“I think God is at work in Bubble Church,” says Tenbury Team Vicar Mark Inglis. Could Bubble Church work for your church?
Finding the right ministry for children, youth and families has been a post-pandemic challenge across the Church. A year ago, St Mary’s in Tenbury Wells was facing the demise of its children’s church. Only two children attended regularly, both of whom were the children of organiser, Rachel. Not willing to be defeated, Rachel and Tenbury Team Ministry Vicar Rev’d Mark Inglis, prayed and did research for a year, finally discovering Bubble Church. With diocese funding, Tenbury’s Bubble Church officially launched with a goal to reach 30 children in a year. They met that target at their very first Bubble Church service last June. It’s now twice monthly on Sunday afternoons, with attendance ranging from 20 to 50.
“I’m seeing a good thing happening here, says Rev Mark. “I think – and hope – that God and the Holy Spirit are at work in Bubble Church.”
“It was new and different,” agrees Rachel. “Bubble Church is a real church service, with the same structure each week, but designed for children and it really gets them engaged!” Convinced by the videos on the Bubble Church website, Rev Mark put in a successful bid to the diocese for Mustard Seed funding. In January 2025 the Tenbury team went to London for the training. “It took our breath away,” says Rachel.
Rachel explains that, while Bubble Church may look different, with bright colours, puppets and dancing, “It’s just like church. We welcome God into the space, we sing together, we pray, there’s confession, we tell a bible story. During the ‘God Spot’, children come up to the mic to give thanks. There’s a proper ending to the service. The service itself lasts about 20-30 minutes, just right for shorter attention spans. And for our LD, ESL and SEN families and children with disabilities, it’s very inclusive.”
Rev Mark says, “We wanted something more overtly Christian than some of the other children’s programmes out there. Bubble Church is more than an activity for young families, it’s based on a service of the word, and it’s building a real congregation. We have had a baptism at a Bubble Church service and people from Bubble Church inquiring about baptisms. People who have never been to church, same sex couples with young children and families with children with disabilities – they all say they feel welcomed. Families ask us to pray for them and, as a congregation, we pray with them.”
He continues, “Whereas young families were not connecting with our traditional services, the enthusiasm for Bubble Church seems to be infectious. It helps that we have two CofE primaries and one community school. We took our Bubble Church puppets into one primary school for our nativity assembly this Christmas. It also helps that we had a big contact list from weddings and baptisms and from Messy Church.”
Rev Mark continues, “It’s very simple to run, everything we need comes from the Bubble Church central hub in London. The biggest challenge is staffing, as it takes about 6 people to run each service. Luckily we had a family with three teenagers who loved it and help out with the tech. There is quite a lot of kit as part of the package.”
Funding the kit and training through the diocese’s Mustard Seed fund was relatively straightforward, and enabled St Mary’s to employ Rachel on a part-time basis, with a three-year commitment. “Long enough,” says, Mark, “to give it a chance to flourish, without putting pressure on the PCC. We’re working on it become self-sustaining. Our 3 principles are ‘Help-Pray-Give’ and it seems to be working.”
Bubble Church is developed by Ascension Church in south London, with input from the Church of England. Ascension provides all the training and materials, as well as a central support hub and ongoing resources. You can find more information on their website. You can also email Rachel or Mark, or contact the diocese's Lead Intergenerational Missioner, Lizzie Hackney.
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