Mothering a Church

Chantelle Foster

May 14, 2025

Reading

And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:4

Reflection

Does the month of May feel like a whirlwind to you?

This year, it feels especially full because Easter was so late. Many of you might not pay super close attention to the church calendar like I do. Our staff was busy with Palm Sunday, Eggstravaganza, Good Friday, Easter, a Community Conversation, Grad Sunday, Exploration, and then Mother’s Day! Wow—that’s a lot to fit into just three weeks.

I am so fortunate to have so many younger people on our staff team. I get to cheer them on, listen to their struggles, and be a witness as they raise their young families. This feels like a grace to me—a gift from God. Even though most of them have not witnessed me in my active “mom years,” my prayer is that I can still be a beacon of hope to them. I actually survived—and now I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Parenting certainly held many challenges for me. It stretched me beyond my knowledge base and skill set. It honed me into a stronger version of myself and pulled the selfishness out of me as I learned to put others’ needs above my own. Learning how to parent is on-the-job training. Since every child is different, there’s no one right way to be a success. As soon as you have it figured out, the season changes—and you have to figure it out all over again.

At the same time I was becoming a mom to two boys, I also helped Mark birth our church. I was mothering a baby boy and a baby church. So, on Sunday when Mark took the opportunity to thank me publicly, I allowed myself to feel the depth of such an incredible opportunity. Not only am I the mom of two adult men—I’m also the mother of our church. For more than 26 years now, I’ve been mothering Acts 2. No one was able to adequately prepare me for that task either. It, too, has been on-the-job training.

One of the beautiful parts of this season of life for me is having children with fully formed prefrontal cortexes. My boys are able to engage in high-level cognitive functions like planning, decision-making, and impulse control. I think of our church in a similar way. I thank God that both my sons and our church have the ability to make good decisions on behalf of themselves and others. I also thank God that I can continue to serve as chief cheerleader. These thoughts are especially precious to me this week, following a wonderful Mother’s Day.

May God bless you and keep you.