STATE COLLEGE MOPS

MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. Here at MOPS, we gather and support moms. We believe in the simple but revolutionary idea that remarkable things happen when moms come together, face to face. That’s why we rally women to come together in their own neighborhoods and help each other through this thing called motherhood, one gathering at a time.

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Contact us at statecollegemops@gmail.com

THEME FOR 2023-2024

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.

The Vision and Mission of MOPS International

Mission/Vision

“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.”

What are MOPS International’s Organizational Values?

Excellence: The achievement of organizational excellence by conducting all the affairs of the ministry in accordance with biblical principles, sound management, personal and organizational integrity, financial stewardship, and empowerment of the staff to accomplish organizational outcomes.
Heritage: The historical MOPS group structure serves as a model for ministry.
Faith Position Statement: A commitment to the MOPS International Faith Position Statement.
Partnerships/Alliances: Partnership/Alliances where individual strengths are shared for a common purpose.
Local Church: A relationship with the local church, embracing a spectrum of diverse denominations, which are in agreement with our Faith Position Statement.
Governance: The building of the board to model good governance, ensure the election of qualified and committed directors, constantly refine the Standing Policies Manual, and inform board members of major developments.

What are MOPS International’s core Ministry Values?

Under God, MOPS International embraces the following values statements, which we hold to be essential to our ministry, and which are the foundation upon which our ministry is based:

Dignity: The dignity of each individual life and mother of preschoolers, no matter where she has been, what she has done or how she is choosing to live her life today, embracing both believers and nonbelievers and all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Women: The equipping of women to become all that God has designed them to be.
Mothering: The value of mothering for its contribution to individuals, children, society at large, future generations and eternity.
Relationships: Relationships including the male/female marital relationship, the parent/child relationship, and the ultimate fulfillment of all relationship needs through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Marriage, Family and the Single Life: God has instituted marriage — the covenant relationship between one man and one woman — intended to be a life-long union of husband and wife. The single life, either by call or circumstance, is honored by God. Unmarried people are an important part of the Christian community.
Human Sexuality: Sexuality is inherent in God’s creation of human being in his image as male and female. Husbands and wives are called to exclusive sexual fidelity to one another and single persons are called to abstinence. God intends and enables all people to live within these boundaries with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the fellowship of the Church.
Relationship Evangelism: Relationship evangelism as expressed through Christ-like relationships in an environment for growth and spiritual development as faith shared through actions and words.
Leadership Development: The equipping of women, volunteer leaders, volunteer staff, staff and board to gain skill and confidence in their leadership ability, to understand their influence in their family, community and world, and to guide others through relationship evangelism.
Leadership Qualifications: Personal relationship with Jesus Christ and growing towards maturity in relationship with Jesus Christ, evidenced in godly character, behavior and attitudes, as expressed in Scripture.

What is MOPS International’s Statement of Christian Character, Faith and Mission?

Statement of Christian Character: This Corporation is a community of like-minded Christian believers consisting of those who serve the mission of the organization as its representatives, including all of the directors, officers, employees and volunteer staff of the organization, each of whom is an integral part of the community. The organization maintains this faith-based community as an exercise of its Christian beliefs and as an expression of these beliefs to the larger community. In addition, the Corporation subscribes to the Christian belief that all of its activities should express the Corporation’s beliefs and be rendered as a service to God. In short, both the mission of the organization and the association of its directors, officers, employees and volunteer staff are an exercise and an expression of the organization’s Christian beliefs. Under God, MOPS International embraces our Statement of Faith (click here to read), which we hold to be essential to our ministry, and which are the foundation upon which our ministry is based.