Every Mom Matters
By Kendra Fletcher
An Interview With MOPS
International CEO, Sherry Surratt
In the early years of mothering our eight children, our growing church began ministering to mothers of preschoolers by part- nering with MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) International. Twice each month we would meet together to hear the wisdom
of a mom who had gone before us, eat a brunch that didn’t require
wiping little mouths, and share our struggles and triumphs over a
craft project designed to foster a sense of accomplishment while all
of the other projects at home seemed to go unfinished.
Those bimonthly meetings provided a lifeline for me, a place
where I could engage with other young moms who were trying to
figure out newborns and toddlers and preschoolers. My little guys
loved MOPS, too, as they worked out their vigorous energy on the
playground and learned to communicate with their peers and take
direction from a loving adult other than me.
And then we began to homeschool. Our oldest son was just 4
years old, with 2-year-old and newborn brothers right below him.
MOPS remained a part of our routine, but soon the demands of
homeschooling kept us home more often than not, and there was
the question of what to do with our older kids while the preschoolers and I were away at our meetings.
That was nearly twenty years ago, and today MOPS International
continues to minister to moms and their children at churches all
over the world. Increasingly, MOPS groups are providing an outlet for older homeschooled children as well, so that homeschooling
mothers of preschoolers can continue to be active in a MOPS group.
I recently had the privilege of chatting with MOPS International
CEO Sherry Surratt from MOPS headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
Sherry has been serving as the head of MOPS International since
early 2012, and her heart’s desire is that young moms might be ministered to right where they are, through the arm of local churches
and Christian women who desire to reach out and love them during
this challenging season of their lives.
TOS: Sherry, you see a particular need for the church to reach out
to mothers of preschoolers. How did the early years of raising your
own children grow in you a desire to minister to young moms?
Sherry: Our first son was very colicky, and for the first three
months he didn’t sleep through the night. He just would cry and cry
and cry, and I’d try to flip his schedule during the day. I just felt like
a complete failure as a mom; I really needed that group support that
MOPS provides, and the mentor moms that MOPS provides, just to
be able to tell me: “You’re okay! He’s going to be all right. He’s going
to outgrow this.”
During that time it would have been fantastic for me to have been
in a MOPS group. If I had had the opportunity to be in a MOPS
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