Have you ever thought you’d like to run A Day Together but don’t know what that involves? 

We chatted to Katelyn Daniel who organised a recent A Day Together at her church in London. 

She shared with us some of her thoughts and experiences. 

Katelyn and her husband Jude are part of a city-centre church in London Bermondsey.  It’s a local church that represents the community it is in- people of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, many of whom have lived in the area and attended the church for years. 

So Katelyn, what motivated you to run A Day Together? 

“I was excited about the possibility of using ADT as an evangelistic opportunity for our church. There are many couples in the church where one partner is in church, and the other isn’t, and I thought it would be an easy, non-threatening way to give them a positive experience and show that the church wants to serve them. I also was excited about the prospect of inviting some of my friends outside of our church, hoping they would benefit from the chance to focus on their marriage, which in turn would give them a positive experience of church. And finally, it felt like a way to serve members within our church by offering practical support for relationships. “

What have been some of the challenges along the way? 

“The biggest challenge has been getting people involved in the organising- we have a very active church where people are already involved with many church events and activities, so finding people with the time to commit to helping with something else was challenging at first. But once I realised that zoom prayer meetings were better than in person ones, and that I needed to look for people who were newer to church who could help, it got easier.” 

What was it like for you organising the day? 

“I was surprised that it wasn’t actually that much work to organise, up until the last week at least! I enjoyed getting to know other people in the church through the organising and setting up. And seeing it come off well and people really benefit from it was definitely rewarding 

 I also felt very supported by the Family Life team. I’m generally quite happy to run with things myself with a bit of guidance, and I felt Ceri (FamilyLife’s events co-ordinator) was good at letting me do that, while also checking in regularly to make sure I hadn’t forgotten things which I frequently had! Just having someone who was checking in to make sure all the right steps were happening and things were getting done helped me not feel like the burden of the event was on me, and made it quite stress-free to run since I didn’t have to remember everything myself.” 

What did you enjoy about the experience? 

“I enjoyed getting to work alongside other members of the church to organise it and have the chance to get to know them better. And enjoyed getting to use my gifts to do something that blessed a lot of people and their relationships.” 

And finally, what would you say to someone thinking about running A Day Together in their church? 

“I would say go for it- you’re very well supported by the FamilyLife team, so they’ll guide you each step of the way. And do try to get others from the church involved early on to share the load.” 

If you are thinking about running A Day Together in your church or community, or would just like to know more, please get in touch via info@familylifeuk.org .