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..

church baby groups are the best. I’m a heathen but I sought them out for the friendly faces, the fantastic cake and the genuine care and attention for new mums. Total lifeline and I made some friends for life

I attend my local church playground (am non religious) and my sense and what the leader has told me is that they use it to promote their values, which are things like family, friendship, thankfulness. All good things to teach small children! But there has never been any recruitment, they’re just doing a good thing for the community. I’ve had great support from them when I was struggling with two very small ones, and now my kids are a bit older I hope to volunteer and give something back! I also know that the current volunteers have older children and enjoy the time with babies and younger kids! They will gladly do things like
hold babies and bring tea and coffees for a stressed out mum. I also do on occasion when my dd is playing happily!

I run a church baby group. My husbands family are catholic but the church is a high church. A friend started the group and then I took over. We don’t offer any drinks or biscuits but what we do is offer a no booking no fee space for parents and their preschool children. It started after the first lockdown had lifted and was a genuine lifeline.

I don’t have an awful lot of faith myself but I have had my twin daughters baptised and I can say that it was so lovely for the father performing the service to actually know my girls, and my girls were so much more comfortable with knowing the father.

As a group we sing a song with bells and there is a prayer at the end but that’s all.

I was very much a cynic before going but I definitely have a new respect (for that church in particular) and whilst I’ve not been “converted” I can see and appreciate the help that they do in the community.

as other people have said, if you enjoy it then just go with it 😀

Haven't RTFT but my mother's church set one up a few years ago. They charge nothing but have a donations tin for those who want to contribute.
It was set up by some young mums in their church who wanted to do something for free.

They'd lived on the (crap) maternity pay and realised that even £3 was a decent chuck of the £150 maternity pay, so lots of new mums couldn't afford support provided by baby groups. They thought that was wrong, and they had a free hall doing nothing.

Church members donated toys, cakes and coffee, as well as their time. It means new mums get advice and help from older women who'd been there, done that, and could have a hot cup of coffee brought to them.

The closest they get to religion is their understanding that being a Christian is an action more than a belief. Their behaviour is Christian, caring and kind, not pontificating.
My mum has had several young mums cry with her because they have no other outlet. The babies are cared for, so are the mothers.

It's goodness, not profit. Unusual, perhaps, but valuable.

My husband is pastor of a church. I ran a baby group in it until I went back to work, now he does, with the help of others in the church. It's cheap because the building would be sat there being paid for anyway, the helpers are volunteers, and good churches exist to serve their local communities in Jesus' name. He said to see a need and if you can meet it, meet it. Baby groups, senior citizens teas, after school clubs and youth groups are cheap and easy to run, easy to recruit volunteers for, and valued by those from any background. They are not for making a profit so there is no need to charge more than the cost of the teabags and milk, plus a little for new toys or pens etc. People who love the church and love Jesus might just spill over in telling you all about it, but the primary aim is to serve the local community with love, and a wonderful bonus is that sometimes people do decide to give the church a go. Background, class etc doesn't come into it. If you have a baby, you can go, regardless of beliefs or wealth!

My (religious) grandmother used to run one. It was for the mums to get some support in the community, no other agenda!

Now I have my own child I’ve found the church groups to be by far the best activities. Friendly people, non-structured activities but loads of toys, crafts, paints etc for babies and toddlers, someone makes you a cuppa and brings you a biscuit and they’re only £1 round here. The minister at one of them is so lovely and even sometimes does music (nursery rhymes) for the kids.

We tried a few for-profit groups but with a toddler I found it hard trying to keep him engaged in the activity. And a few even discouraged the mums from chatting… I always thought really they were for the parents to not feel so isolated! So it was weird to be shushed at them.

My church runs lots of different groups (could broadly label them 'social') for all kinds of people and ages, and they are absolutely not an attempt to convert people :-). We are there for the whole community, providing a place to be, an opportunity to make friends and to offer support where needed.

The Church of England isn't a cult. They're not trying to trick people into joining.

I to two church groups with my children. Both pay what you could. They were run by grandmas who were always on hand to hold a baby so I could have a cup of tea.

I felt no pressure to join a church!

You're overthinking it. Church baby groups were the best when mine were little, and I'm not even religious. Relax and enjoy

Just being nice. Never heard of an invite to anything.

I love church baby groups. So much nicer than the commercial baby groups that are trying to sell you an experience for profit.

I think this is the church wanting to serve the community. I'm sure they'd welcome you if you turned up on a Sunday but it definitely won't be an expectation.

They're not trying to recruit you, it's geuine kindness and care.

I wish I had known all this. I avoided them because I was not going to be able to subscribe to the religious side and did not want to feel indebted. Was a fairly fraught life stage each time and I didn’t need any extra pressure to donor be anything I couldn’t be. But it sounds (in the best sense) all very genuinely kind and inclusive. Do all the major religions have baby groups like this?

I'm also a heathen welcomed every week to church playgroup, ours is £3 but that includes a decent snack table for the kids. They're nice people who do it for the community, I'm sure a few extra quid in the pot would be welcome.

The one I go to is almost all run by volunteers (it's a big church and I think the lady who organises it might be a paid children's/ youth worker) and it's in their building, so that's why it's so cheap.

They have a toddler appropriate Bible story and a Christian song at the end - that's the extent of the overt religious content. And there's no pressure to join in with those. They let people know about things like the Christmas church service but again there's no pressure at all to go.

These things are very much done to show love to the community. Christians (I am one, though my church doesn't run a toddler group!) generally believe that they should follow what Jesus called the greatest commandments - to love God wholeheartedly and your neighbour as yourself. Toddler groups are part of loving your neighbour, giving parents a bit of a break and a chance to socialise, and children somewhere different to play. If experiencing that love means parents become interested in the message of Christianity, that's wonderful, but it's not a recruitment scheme.