Believe it or not, next to the Sunday before Christmas and Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day is one of the highest attended church services of the year. Apparently, all Mom wants is for her kids to sit beside her in church—if only once a year. With that in mind, plan the mother of all worship celebrations. Make it family-focused, evangelistic, and fun. Announce the event starting at Easter.
On Mother’s Day, name winners in a few of these categories:
- Mom with most kids present in worship
- Kids who traveled farthest to be with mom
- Pack-a-pew (even if the kids are someone else’s)
- Funniest “mom” story (collect them online, then share a couple in the service)
- Happiest empty-nesters (a little contest for couples or singles without kids; collect selfies of adults in funny hats, and enlist kids to choose the winners)
- Moms who need a break (kids under age 10, especially single moms)
Give restaurant gift cards to the winners so families can go out to lunch. Offer free after-church child care for moms who need a quiet afternoon off.
More summertime outreach ideas are featured in this issue of Resource, a magazine produced by IBSA for church leaders. It’s free! Sign up at Communications@IBSA.org. Read the online version at resource.IBSA.org