The course is free with registration on our web site. We recommend taking the modules in order, but you may revisit them or jump ahead at any point.
There are quizzes and questions to answer to help you absorb the content. These are for your own benefit, and will not be graded, but need to be fully completed to officially complete the course and get the certificate.
Upon completion of the course, including all quizzes, you’ll receive a certificate by email.
This course is for anyone exploring new ways of being church in their communities, those wanting to start a Messy Church, current leaders and practitioners, denominational and parish leaders, or anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Messy Church theory and practice.
Messy Church is missional and designed to reach families who are not ‘churched’ as well as those for whom a Sunday morning does not work. Most Messy Churches gather in a church or hall once a month, most often on a weekday, for example the third Thursday each month from 5:00pm-7:00pm with a Biblical story or concept as the theme. Doors open, there are welcome snacks and refreshments, and folks go straight into about 8-10 activities and crafts relating to the theme for the first hour from 5:00-6:00. This is followed by the Celebration from 6:00-6:20 with prayer, music and story-telling. Around 6:20 a hot supper is served lasting up to dismissal time at about 7:00 when folks depart with a take-home piece to discuss over the next month till meeting again at Messy Church. Everyone is together throughout the evening – kids don’t go off to do something different – for all aspects of Messy Church. And the Messy Church community grows!
- Messy Church is not a stepping-stone into existing congregations, but it is a congregation in its own right.
- Messy Church is ecumenical and seeks to work with all Canadian Christian churches.
- Christ-centred: Messy Church is a church, not a craft club, that helps people encounter Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
- All-ages: It is for adults and children to enjoy together – every element should be relevant and accessible to all ages.
- Creativity: It uses hands-on activities to explore Bible stories, to reflect a God of creativity and to give people a chance to play together.
- Hospitality: It reflects a God of unconditional love and is a church for people outside church, providing an oasis of welcome and a safe space in which to thrive. Messy Church is about hospitality, expressed most evidently by eating together – whether it’s a plate of sandwiches to share, spaghetti dinner or other prepared meal.
- Celebration: It reflects a God of joy who wants his people to have life in all its fullness.