy Church.
What have been your challenges as you began your Messy Church?
- The first two months it was just getting the word out and having families take a risk and come; learned not to have it on Mother’s Day; but by the third month, we had 40 guests! Also explaining to current parishioners it’s not “about getting new members”
- Creating a team of leaders. We seem to have a lot who are willing to help out on the actual day but few who want to do the advance planning
- Some resistance to starting up
- Omicron was a challenge. Messy Church is a piece of our re-gathering after (we hope) the worst of COVID 19. We are still feeling our way. The world is full of challenges. We have decided to do a few events per year, and do them well
- The ups and downs of Covid and its restrictions and fears – light attendance
- Our biggest challenge has been getting the word out. I know there are families in our city who would love to be a part of our Messy Church community. We are still working on the best ways to reach them and invite them to Messy Church
- It can also be difficult recruiting volunteers each month. We have a great core team, but we are always looking for extra support and table leaders
- Covid, still. But we look forward to July feeling different as more families have access to vaccines – which helps our older folks feel better too
