MAKING DISCIPLES IN A MESSY CHURCH PB

'Messy Church' has been widely and enthusiastically adopted as a proven and effective way of introducing families to an experience of Christian community and the good news of Jesus.

Sceptics ask, 'Are people becoming Christians through Messy Church?' The evidence is clear that they are. But the next challenging question is, 'Can Messy Church also nurture their faith and make these converts into disciples?'

The aim of this book, by telling stories, analysing the journey to faith, and reflecting on what being a disciple means and the various methods of making disciples found in scripture and church tradition, is to encourage ministers and lay leaders to see how their 'Messy Church' can be an intentional disciple-making community.

Contents
- Is Messy Church making disciples?
- What are disciples and how are they made?
- Old Testament discipleship
- Jesus and discipleship in the Gospels: kingdom community
- Disciples in Acts
- Disciple - making in the Epistles and Revelation
- A community discipleship curriculum
- An alternative - catechesis then and now
- Intergenerational discipleship
- Discipleship and faith at home

Paul Moore writes...

'It was a Thursday afternoon back in 2004 when the first ever Messy Church took place at St Wilfrid's Church in Cowplain, near Portsmouth, where I am vicar. Our prayer was to introduce people to Jesus by providing a positive, fun-filled experience of Christian community for families who rarely, if ever, go to a traditional church service. Back then, we had no idea that Messy Church would develop and spread the way it has done from Shetland to Cornwall and from Alaska to Australia.

But it's one thing to be able to draw a crowd; are people becoming Christians through Messy Church? Praise God, the answer is definitely, 'Yes'. The key challenging question is, 'Can Messy Church nurture the faith of these new believers and make them into disciples?'

In my new book 'Making Disciples in Messy Church' I aim to help church leaders to grasp how 'Messy Church' really can become a disciple-making community, provided we go about it in a deliberate way. To help us become more intentional, the book contains insightful stories and tips from the experience of Messy Churches in the UK and abroad. It provides some tools to enable us to chart what may be a long journey towards faith for families who have little or no Christian background, so that we can offer people the right support and encouragement at the various stages of their journey into discipleship. It also explores what becoming and growing as a disciple means today, looking at the different ways in which disciples were made in Old and New Testament times and later in the history of the church in various contexts. Out of this come recommendations for leaders and questions for further thought and creativity.

It's amazing to see how God is using 'Messy Church' to bless people and draw them to Jesus. I hope this book will be an encouragement to all who are involved in leading and helping in Messy Churches to reflect on the wonderful stuff God is doing.'Paul Moore

Foreword

'Messy Church is a gift from God, one of the Holy Spirit's wonderful surprises, where a step of faith by one very ordinary church has opened the way for more than a thousand others to engage with families who had no serious connection to a church. No one anticipated that the story publicised in the first 'Fresh Expressions' DVD in 2006 would take on such a life of its own. 'Messy Church' is now a movement in its own right, within the wider 'Fresh Expressions' movement. This book, from Paul Moore, the vicar of that church, presents insights from the oldest member of this young family of churches. They are insights from which all who are committed to disciple-making can benefit.

Those who have been unsure of 'Messy Church', who would like it to be less messy, and who wonder if it really is church, have frequently raised the question of discipleship. How can you possibly make disciples among all that mess, especially if you meet just once per month? On the contrary, I have always believed that 'Messy Church' is as valid a fresh expression of church as any of the many other models and examples. Because of this, I have always been convinced that the secrets of making disciples through 'Messy Church' lay within the gift itself, in the DNA of the original idea given by the Holy Spirit, and that they would emerge over time. The temptation to bolt on ideas from a different model in order to answer questions or solve apparent problems about disciple-making has always been misguided. It is also evidence of impatience. As the gift of 'Messy Church' has been unwrapped during its early years, the secrets have begun to be revealed.

The 'Messy Church' world is not closed to learning from other sources. Paul draws helpfully from Scripture, from ancient tradition, from other mission practitioners and researchers, from educational theory and from the worldwide Messy family. But, above all, he draws from the underlying values of 'Messy Church'. He tells us not so much how to make disciples through 'Messy Church' as how to create 'Messy Church' as a disciple-making culture, which is much more important.

He sets realistic expectations about the time it takes to journey from no church connection to active faith. He robustly defends intergenerational learning. He wants parents equipped to take responsibility for their children's spiritual development, and team members to see 'Messy Church' as their church, not just the place where they volunteer once a month.

I suspect that there may be even more to be unpacked from this surprising gift over the coming years, but for now this will do very well.'
Bishop Graham Cray
Archbishops' Missioner and Leader of the Fresh Expressions Team

Endorsement
'Written with clarity and conviction, Making Disciples in Messy Church is a timely and helpful book for a movement that is deeply serious about discipleship. Drawing on biblical, monastic and catechetical approaches, the book contains much wisdom and inspiration for those seeking to make disciples in all forms of church, not just the phenomenon that is Messy Church. The affirmation of the places of family and community in discipleship formation is especially welcome. I warmly and wholeheartedly commend this book.'
Andrew Roberts, Methodist Minister and Director of Training for Fresh Expressions

Width: 130mm
Height: 198mm
Thickness: 12mm
Weight: 165.00gr

Paperback 128 pages