Area 20 MOPS Leaders July Monthly Update

Please check your mail each month for this update. Every identified MOPS Leader in an Active MOPS group will receive this Area 20 Monthly Update. Please remember to REGISTER all your leaders and identify them on your MOPS Group Management page. If you need help updating, first go to the Tour page and read through the information: http://www.mopsvolunteers.org/groupmanagement/tour/  If you need further assistance after walking through that information, contact your Coach. Aren’t sure who is your Group’s Coach? She is identified for you on your Group Management page.

The structure of our Monthly Update will include a brief word of encouragement or inspiration from an Area 20 MVS Coach, followed by our Area 20 News, MOPS International Announcements, Prayers & Praises, and a Community Report. If you ever have prayers or praises that you would like to share with MOPS Leaders in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana & Mississippi, please send them to your Coach. Your Area 20 MVS Coach looks forward to connecting with your group through this update and will also be contacting the Coordinator of your Leadership Team each month. All leaders are encouraged to contact your Coach anytime you have a concern or question. You are invited to join our Area 20 MOPS Leaders Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/Area20MOPS/

You can also sign up to receive our blog: http://mopsarea20.blogspot.com/

MOPS International encourages and equips moms of young children to realize their potential as mothers, women and leaders, in relationship with Jesus, and in partnership with the local church.

Hello Leaders!

Happy Summer! At least I hope you all are having a happy summer! Is your summer restful or busy? Ours has been an interesting mix of both. My husband and I took a trip at the beginning of June to celebrate our 15^th wedding anniversary. We completely unplugged—no calls, no texting, no Facebook, no email. Well, we did check in our kiddos but that was it. Nothing else. I honestly wondered how my always-connected, very plugged-in, self would handle it. It was glorious! I enjoyed the time with my husband. I enjoyed turning my brain off and just relaxing. When we came back, I figured I'd jump right back in....and I did to an extent...but it was hard. My brain struggled to catch up. The following week after our vacation was Vacation Bible School at our church and I had volunteered to help. I can't say it was easy getting going on that first day. My kids weren't very happy about it either. But we made it there and I'm so very glad we did.

VBS is a time for our church when 100s of children from all over our community come to our church (I'm sure many of you know exactly what I'm talking about). It's a time when children who are otherwise unchurched come pouring in. I think many times it's the 3-4 hours of free childcare that gets them there. Sound familiar? I think about how we used crafts, food, and hugs to share the love of Christ with these young children. Again, sound familiar? We also used simple, easy to understand language for them so that by the end of the week they would hopefully know that Jesus SEES them, Jesus KNOWS them, and Jesus SAVES them. We reminded them that He wants a relationship with them because He loves them and He has a purpose for their life. So simple, yet so powerful! I was reminded once again that while powerful, the Gospel is pretty simple. There are times when we seem to make it so complicated...making ourselves and others feel unworthy of His love. When in reality, each and every one of us is so loved by Him already. I love that at MOPS, much like VBS, we have the opportunity to share the love of Christ. Better yet, we get to build relationships with these ladies over several months or a year, not just a week! And through our relationships with them, we get to show them what it's like to have a relationship with Him!

I'm sharing a link to a song our youth group shared with us recently. I've been listening to it on repeat lately. It's called “Simple Gospel” https://youtu.be/DcJV7j5D3PU. I'm praying that God will use me, and continue to use MOPS leaders, to share His love to moms (and their families!). Praying we can share the simple, but so powerful Gospel to others so they will feel seen, known, and so very loved. And in return they will know Him and love Him!

Blessings,

Christina Copeland

2016-2017 Theme: “We are the Starry Eyed”

Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it… Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. – Jeremiah 33:2-3

“When we reflect back over our lives, this next MOPS year is going to stand out. It will be the year that we decided to live fully by both sunlight and moonlight. Because audacity is rising in the deepest and wildest parts of our souls. And the best part is, we will experience it all together.

 

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.”

Area 20 News

    

You are invited to attend our Area 20 “From the Get Go” Area 20 Community Leadership Training Webinar. Thursday, July 28th at 8 pm EDT/ 7 pm CDT.

From the Get Go! We all need something to get us going; in the morning some need coffee, some need exercise, some need quiet time but we all need something. From the beginning even God wanted to create and from the get go began to add heavens and earth, plants and animals and when he created man he knew from the get go he would need a helper, a companion, a relationship to thrive.

We are going to answer these questions in our training:

• What is it you as a MOPS leader need to thrive?
• What do you as a MOPS leader need from day one?
• What does a new MOPS leader need?
• What do you as a MOPS leader need from the get go?

Most leaders start with excitement and passion, happy to be part of a team and looking forward to serving moms. History shows that very often these same leaders get overwhelmed and burnout within a year creating turnover in leadership and a less cohesive team. There are multiple reasons why, even ones that have nothing to do with MOPS, but in our training we are going to look at what we can do from the get go to help you not become part of this statistic.

