Every year, we celebrate moms on the second Sunday of May. We give them flowers, say “Happy Mother’s Day!” and eat special brunch food (french toast, anyone?)

While we’ve got nothing against flowers and french toast (see #1 and #7, below), there are plenty of ways to celebrate motherhood. And since Mother’s Day invariably falls on a Sunday, it’s up to the church to help honor moms on that special day. 

In the following article, we’ll look at seven ways that your church can plan for and celebrate Mother’s Day with joy, creativity, and thoughtfulness. 

Mother’s Day Ideas for 2022

Whether your church has 25 members or 25,000 members, you can plan something special for Mother’s Day. Here are seven ideas that any church can execute with the right resources, tools, and planning. 

1. Honor moms with individual gifts. 

Not all moms will receive gifts on Mother’s Day, and using your church resources to purchase individual flowers or chocolates is a thoughtful way to celebrate all moms on Sunday morning. You can assign greeters or a special volunteer team to hand out gifts to moms (make sure to greet all with a friendly “Happy Mother’s Day!”)

Even a simple gift can make someone feel honored. Here are several ideas for gifts you can purchase in bulk for Mother’s Day. 

• Individual flowers. Carnations and ranunculus can be cost-effective alternatives to roses, and they’re just as beautiful (Roses also vary in price according to demand–look for colors that are less popular, and you may be able to afford roses). 
• Mugs. Order custom coffee mugs with your church logo, “Mom,” or another sweet saying about motherhood. 
• Chocolates. Look for individually packaged chocolate bars, small boxes of truffles, or even a packaged chocolate dessert. Just make sure they won’t melt in the sunshine. 
• Bracelets. Custom woven bracelets can be inexpensive and easy to hand out. 

To gauge just how many gifts you’ll need to purchase, look at your church’s contact database or CRM. You’ll also need to factor in expectant moms, grandmothers, and women who are waiting to become moms. 

2. Acknowledge all kinds of motherhood. 

Exercise empathy on Mother’s Day. Motherhood looks different for many women, and it can also be a painful topic for many. 

Remember that on Mother’s Day, there will be church members who have lost mothers, lost children, and are waiting to become mothers. Whether you’re preparing a sermon or considering who to honor and celebrate, remember to acknowledge a range of experiences and emotions on Mother’s Day. For some, Mother’s Day will bring joy; for others, it will bring grief.

Ultimately, motherhood is one reflection and expression of the love and compassion of God (Isaiah 49:15). Circle back to that truth, whether you’re handing out a gift or writing your sermon. 

3. Plan a giving campaign for a mother in need. 

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

Mother’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to call your church to generosity and create a special giving campaign. 

For example, you may want to choose Mother’s Day to raise support for single moms, or moms who are experiencing medical issues (you can keep their names confidential). You may also want to create a giving campaign for an individual mother in need, with her permission. 

To create a special giving campaign, follow these steps. 

1. Use an online giving platform. Tithe.ly is a giving platform and church management system that makes giving simple and convenient. 
2. Create vision. Craft a message and a vision for your campaign, and then create promotional material (handouts, social media posts, and email campaigns) to spread the word. Tithe.ly Media helps you to create free church media for promoting a giving campaign across all your channels. 
3. Ask church members to text to give. A text-to-give campaign helps church members to immediately respond to a giving campaign. All they need to do is pull out their phones, text a special number, and follow a link to give (Again, Tithe.ly can help you create an awesome text-to-give campaign 😊). 

When your church bands together to raise money to buy a car, pay a bill, or purchase a much-needed item (like a washing machine, computer, or crib), it builds faith and blesses donors. Most of all, it’s a powerful reflection of the love and compassion of Jesus. 

4. Film a short video. 

Anyone with a smart phone and basic editing tools can create a short video. Or if your church has a production team or creativity team, you can assign them to the task of creating a Mother’s Day film. A short video engages your church members, builds anticipation for Mother’s Day, and can be used to promote a giving campaign. Plus, it’s a fun way to highlight different mothers in your church and community. 

Here are several ideas for creating a Mother’s Day film that’s engaging and honoring. 

• Tell the story of one mother. You don’t need to talk to 100 different moms to capture the spirit of Mother’s Day. Showcasing the story of one unique mom in your congregation–a single mom, a working mom, a mom of many or an adoptive mom–can teach a powerful lesson on motherhood, and make an impact. 
• Teach on mothers in the Bible. Throughout the Bible, we read stories of motherhood. Mary, the mother of Jesus; the widow in 2 Kings 4; Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau; Hagar, the mother of Ishmael; and Elizabeth, the mother of John. We see mothers who endured, who made mistakes, and who glorified God. Looking at their stories on Mother’s Day is a powerful (and Scriptural) way to celebrate authentic motherhood. 
• Interview church members about their moms. Interviewing different church members about their mothers, grandmothers, and spiritual mothers can be a beautiful way to celebrate moms and highlight your own community. 

A good project management tool is clutch for planning, executing, and promoting a Mother’s Day film. Tithe.ly ChMS (which we’ll describe more in a moment) can help you plan and coordinate a Mother’s Day project with efficiency. 

