Duct Tape the Kids - Mom Needs Church

Disclaimer: this post does not mean to ignore the Church needs of fathers; nor is it intended to insinuate that the issues addressed in this post don't apply to fathers as well. But, as I am not a father, nor will I ever be one, I can only write this from the perspective that I do know and understand. 

I'm a mother. And as a mother, I can say with fair certainty that we all get the same way from time to time - completely and utterly drained. I'm not just talking about being physically drained. I'm also talking about emotionally and mentally wiped. And yes - definitely even spiritually spent.

Some churches don't want a nursery during service time. They feel it is important that even very young children attend service. It doesn't matter if the mother can't pay attention to the service - it is her responsibility to make sure the child grows up in the church. She may attend service every Sunday, and not actually get a chance to hear the sermon, or sing more than two lines of a hymn, or even say the entire Lord's Prayer, until that child is 3 or 4 years old - but that's ok... as long as she has that child in attendance.

Moms Need Church!

This belief that the mother should be willing to sacrifice her worship time every week for 3 or 4 years (or more) is so wrong! MOMS NEED CHURCH! They need uninterrupted service and the ability to have their undivided attention on the Pastor, the message, the singing, the fellowship, the prayers. They need to refill their spiritual banks!

A spiritually dry mother does nothing to help raise a child strong in faith. A spiritually dry mother often finds herself dreading those Sunday services - an attitude the child will learn to recognize. A spiritually dry mother finds herself slipping further from God, and thus teaching her child less about God, and acting less in the way a Christian should try to behave. A spiritually dry mother trying to teach her children about Christ is simply not possible. It's like expecting a coma patient to do brain surgery on another patient.

Moms sacrifice a lot for their kids - their time, energy, money, and the list goes on. And yes, there is nothing wrong with a mother sacrificing her worship time sometimes to ensure her child grows up going to Church services. But mothers cannot and should not be expected to sacrifice her spirituality for this or it will all go wrong.

I cannot stress this enough - Mothers need a chance to reboot their spiritual energy. And they need a fairly regular opportunity for this. Here are several ways the Church community can help with this...

- Offer a (volunteer) staffed nursery at least once a month.
- Offer babysitting in the homes of mothers so they only have to worry about getting themselves to services.
- Never make a mother feel guilty or ashamed when she does have her young one in the nursery, or leaves the little one at home.

Let's all please help support the spiritual health of mothers in our Church!