To be confused about church baby groups

[Lemondrizzle77]

So I have being doing the rounds on the baby group scene for a short while and have recently been to a few local church and ministry baby groups. They tend to be completely free or a £1 contribution for entire family plus free food and drink.

The one we went to ystrday the people running it were ever so attentive as we were new comers taking turns to sit and talk with us, bring us snacks and waiting on us hand and foot. Of course this was lovely and I was made to feel great especially as in some mums groups I can feel excluded as they can come across ever so cliquey.

I am used to paying up to £10 for my two dcs at the other non religious baby groups.

My husband and myself are relatively comfortable. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical but are these groups aimed at families in the community who are struggling? Or is it a way to recruit more religious members into their community? Or are they just being nice?

My children are small so I am new to the scene. Any sessioned playgroup goers please enlighten me!! I just don't want to be going if the group isn't essentially what I need or what I'm looking for..

If you're enjoying just keep going.

I wouldnt think too much about it

What’s the problem? They’re charging too little? Just give more as a donation towards the running costs if you must

All of the above! Its a church, they are doing good things so you are as welcome as anyone.

They are nice but baby groups are also a way to recruit people into the church... but don't get me wrong, they are generally nice people and will not put any pressure on you! They just believe that introducing you to God is the best present they can give you!

They are just a way of bringing the community together, no need to overthink it.

Church groups tend to be community groups run by volunteers rather than people trying to make money. They're also much more likely to receive donations and classes than privately run groups.

It’s hard to say without knowing the church, but my church has a mission to serve the community and be a blessing to everyone regardless of whether or not they are Christian.
So our baby group runs because new mums are often lonely and not everyone has the money to spare for the more expensive clubs. We have a hall and we have volunteers who like babies, it costs very little apart from heating!

If it’s not what you need or what you’re going for, don’t go. If you feel yourself being recruited, don’t go again. How confortable you are financially is irrelevant I think.

One of our family friends runs a group like this, she started it when her children were babies and have continued to run it now they’re at uni. She’s just a normal person who remembers what having young babies was like and wants to support new parents and give them a place to belong to.

I go to two baby groups a week, both run by the local CofE church. Both charge £1, at one we get a free drink, at the other it’s 40p per drink.
Both groups will waiver the fee if you’re short of cash that week, they genuinely just want to provide a fun, safe environment for young children and their carers. One group has been running over 30 years.

They can run cheaply because the staff are volunteers, the toys are donated, and the room is free. Sort of like how Sure Start used to run.

Most of cost of baby groups is paying for the venue (assuming the people running it are volunteers). The church groups don't have this cost, so they can afford to charge very little. They'll be delighted if you join the church but there is no pressure to.

The other groups are being run by someone trying to earn a living. The church run groups are done as a charitable act (with a bit of soft sell of their religion).

All groups make more of a fuss of you when you first attend or have a very small baby as we all know how intimidating it can be when you're new to it all!

This is all really helpful thanks. Maybe I was over thinking it. I just didn't want to keep going and then a month down the line feel embarrassed to say I have no interest in joining the church when or if they broach it with me. I guess I'm just not used to people being so kind and generous without motive. Sad but true in this day and age. But we love it and it is a welcome change so we will keep going

In my experience of church baby groups they definitely aren't trying to 'recruit' you! They are just providing a community service. As pp said, they tend to be run by kind volunteers who aren't trying to make money.

We're so used to paying more for baby activities these days (14 for half an hour of baby music?!) that church groups seem cheap by comparison. But they haven't changed for years - it's the other types of baby activities that have just got more expensive as people try to make a living out of them.

I think to know the answer to this you'd need to look at who else goes to the group. I know someone who runs a baby group in a church in my town and she sees it as a way to help people feel part of the local community- there is no expectation that people who go along will want to join the church or that it should be for people in financial need. There is another, seemingly similar, group in town where I know (from personal experience and comments from friends) that initially everyone seems welcoming, inclusive and lovely but after a few months the people who run it start to put pressure on you to go to church services. With hindsight, at the latter group there was always quite a lot of discussion amongst the regular members of church related matters, which should perhaps have given me a clue that this was quite a religious group.

Exactly this.

If you feel bad at being wealthy and using a low cost resource then give a donation, in cash or nappies / baby wipes /coffee / new toys.

If you set up a class in the community, you want it to be well-attended, so unless there isn't enough room/resources to go around, you should think no more about it. Make a donation if you feel you're getting good value and want to support them.

If it's anything like my church the building is there anyway and the helpers are volunteers so costs are fairly low. You will be welcome regardless of whether you have any intention of ever attending church but you might be invited to at some point, e.g. to a Christmas service or children's service. You won't be pressured though, or any less welcome.

I used to take my son to the local Salvation Army toddler group, the only reason we don’t still go is that he’s now in nursery on that morning. It was fun for him and cheap for me.

I will say, with my experience at least, that they are actually trying to recruit you a little bit. But it’s more of a trying to gently persuade you. At the group I went to they did a prayer and a song about Jesus every session, as well as reminding everyone about services their church do for children. Around Christmas time they gave my son a book which was definitely a metaphor for the necessity of going to church (which I’ll admit I did not read to him because I disagree with the message). But generally I consider those things the cost of entry. They were never especially pushy and I never had to actually say “by the way I’m an atheist and I’m raising my son agnostic”. They’re very used to people just using the service and not becoming part of the church.

I run one. There weren’t any baby groups locally, but the church next door to me used to run one in its hall before the pandemic, and it needed volunteers to get it going again.

It took me a year to persuade the priest that we were serious, to get DBSd and first aid trained.

The church is Catholic. I am not. The group is inclusive. If I see someone walking on our street with a baby, I give them a flier and tell them we are there. I don’t advertise, otherwise (we are already very busy).

We charge £2, and it is mainly so that I can manage booking so that we are safe / not overcrowded. Eventbrite (the online platform) take most of the £2. The rest covers tea and coffee. I have a code for anyone who finds the £2 a barrier to attending. We aren’t fundraising, but donations are welcome (… I can sometimes find myself out of pocket).

I do it because I am grateful to the children’s centres for what they did for me and my older dc, and because they have now closed. Mothers should help mothers, make each other comfortable and we should celebrate our children. That is why I run a baby group from a church hall.

I also have a job, and do this on my day off, as do the other volunteers. I will follow this thread with interest.

I think it depends on the church. But the church I grew up going to, they are just being nice. They want to support the community and get to know people… there’s never any expectation to be more involved. But I can’t speak for all churches.

Been going to these for years in various churches and never once was approached to join or any pressure at all. Maybe invited to a family service at Christmas or told about a family bbq in summer etc. but never pressure!
usually between£ 1-2 depending on how many children I have. The ones local to me are full of childminders too. As you say some difference between 1hr paid activity at a soft play at £7/8 to £1 at a church group!

I went to a couple of church playgroups when my youngest was little and they were such a lifeline for me during a lonely and challenging time. I'm not religious at all but was always made to feel really welcome and nobody ever tried to convert me. There was sometimes a mention of other church events, but never any pressure.

Of the idea is to make people in the community feel more positively about the church then it worked on me! I'm not a convert but I am very grateful!

Church groups are rarely aimed at anyone in particular other than those with small children. It's simply about doing something of benefit to the community and the people within it. If it cost a lot it wouldn't be a kind thing it would just be profitable.

Dependent on the church, some do try to 'recruit'. IME as a baptised RC no RC or CoE church takes that route.