5. Run a Mother’s Day social media campaign. 

Life is busier than ever, and Mother’s Day often “sneaks up” on church members. To create anticipation (and remind people to send a card or flowers to their moms), create a Mother’s Day social media campaign. That may include a series of social media posts for your accounts, a website banner, and a call to action that calls people to give towards a special campaign, participate in a media project, or volunteer for an event. 

Here’s what to keep in mind to create a special social media campaign. 

• Keep it consistent. Choose one message, font, color palette, and call-to-action for your campaign. 
• Schedule in advance. Create multiple pieces of content that you can schedule in advance across your channels. 
• Run it by different church staff and leaders. Beware of overlooking typos, insensitive language, or missing content. Run your social media assets and website banner by a few different staff members (including mothers) to make sure you’re being clear, sensitive, and effective. 
• Be authentic. Think outside of the box and be authentic. Motherhood is messy, rewarding, challenging, fun, and deeply complex. Don’t rely exclusively on a canned version of motherhood–pastel pink and cursive–to engage your community. 

Finally, use social media to engage with your community on the topic of motherhood. Ask questions, respond to comments, and post videos. Mother’s Day is an opportunity for deeper discussion. Don’t miss your chance to engage your church members!

6. Host a panel. 

Instead of teaching a sermon on Sunday morning (or in addition to a sermon), host a panel of mothers from your church. Remember to ask a range of women–expectant mothers, grandmothers, working mothers, and single mothers–to participate. Then create a series of questions that opens an impactful, engaging discussion on Biblical motherhood. 

You may ask:

• How has your definition of motherhood changed over your lifetime?
• How do you draw on the Bible for support in motherhood?
• How can we honor mothers better?
• How can moms learn to spend time with God?
• How does motherhood change the way you view God?

A panel creates healthy and inclusive discussion on motherhood. It also validates the experiences of different women in your congregation, and honors your community. 

7. Brunch!

Hosting a Mother’s Day brunch may not be original, but it is fun, delicious, and celebratory. You  may host a church-wide brunch after your weekend service, or host a separate brunch just for moms on a Saturday morning. In any case, everyone loves brunch–and it doesn’t have to be difficult to host. 

Most importantly, don’t let the moms make and serve Mother’s Day brunch. This is an opportunity to serve and honor them!

Here are a few ideas for hosting a successful Mother’s Day brunch:

• Host a potluck. Breakfast dishes are typically easy and inexpensive to make. Ask church members (not mothers!) to bring breakfast dishes such as egg casseroles, coffee cake, fruit salad, and bagels. Then set up a spread with fresh coffee, orange juice, and flowers. Let the moms serve themselves first, of course. 
• “Hire” volunteers to make waffles and omelettes to order. You can set up a simple waffle and omelet station with a couple of waffle makers and a portable stovetop. Set up a variety of toppings and mix-ins (cubed ham, cheese, greens, peppers, onions, and bacon for the omelettes; chocolate chips, blueberries, granola, and bananas for the waffles), and let the ordering begin!
• Free coffee for moms. If you have a fancy coffee bar, give all moms free coffee drinks of their choice on Mother’s Day. 

Finally, make sure to coordinate a volunteer crew to set up, tear down, and clean up your Mother’s Day brunch. Don’t let moms lift a finger. Serve and honor them on this special day!

Use Tithe.ly to Plan, Execute, and Promote

Special holidays can feel overwhelming to church leaders and church staff, who are already busy with running regular services, pastoring church members, planning mission trips, coordinating meetings, and planning for major annual events like Christmas and Easter. 

Planning for Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. Using the right suite of tools and resources can help your church staff plan a wonderful Mother’s Day without spending a ton of time or energy. 

First, Tithe.ly ChMS can help you plan, manage, and execute a project that involves multiple staff members and/or volunteers. With ChMS, you can create automated workflows to make sure tasks are finished, to communicate with and manage your team members, and even to check in volunteers for Mother’s Day. 

Next, you can use Tithe.ly Giving for creating a giving campaign tied specifically to Mother’s Day. As mentioned above, Tithe.ly Giving makes it easy to help donors give on their phones or computers. Tithe.ly can also help you generate in-depth reporting on giving for your campaign, so that you can get a helpful overview of who is giving, how much, and how close you are to reaching your financial goal for Mother’s Day. 

If you’re hosting a special event for Mother’s Day (like a brunch), Tithe.ly Events can help you plan and register participants. Tithe.ly Events also helps you to create helpful follow-up touchpoints for event registrants, helping them to learn details and remember date/time. 

Finally, Tithe.ly Media can help you create beautiful, polished media for your Mother’s Day events and giving campaign. Tithe.ly Media has thousands of free customizable graphics you can use for your social media channels, website, and sermon series, making it easy and cost-effective to create anticipation for Mother’s Day. 

If you’re interested in trying out Tithe.ly to help you run an awesome Mother’s Day campaign or plan a special Mother’s Day event, click here.