All current and possible MOPS Leaders are invited to attend this webinar. Don't miss it!

Register for the event here: https://www.mops.org/evt/?eventId=1127

• Area 20 continues to grow and we need new coaches! Take the next step.

MOPS Coaches are the vibrant tribe of women making an authentic difference in the lives of MOPS moms and leaders.

Our Coaches are a passionate bunch. They’re the relationship builders and the team strengtheners. The mom enthusiasts and the leader advocates. They’re the avid listeners and expert encouragers, the community cultivators and world influencers.

MOPS Coaches are difference makers.

Every MOPS Coach has one simple task in common: Showing up.

Showing up takes many forms and everyone’s experience will be unique. As a MOPS Coach you will:

·      Directly impact local groups by building relationships with group Leaders and guiding the group experience

·      Nurture Leaders by sharing training, advice, resources and prayer – playing a large role in helping Leaders grow to their full potential

·      Connect group Leaders to each other and to MOPS International – share with local groups all the exciting things happening with MOPS and cultivate friendships among fellow Leaders

·      Help MOPS develop resources for Leader events and training – after all, being on the frontline makes you most aware of Leaders’ needs

·      Grow professionally as leaders and personally as women of influence. We want nothing more than for our Coaches to thrive.

We believe you are meant to be here. We believe that sometimes, the best opportunities require a leap of faith, a step into the unknown, and a reliance on the women around you – the women who are welcoming you with open arms into the sisterhood of MOPS Coaches.

If you'd like to know more, just let your coach know!

MOPS International Announcements

• Did you miss our chat with Mandy Arioto, the CEO of MOPS?

If so, you can watch it now! You'll hear her talk about October 1879, Isaiah 43, and mile 22. She encourages us to stretch, show people the good news that is Jesus and be heliotropic. If you love MOPS, spend 41 minutes with Mandy. Stay till the end because she shares a special letter she wrote for you, as leaders, and she asks us to pray for her. Go to www.mops.org/leader/on-demand and watch it today. *Mandy's letter will also be included in an upcoming Spark email so keep your eyes out for that.

• Come Alive: Our Evangelism Perspective

You may have heard about or even attended one of our “Come Alive” events. But coming alive is so much more than just an event...it's a call to action.

It is the heartbeat of MOPS.

When a mom arrives at MOPS, she could be anywhere on her faith journey. Your group may be her first exposure ever to the incredible news that Jesus loves her. Or it could be a place for her to see what that love looks and feels like lived out.

Would you and your team commit to embracing the opportunity you have to introduce Jesus to the women you meet this year?

Fine more information here and work through the three “Come Alive Story” devos with your team! http://www.mops.org/leader/come-alive

• It’s Renewal Time!

Did you know that as soon as you renew, you get immediate access to some pretty awesome things online? ALL of the full-length curriculum videos and FTTD cards available will be yours for immediate download! This means you don’t have to wait to receive your Group Experience Kit to start planning and dreaming up your Starry Eyed year. Renew today!

Guess what?! Membership Kits are officially shipping! Don’t forget to renew your MOPS group so that your moms will be some of the first to receive their Membership Kits in the mail very, very soon! Renew your group today at mops.org/renewal.

Renewal after July 1^st is $199. Once you renew your group, you can register your moms.

SUMMER AND FALL: Register 20 moms, get 1 free. Go to mops.org/leader for all the details on this amazing steal. To top it all off, we have made registration even easier!

Just send one email to every mom in your group and each mom will be able to register herself for Membership, easy-peasy. www.mops.org/registermoms (But if you like the current registration model, you can stick with that too!)

Is your MOPS group so popular that you might need to start another one? Make your wait list disappear, add an evening group or expand your ministry to include a MOMSnext group!

• MOMcon

Are you and your Leadership Team going to MOMcon?? We are and we hope to see you there! Go to http://www.mops.org/momcon-2016/ for more details and registration.

MOPS International Leadership Conference – runs September 29 – October 1, 2016 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

If you had the stage at MOMcon for 10 minutes, what would you say to your fellow moms as they prepare to leave a weekend full of inspiration and head back home to reality, their families and their MOPS groups? Here’s your chance! Do you dream of sharing a practical or inspirational message with fellow women leaders? MOMx at MOMcon 2016 is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Learn more at www.mops.org/mom-talks

Prayers & Praises

Praises for all the MOPS Leaders that participated in our Area 20 Come Alive Community Leadership Training Events . We hope that you were encouraged and inspired as a leader & that you connected with our leaders and came home with fresh ideas! 

Pray for our Area 20 MOPS Leaders as they prepare for the new MOPS year.

Pray for our Area 20 MVS Team as we prepare to hold our "From the Get Go" webinar training open to all our leaders & potential leaders, welcome our new Coaches, and hope that more MOPS Leaders will answer God’s call to be a part of our team.

If you ever have a prayer request or a praise that you would like to share with Area 20 Leaders, please share with your Coach or our Area Coach, Christy Molnar, at christymolnar@yahoo.com.