Our chief executive Richard Fisher looks back on 2025 in thankfulness and forward to 2026 in hope and anticipation.
So much to celebrate
As another year comes to an end and a new year begins, I look back with thankfulness and ahead with anticipation: deep thankfulness for all that God has made possible during the past year, and great anticipation for all that he has in store for us 2026.
Against the backdrop of a continuing challenging economic climate, I marvel at what we have been able to do in and through our ministries over the past year. Some of my particular highlights from 2025 include:
- The first Anna Chaplain was commissioned in Northern Ireland, and the continued growth of the Anna Chaplaincy network. This now numbers 470 active members, with a further 120 who have been part of the network during the past eleven years but have now retired from active ministry.
- The 600th person to complete our Anna Chaplaincy training course since this was launched in 2021.
- The 1,800th Messy Church to register on our online directory as this continues to rebuild following the Covid pandemic.
- The fourth Messy Church conference, involving 160 delegates from 14 countries, including our first participant from Ghana. The main weekend conference was followed by 36 hours with just the key leaders from each country. This was a rich time of sharing and learning about what God is doing in and through Messy Church around the world.
- The development and launch of the Grandparenting for Faith course in collaboration with CYM (The Institute for Children, Youth and Mission), based on the book of the same title, which we published in January 2024, written by our Parenting for Faith colleague Becky Sedgwick.
- The launch of two major three-year collaborations with the Church of England. The first aims to increase the impact of Parenting for Faith through embedding the concept of faith at home and its importance at every level of the church and seeing more parishes and families benefitting from all that we offer to support this. The second is to devise and pilot new approaches intended to inspire and encourage children to remain involved in Messy Church as they reach 9-11 years old, the age at which so many children drift away from church. A further aspect of the Messy Church collaboration is to help 300 Church of England parishes to start a Messy Church. Both projects reflect a significant endorsement of our ministries, and while the projects themselves are focused on Church of England parishes, the learning and outcomes of these collaborations will benefit churches of all denominations.
- The steady stream of emails and letters each week from those who read and use our books, Bible reading notes and other resources, reflecting how much these are valued and appreciated. One subscriber, Dick Forsyth from Kendal in Cumbria, recently emailed: ‘I have only ever written once to thank you, but your notes have been light to my feet, challenge to my daily living, occasional irritation and also much joy.’ His story will feature in our March newsletter. Another commented about Guidelines: ‘Every day they are my start to the day and a rock in my life and perspectives.’
There’s so much to celebrate and for which to give thanks!
Coming in 2026!
And what’s in store for 2026? We’re looking forward to delivering another full programme of training and support across all of the ministries, and to seeing continued growth in take-up of our ministries and resources across the denominations. Key new developments to look out for include:
- The formal start of the ‘Messy Momentum’ pilots with 9-11s, with a range of Messy Churches taking part over the next two years.
- The launch of two new short courses from Parenting for Faith – for children, youth and families workers and for church leaders – to help them make the most of all that this ministry offers.
- The launch of the first of our new Deepening Ministry modules, which provide further training opportunities with subject specialists for members of the Anna Chaplaincy network as they develop their own ministry.
- The launch of new digital platforms to extend the reach of our ministries and make our courses and resources even more widely accessible.
Look out too for another year of exciting new publications and further stimulating Bible reading notes from the wonderful range of contributors who write for BRF Ministries.
In the course of our work, we get to meet and hear about remarkable and inspiring people every week. I’d like to tell you about just one of them.
Pastor Francis made a 36-hour journey from Ghana to join us for our fourth Messy Church Conference back in June. It was humbling to meet him and hear about his ministry in northern Ghana. With very little resources, he returned home to set up their first Messy Church, which they’ve called Messy Moments, so it’s not seen to be competing with existing church. They had their first gathering in August, and Pastor Francis wrote to us:
This was such a different way of doing things here but hey, it was such a solemn moment for us all. Even myself. We stayed more than an hour after the program and people who initially did not want to be there did not want to go back home. For many of the children, to sit at table with their parents, do a project and eat together was strange and lovely and they look forward to more of such opportunities, especially when they are given the same amount of food and size of chicken!
As we go forward, we hope to gradually invite more families to join in. Just a biiiig prayer though, to think of having the over a thousand families in the 16 communities doing Messy Moments every month. Unthinkable but possible with God!
There’s a man with a vision!
People are at the heart of all that we do. I celebrate the remarkable colleagues God has brought to work with us at BRF Ministries, bringing with them a wealth of imagination, expertise, and experience, coupled with a passion for what we are about. I give thanks too for the vast number of individuals who work with us to deliver our ministries in their local churches and communities, along with the many other organisations with whom we collaborate regularly. And I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who stand alongside us in prayer and who support us with their generosity.
‘Inspiring people of all ages to grow in Christian faith’ is what we’re all about, and we’re excited for what God has in store for us as we look to the year ahead.
Wishing you a Happy New Year from all of us at BRF Ministries.
