Pastor, did you know that according to a LifeWay Research study, "between Easter and Christmas, Mother's Day may be the most likely day people will attend church." As you and your team plan to glorify God and honor moms on Mother's Day, be sure to keep your focus on God and His work through families during the worship service. Find creative ways to encourage mothers without hijacking the worship of God.
At our church, we don't preach a "Mother's-Day message." We either continue the message series we launched at Easter or focus the message on families. If you do choose to preach a Mother's Day sermon, ensure it's a biblical message with practical application for family members.
Here are a couple of our model sermons to help you prepare.
- A Mother Called by God, by Andy Cook.
- Hannah: A Mother Who Gave, by J.D. Davis.
To make the most of a potential attendance surge and honor moms in our church, these are some of our strategies.
Free family portraits
A team of our amateur photographers will be available with a backdrop and lighting in a room near or adjacent to the worship center. We promote this and allow families to sign up ahead of time so that they can make plans and dress appropriately. Each family will receive one free 5-by-7 print and an email with a digital copy attached.
Parent-child dedications
Mother's Day is one of the two days a year we schedule this special event. We promote one month ahead in the worship bulletin and through personal invitations to families with newborns. Families may contact our Preschool Minister by the week before the event to confirm their participation. For about 10 minutes of the worship service we focus on these families, encouraging them to raise children who will know Christ.
Check out our article on Parent-child and baby dedication resources to access several free downloads to help you plan.
Artistic expression
Our youngest girls will perform an "interpretive movement" worship dance in both worship services. This will draw large number of immediate and extended family members and friends, and serves as a beautiful act of worship.
New resources
We will make our church family aware of a new set of resources from our New Generations Team that deal with Rites of Passage Experience (R.O.P.E.).
Promotion
Promotional efforts for Mother's Day include bulletin features, pulpit announcements, slides on the big screen in the worship center and in the hallways, a Facebook event, previous years' family photos, dedications, and information about worship dance on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and targeted emails.