Saturday, April 9, 2016

April 2016

Though a little late...

Happy Easter!

Even though we are only just getting around to our Easter MOPS meeting at the group I coordinate (we meet only once per month), I know most of you have already done your Easter meetings.  Soooo....

  • how did it go?  
  • what did you do?  
  • did you present a clear Gospel message?  
  • if so, how?  

I'd love<3 it if you share your feedback via the comment section below!!  This way, any MOPS/MOMSnext Leader in our area can come away with encouragement OR ideas for next year ;-).

Meanwhile, how amazing that though, yes, Easter has passed, the Christ behind the reason for Easter and the new life Easter represents can be celebrated throughout the year!  That's why this spring we are excitedly equipping you to see your story with new eyes, and more intentionally encourage the moms around us to also invite Jesus into their stories.  It is our heart's cry to see more moms Come Alive to transformation, restoration, and wholeness!


As always, ladies, if you have questions, need help/suggestions, or prayer; you know how to get in touch with me.
Better moms make a better world,
Nydia
For additional encouragement:
www.oneordinarymom.com


COMMUNITY 24F News & Updates:

  • April 16th ~ COME ALIVE Leadership Training Event: Our annual spring Leadership Training Event is here!  This year we're super-excited to be bringing you: "Come Alive" (http://www.mops.org/come-alive-2016).  We have about 50 Leaders RSVP'd as of this blog post!!  It's nit too late for you join us, too, on Saturday, April 16th, 2016 at Victory Bible Church in Hammonton, NJ.  Expect: training, networking, encouragement...and fun door prizes including a $50 MOMcon registration discount!  In addition, the Leadership Team with the highest percentage of members present will receive a FREE prize!!  Please email me for instructions on how to register...
  • Area 24F Coordinator Facebook Page: Just this past February, I kicked off a Coach -Coordinator Facebook page, giving us the opportunity to touch base more easily (Coach-Coordinator), and you the chance to bounce questions and ideas off each other (Coordinator-Coordinator).  This way, I can get information out to you with less lag time; and you, Coordinators, can go back to the members of your Leadership Team to share your information more easily.  If you haven't followed through with the email invite I sent you to join, please connect with us TODAY!  Shoot me an email so I can send you another invite :-).
  • MOMSnext Corner: In chatting with you ladies over this year, I've been hearing of more interest in, or plans to start, MOMSnext groups.  Woo-hoo!!...GO FOR IT!  We're going to take some time to chat about the details of how to do MOMSnext at Come Alive.  Meanwhile, we have several resources for those of you who are praying or talking about starting a MOMSnext group, or adding this charter to your church's current MOPS charter:

  1. If you're interested in a combined MOPS/MOMSnext setting, there is a brand NEW Facebook page for these combined leaders.  LMK if you'd like to be connected to this group...
  2. Have you checked out the MOMSnext portion of the MOPS website http://www.mops.org/leader/momsnext?  You'll find the MOMSnext Handbook, specialized graphics, videos to show your pastor, topic ideas, and MORE!! 

MOPS International News & Updates:


Our NEW 2016 - 2017 MOPS theme...
here it is, Ladies!!:

To be the Starry Eyed is..
Seeing the light in the darkness and choosing to live courageously in both.
It is opening our eyes to wonder and choosing hope over fear.
Starry Eyed is significant acts of kindness that send ripples of light into the world.
It is a choice to live fully and wholly and to breathe our way back to life.
If you feel anxious and don't know why...
If you are busy and distracted from the things you truly care about...
If you are restless for an unexpected encounter with God...
If you long to feel alive, to regain a sense of wonder, to hope a little freer and to be a powerful force of kindness in the world, then we'd love for you to join us in becoming Starry Eyed.
This year we will run wildly toward wonder, hope and kindness because We Are the Starry Eyed and we choose to see the light.


  • 2016-2017 RENEWAL started on April 1st: It's that time again...MOPS/MOMSnext charter & membership RENEWAL!  I know we still have a couple months before even hitting the summer, but now really is the best time to renew.

Here's why:
  1. Renew at $159 thru June 30th, then after July 1st at $199.
  2. If you renew your chapter in April your group will receive one FREE mom membership.
  3. You will receive a coupon code to start at new group at the same church for 50% off the additional group start-up fee.
  4. Renewal in April = being among the first to receive you Group Experience Kit as soon as they are mailed in late spring/early summer.
A few things to keep in mind about renewal:
  1. Renewal is done by organization not group - a.k.a. if your church has two charters, they will renew as a church, not individual MOPS groups.
  2. The tracking information will be sent to the person through whom the renewal was done.
  3. You will receive one theme-focsued kit per group, for all groups.  Specialty groups (Teen MOPS/Military MOPS/ MOMSnext) will have specific resources available online.
  4. Additional kits can be purchased at $45.
  5. Mom / Mentor memberships are: $22.95 / $24.95 from April 1st - June 30th, and $24.95 / $26.95 from July 1st and on.

  • MOMcon Registration is still OPEN: JOIN US in Milwaukee this September! It's your mom-business-trip; your opportunity to refresh as a woman, mom, and MOPS Leader.  We'll have leadership training workshops available a little earlier this year (starting on Thursday at 1pm), so plan ahead.  Imagine...pick-your-own workshops, amazing worship, a lot of information, training directly from MOPS staff in Denver...all within a circle of another 2,500 - 3,000 MOPS moms & leaders.  Ladies, this is a definite worthwhile investment for you, your family, and your MOPS group!!  See the sidebar for additional info, and follow this link to register: MOMcon 2016 - Registration.
  • MORE MOPS or MOMSnext Groups: Read the prayer request below for information on a new deal for churches who want to open their first MOPS / MOMSnext charters...

