I’d like to introduce Becky Hubbard to you.  She’s been behind quite a few of the posts lately.  See her bio at the bottom of this post.  Becky has been involved in her church’s Children’s Ministry.  Her husband is in the music ministry.  She and her husband have three beautiful children. Like her style?  You can find more from Becky at her blog, HappyChristianHome .

 Hosting a Community Baby Shower

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about ways to serve expectant mamas on an individual basis. But what about outreach on a larger scale? Whether you have a small ministry, or a larger church, you can do something to reach out to expectant women in your community!

The Vision for Serving Expectant Moms

As I shared before, pregnancy is a prime opportunity to reach out with the message of the Gospel; to come alongside a single mama-to-be or a young couple and let them know you care, and that Jesus cares. Especially in today’s economy, this type of outreach is something that can positively impact people. It definitely is an opportunity to help people feel a little more prepared to face this huge change in their lives.

Where to Begin for Hosting a Community Baby Shower

Start way in advance! At least six months to a year. Set some goals for your church (like how many women you would like to reach) and set a tentative date for the event. Start reaching out to local businesses about sponsoring the event (many stores have a budget set aside for community involvement- and most require that you submit a letter well ahead of the date of your event to request donations). Most places are great about donating gift cards (for you to purchase supplies) and requested items.

Get the Word Out to the Congregation

Let your congregation members know what you are planning. Hosting a community baby shower is a pretty big deal. Ask for them to bring in diapers and other items that you plan to give away. Even set up a special collection station in a prominent location. Recruit volunteers to solicit donations from some of the stores as well. Also, people usually have baby items they no longer need. If in good condition, these can be included in your outreach. Depending on your church size, you may want a volunteer just to organize the items that come in. Think about the size of the event you are planning, and recruit volunteers for planning as well as for the day of the outreach.

Get the Word out to Expectant Mothers

Create flyers, and use social media to advertise as well as any other methods you normally use. You may want to consider setting a limit and asking moms to pre-register to keep things nice and orderly!

What You Can Do

Here are just some ideas to get you started. Pray and think outside the box to build on these ideas or come up with others that work better for your hosting a community baby shower.

• Serve food to the mothers (think brunch-type food, bagels, pastries, juice and milk, etc).
• Have a (brief) time of encouragement with a special message to the mothers
• Invite vendors to come that would be of interest to new/expectant mothers (think local boutiques, pediatricians, local fire department- if you charge for their space, you can use the funds to acquire more items to give away).
• Each mother would ideally receive one larger item like a car seat (new of course), a swing, or a baby carrier. Also, a pack or two of diapers, wipes, a diaper bag, some baby wash, etc.
• Moms can register with the gender of the child (if they know it) and you can tailor their gifts even more specifically.
• You may be able to acquire a larger, more expensive item (like a crib with a mattress). You can have a drawing for a mother to win it.
• If you have acquired gently used clothing, toys and other baby items, you can have mothers browse and pick out things they might need or want. Set a limit of five or ten items so there is plenty to go around. You can issue tickets that moms can redeem for these items.
• Baby food and formula is another possible item to include in the giveaway.

As you can see, the possibilities are just about endless. You can do grand, or you can do smaller scale. Whatever is in your ability to do, God will bless it, whether you help 20 moms or 200 moms.

Has your church done a similar outreach in the past? Tell me about it in a comment! The more ideas, the merrier!

Becky is a wife of eight years and stay at home mom to three young children. She aspires to encourage women in Biblical truth on her blog, Happy Christian Home.