Messy Church. What Does Creative Churchgoing Mean for Design?

A key element in the concept is sharing a meal and building relationships with others in the community, in an informal, casual setting.

In this exceptional time, more than ever there is a craving to be together, to find an escape from routines, and to use time off in productive and restorative ways. Messy Church fits the bill in an innovative way to find fun and faith. The tagline of this movement is “Church, but not as you know it.” To many, it doesn’t look like church, and it doesn’t act like church.

At Messy Church, all ages meet and learn about Christ through games, crafts, music, and Bible stories. A key element is sharing a meal and building relationships with others in your community. Messy Church happens monthly (usually not on Sunday mornings) for intergenerational learning and worship in an inclusive and inviting way.

There are four core values:

• Intergenerational makeup: gathering learning from all ages and enjoying one another

• Celebration: sharing life’s joys as well as the messy ups and downs of daily life

• Creativity: using your senses to experience and explore faith and fun

• Hospitality: sharing meals and conversation

While the concept is new to many, Messy Church began in 2004 with one church in the UK under the leadership of Lucy Moore who works with Bible Reading Fellowship, a non-denominational Christian charity based in Winter Park, Florida. The concept can now be found around the globe. According to Messy Church USA Executive Director Rev. Roberta Egli, “All the Messy Churches I know of have started from a local church that wanted to offer new worship experiences for neighbors, particularly those who haven’t been to church for many years.”

Her non-profit equips Messy Churches to start, sustain, and connect within the USA. Typically, Messy Church is led by a volunteer group, laypeople (not staff), who are supported with online training and resources.

Messy Church can happen in any public space designed for comfort, new experiences, flexibility, artfulness, and surprise.

There are now over 200 membership churches in the Messy Church USA network.

At Messy Church, every age and background are welcomed. The goal is to create safe places where everyone feels accepted, spiritual, and creative. Messy Church resonates by fueling imagination, yielding routine, and celebrating self-expression. Naturally messy spaces that fuel creativity—like art studios, makerspaces, or even kitchens—are good examples, though at heart, Messy Church can happen in any public space designed for comfort, new experiences, flexibility, artfulness, and surprise. A key ingredient to Messy Church’s rapid growth is openness and a lack of regimen.

As architects and designers move forward, creating 21st century church spaces, Messy Church can provide some design tactics and takeaways:

• Wholeness: generate space where everyone can “be,” from the moment they walk through the doors to the moment they leave

• Welcome: create iconic experiences and public art that engages all

• Innovation: foster places of imagination—it’s called messy for a reason

The best public spaces are places that inspire and delight in a non-prescriptive manner. Messy spaces (and Messy Churches) bring families and community together in ways that are relaxed, informal, familiar, and comfortable.

Learn more or discover a Messy Church at messychurchusa.org.

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