Let’s face it. Summer is a lot.
You’re trying to keep your congregation connected when everyone is running around, and sometimes, it feels like herding cats.
While you’re looking for ways to foster relationships and bring people together with everyone scattered, an entire demographic is longing for the bonds of friendship and fellowship.
A 2024 study from The Ohio State University found that 66% of parents feel isolated and lonely, 38% feel they don’t have any support in parenthood, and 79% wish they could connect with other parents outside of work.
These young parents are searching for the type of connection your church is offering, and they desperately need to feel Jesus’s love as they raise their families.
Moms, especially, struggle to find time for themselves (38%), and many feel like they’ve lost their identity outside of being a parent (22%). With 28% of mothers now staying home with their children full time and many more experiencing the isolation of motherhood, the young women in your community are seeking something that gives them purpose.
What can you do?
These moms have passions, desires, hobbies, and interests. One of the easiest things you can do is to offer them a space to create and connect without having to chase kids at the same time.
Host craft gatherings throughout the summer, with free on-site childcare, so young women in your community can get together, make something, and find identity and value outside of motherhood.
Whether they want to crochet, knit, paint, make origami, or something completely different, they can bring their passions with them, talk and laugh with other women, and not have to worry about their kids for a little while. The goal is simply to give them the opportunity to prioritize their own hobbies for a little while and enjoy the company of other adults.
It doesn’t need to break the bank or take extensive planning. It can be difficult to prioritize self-care and personal needs as a parent, so simple, intentional gatherings will go a long way in helping the moms in your area feel refreshed and important.
How do you do it?
Step #1: Decide How to Structure Your Gatherings
The easiest thing to do would be to invite ladies to join you in a communal space and work on their own projects in the vicinity of others. Each person would bring all of their own materials with them, providing the space, childcare, and fellowship.
The other option would be to offer craft classes. If your budget allows, you can invite a local artist or an artistic member of your congregation to lead ladies in a simple craft. For this option, you would provide all required materials, and the attendees would just need to show up.
You also need to decide if you’d like to provide snacks or beverages for the moms and kids to enjoy while they’re on your campus. This isn’t a requirement for these gatherings to be successful, but it is a nice touch if you can do so.
Step #2: Pick Your Days and Times
Decide how often you want to meet. Weekly or every other week will give ladies something to look forward to regularly, but choose what works best with your church calendar.
The times you choose may be contingent on the frequency and vice versa, so look at both factors when planning these get-togethers.
Take into consideration when your childcare volunteers are available, too. If the volunteers you’re counting on are only free in the afternoons, scheduling morning activities won’t work. Step #5 will look more at things to consider when organizing your childcare.
Step #3: Create a Registration Event
This may seem like an unnecessary step, but it is absolutely essential.
You need to know in advance how many women and children to expect. Make sure you ask for kids’ ages, too, so you can assign the right facilities (Step #4) and plan appropriate activities (Step #5).
You may still have a few who didn’t sign up, but you need an approximate count to ensure you have the right size space and enough childcare volunteers.
If you’re providing any kind of snack or treat, this will also help you manage your purchases so you don’t waste food or money.
Using Realm Registration Events or another similar tool, create a sign-up for each scheduled gathering and ask ladies to sign up in advance so you can plan accordingly. Your numbers will likely fluctuate week to week, so asking ladies to register will make planning and adjusting each week much easier.
Spread the word through your church newsletter, on your website and social media pages, and by word of mouth, but always remind ladies to sign up in advance!
Step #4: Find Your Spaces
If you have a fellowship hall, family life center, or even just a large classroom, you’ve got the perfect space!
All you need are some tables and chairs, as well as any additional craft supplies (like scissors, tape, etc.) that you would be willing to share.
Assign a space for childcare based on the number of kids coming and their ages. One spot may be sufficient, but keep in mind where and how you will split the group of kids if extras show up.
You can always adjust spaces later on, but you should have a plan for where you want to meet.
Step #5: Organize Your Childcare
Once you have your days, times, spaces, and counts, you should organize your childcare options.
You should have a pretty good idea of how many kids to expect, and make sure you recruit enough volunteers to provide adequate care for each of the gatherings.
If you don’t already have them on file, request background checks for every person who will be in the room with the kids. These typically have a pretty quick turnaround, but plan accordingly so you don’t have to scramble at the last minute if someone’s background check doesn’t come back on time.
Plan snacks and activities for the length of time you’ve decided on, and communicate your plan with your volunteers. You don’t need to come up with anything elaborate; free play with supervision is a completely valid option. Your childcare volunteers just need to know what’s expected.
Step #6: Invite Other Ladies to Join
These get-togethers are primarily intended for young moms, but they are also a great opportunity to connect them with other ladies in your church who are older moms or already retired.
They can act as mentors, friends, or just listening ears who can bond while they craft. These ladies can pour into the young mothers coming into your church and share the love of Jesus in ways that are less intimidating than regular services and without the distraction of chasing kids.
Once you have dates and times set, reach out to some of your older women who would be good ambassadors for your church and for the Gospel and ask them to join in on the activities. You don’t need more than two or three ladies each time, and make sure you’re inviting women who are social and will be intentional about connecting with the young moms.
Step #7: Have Fun!
The whole point of these gatherings is to give young mothers opportunities to get out of the house, connect with other women, and do something for themselves. You are giving them time to reset and be ready to face the challenges of motherhood, but don’t forget to have fun!
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