Prayer Requests:
  • New MOPS Groups / MOPS-group-sisterhood:  You must be praying because the Lord is continuing to open doors for more groups and/or the possibility of adding MOMSnext charters to existing MOPS charters!  Exciting!!  Every new MOPS group represents moms and families who are being reached with resources to support a woman through her motherhood journey, including a relationship with Christ.  You will find a discount offer available to churches who want to start their first MOPS charter with April's issue of Hello Dearest.  Let me know if you want additional information on this offer.  If you know of another MOPS group near yours, please consider establishing a sister-like relationship to serve the moms in your community...even better!  For more information on what MOPS-group-sisterhood can look like...please ask me :-).

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

March 2016

It's March @ MOPS/MOMSnext!

An Irish blessing...


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If you haven't already talked about it at your Leadership Team meetings, March is an ideal month to start thinking and praying about your end-of-the-year MOPS meeting as well as leadership commitments for 2016-2017.  So, especially for the new groups, here is a checklist to bear in mind:

  • How can you best leave your moms with a firm message that God has designed us to flourish through every circumstance if we will Notice Goodness, Embrace Rest, & Celebrate Lavishly?
  • Will you provide an end-of-year survey to the moms at your last meeting of the year?
  • Do you want to meet throughout the summer?  If so, what will that look like (monthly playdates, weekly book study, etc)?
  • How is God calling you to serve at MOPS next year?
  • If you need to pass your leadership position onto someone else, now is a good time to start praying & looking for whom.  She might appreciate you "showing her the ropes" before the start of the 2016-2017 year.
  • Do you want to schedule a Leadership Team "retreat" during the summer to connect & build your team relationship?
  • Is there something your Leadership Team can do differently in order to do MOPS better (more advertising, use social media more or build up your current outlet, get more involved in our community, etc.)?  Remember, you want your MOPS group to be a household name in your community so local moms will know there is a place for them to go.

As always, ladies, if you have questions, need help/suggestions, or prayer; you know how to get in touch with me!
Better moms make a better world,
Nydia
For additional encouragement:
www.oneordinarymom.com


COMMUNITY 24F News & Updates:

  • SAVE THE DATE...LIVE Leadership Training Event: Our annual spring Leadership Training Event is just around the corner!  This year we're bringing you: "Come Alive" (http://www.mops.org/come-alive-2016).  Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 16th, 2016 at Victory Bible Church in Hammonton, NJ.  You'll get training, networking, encouragement...and door prizes including a $50 MOMcon registration discount!  In addition, the Leadership Team with the highest percentage of members present will receive a FREE prize!!  Stay tuned for more info and Eventbrite invite...
  • MOMSnextWe have two MOMSnext groups in our Community (see the list on the left)!  In case you are unfamiliar with MOMSnext, it is the branch of the ministry of MOPS International that extends support to moms with school-age children.  Due to increased commitments of moms at this stage, these groups meet in varied settings - morning, lunchtime, or evening - but cover issues like internet safety, navigating through adolescence, and peri/menopause...to name a few.  If you know a mom at this stage of motherhood, see if one our MOMSnext groups are available to her.  If you're getting ready to graduate from your MOPS group, consider starting a MOMSnext group at your church!  We, moms, always need encouragement and support through every stage of motherhood :-).

MOPS International News & Updates:

  • MOMcon Registration is OPEN: JOIN US in Milwaukee this September! It's your mom-business-trip; your opportunity to refresh as a woman, mom, and MOPS Leader.  We'll have leadership training workshops available a little earlier this year (starting on Thursday at 1pm), so plan ahead.  Imagine...pick-your-own workshops, amazing worship, a lot of information, training directly from MOPS staff in Denver...all within a circle of another 2,500 - 3,000 MOPS moms & leaders.  Ladies, this is a definite worthwhile investment for you, your family, and your MOPS group!!  See the sidebar for additional info, and follow this link to register: MOMcon 2016 - Registration.
  • Partnership w/ a Global MOPS group: Perhaps you'd like to help launch a group through a missionary contact at your church...Or maybe you'd like to set aside a percentage of the proceeds from your fundraising for global MOPS...Or maybe your Leadership Team would like to help with training & encouraging leaders of a global MOPS group.  Go to  http://www.mops.org/global-partner-ideas for more on church partnership ideas!
  • NEW Items at the MOPS Store: There are two new "A Fierce Flourishing" accessories available...  Use these links to purchase a few as gifts for your Leadership Team or prizes for the moms at your MOPS meetings: MOPS Triangle Bracelet and Drawstring Jute Bag.
  • 2016-2017 MOPS Theme ~ Coming Soon...: March is the month for the "Reveal"!  Keep an eye out on your emails and Facebook posts... We'll have the opportunity to brainstorm our new theme at our Come Alive Leadership Event in April :-).


Prayer Requests:
  • New MOPS Groups / MOPS-group-sisterhood:  I am hearing about the possibility of more new groups starting in our Area 24F soon - exciting!!  Every new MOPS group represents moms and families who are being reached with resources to support a woman through her motherhood journey, including a relationship with Christ.  If you know of another MOPS group near yours, please consider establishing a sister-like relationship to serve the moms in your community...even better!  For more information on what MOPS-group-sisterhood can look like...please ask me :-).