MOPS & MOMSNEXT

Our MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) group is for moms with kids age 0-5, and our MOMSnext group is for moms with kids age 6-High School.

At Cove MOPS, we build circles of women who love each other like family and come together in the midst of the chaos and everyday tasks of motherhood to discuss relevant topics of motherhood, relationships, and identity. We are not afraid to talk about the things that really matter. Our MOPS tribe is a place of encouragement, belonging, and a group of moms who love each other fiercely and will remind you who you are when you are too worn down to remember.

No matter if you are a working mom, a stay-at-home-mom, a mom pregnant with her first baby or a mom tearfully packing up the last of the baby items... if you're tired of feeling alone, if you've wondered if there is more joy in motherhood, if you're not sure if you're doing it right, or if you're pretty sure you're doing everything wrong, you belong here.

Registration will be opening this summer for the 2023 Fall Semester!

If you have any questions about MOPS & MOMSnext, please contact

MOPS & MOMSNEXT FAQ

What is a meeting like?

A typical meeting includes a guest speaker or digital content on a broad range of topics related to motherhood. These include things like parenting tips, self-care topics, relationship and communication tools - pretty much anything that could help or encourage a mom! We typically include some type of "fun" in each meeting, like an icebreaker or craft, and there is always time to visit with other moms and discuss the content more fully. Occasionally we mix in some special meetings with fun, celebratory, and/or seasonal activities.

What is childcare like?

We offer childcare for infants and children 0 - 9 years of age. During our MOPS meetings, you can feel confident your kids are being cared for by trained childcare workers. While curriculum/homeschool supervision is not offered for infants and children during this time, there are plenty of toys, games, crafts, and other activities to keep your kids busy so your kids can have fun while you get a break! If you have a child 10 years of age or older that you would like to bring with you, please contact us directly to discuss arrangements for them. If you have any special needs or concerns for your children, please contact us.

Why two sessions during the year?

The year is split into two sessions to provide an easier point of entry for new moms, to better accommodate schedule changes during the year, and to spread the overall cost throughout the year. While there will be some moms who choose to join for only one session, we anticipate many of our moms will participate for the whole year.

Why do I have to register with both MOPS International AND Cove Church?

Great Question!!! As a charter group under MOPS International, all of our moms must register through MOPS International to have access to the digital content that MOPS International provides. Your MOPS International fees also provide you with additional benefits from MOPS International and help support MOPS groups globally. Your registration and fees through Cove Church provide us with additional information about you (and your children, if applicable). Your Cove Church fees cover our local group expenses, including charter fees, hospitality and craft supplies, and other fun things we do at meetings and for our moms. We work really hard to make our registration fees as low as possible! If finances are a barrier to registration, please contact us.

2023/24 MOPS & MOMSNEXT THEME - SAY YES

THIS YEAR IS THE YEAR TO SAY YES

Have you ever gotten to the end of a week, month or year and thought, “How did I get here? Where has the time gone?” It happens in our parenting, friendships, marriage and work- we get caught up in the urgent demands of the day-to-day, and then years go by, and we realize we haven’t been making the small choices that will get us where we actually wanted to be. So this is the year to make some moves.

SAY “YES.”

It’s amazing how one little word can change your life. But too often, our ‘yeses’ are reserved for default decisions we aren’t even intentionally making or the stuff we feel obligated to do. What if we started saying ‘yes’ to the important things? Yes, to parenting on purpose. Yes, to significant challenges and out-of-your-comfort-zone opportunities. Yes, to your marriage. Invitations to connect with others? Yes, please. Saying yes opens us up to new ways of thinking and helps cultivate a growth mindset. To clarify, we’re not talking about people-pleasing or over-extending yourself. In fact, it’s the opposite. Developing a ‘yes’ mindset is living intentionally, focused on your goals for yourself and your family. It’s about listening to God’s still, small voice and doing the brave things rather than the easy things.

Now is your opportunity to develop a spirit of adventure and make new memories. Now is your chance to invite your kids along for the thrill that comes with doing hard things. You are wildly capable. Get uncomfortable. Persevere and say yes to the next small brave step God asks you to take.

Saying Yes means we will:

Befriend Discomfort

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.(James 1:2-4 NIV)

You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Regretting the things you didn’t do? Avoiding potentially awkward situations? Hating your body? What if the way forward is to befriend discomfort? Discomfort is a life hack that can improve every area of our lives. Tackling challenging things helps us become more rooted- we start to feel less fragile and less stressed. Don’t wait until you feel ‘ready’ or qualified or when all the details come together perfectly. Now is your opportunity to develop a spirit of adventure and make new memories. Open your hands to release old dreams and receive new ones, or take the brave first step to get help. Now is your chance to invite your kids along for the thrill that comes with doing hard things. You are wildly capable. Grow your capacity to endure. Show absurd courage. Get uncomfortable. Persevere and say yes to the next small brave step God asks you to take.

Be Easily Delighted

He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because He delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19 NIV)

It’s been said that if you just went to the supermarket and experienced it fully without the goggles of habit and categories, you would go crazy with pure joy and astonishment. We are declaring this our year of delight. Can you believe how beautiful the world is and how delicious food can taste? How kind people are? It’s all so good. Yet sometimes, fun is the first thing to go between parenting, paying bills, and worrying about doing things right. All of that changes this year. Because God delights in us, we will delight in the life we’ve been given. We’ll exude passion. We’ll learn to love what must be done and be captivated by the smell of our kids’ hair and our husband’s glances across the room. It’s all decadent when we stop and really notice. God, help us be easily delighted with the small things because the small things are the big things.

Be Here Now

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:26-27 NIV

This is the year to uproot our anxiety, worry and hurry. Hustle culture tells us that it’s all up to us. But spacious living reminds us that God’s got us, and a deeply formed life starts with courageous faith. This year we will remember that our direction is more important than our speed. We will stay inside our commitments and thrive within our constraints. Our longing for control will be replaced with a humble surrender to the fact we don’t have to death-grip every possible outcome. We will choose integrity over image and people over pressure. We won’t let worry rob us of time. Instead, this is the season of trusting that God is providing for our every need, and that means we can tend to the home, kids, marriage, friendships, neighborhood, and work that God has given us and have the time of our lives doing it.