"We can't hold a closed fist and reach out," shared Suzann Kluever, a member of Celebration United Methodist Church in Brandon.

In challenging economic times, churches—like individuals—often feel the pressure to tighten their budgets and limit their generosity. But for Celebration members, the call to meet the needs of their neighbors and live into their mission statement felt like an invitation from the Spirit that they needed to respond to.

"With the cost of living increasing, it is more important than ever to help young families," shared Pastor Josh Willprecht, Teaching and visioning pastor of Celebration. "Parents should not have to decide between food and diapers."

From this burden on their hearts was born the idea of Baby Blessings. The idea was sparked by a social media post about another church in South Dakota holding a similar event. Organizers saw it as an opportunity to put their faith—and mission statement—into action.

"Our mission statement is 'Reaching people who aren't connected to Christ or to a church home, Connecting to God and one another, and Growing in our faith through Serving,'" said Addy Kenkel, discipleship, outreach, and care pastor. "I would say most of these people were probably not connected to a church home. So just to relieve some of the pressure off of families and also interact with more families as a church was a double-good thing."

The planning began with the help of a Breakthrough Ministry Grant from the Dakotas Conference and Dakotas-Minnesota Methodist Foundation and donations from church members. They promoted the event through social media, local daycares, pediatric clinics, moms' groups, and the food pantry. They also partnered with a non-profit, Greater Goods, to get some discounted items.f

From left to right, Sue Willprecht, Katrina Beshai, and Pastor Addy Kenkel worked to make Baby Blessings a success.

"We bought hangers so it would seem like a good experience," said Suzann. "It's different shopping from a rack than it is on a table from a rummage sale. So we got some racks and hangers and hung the baby clothes by size."

"I just remember thinking, 'Please, God, send us the people,'" she added.

And God answered that prayer.

"We served 51 babies, which was just incredible," said Pastor Addy. "We didn't know what to expect. We thought there could be five people that show up, or there could be like 500."

Many of the shoppers were single moms, including several women who were expecting.

"We were able to interact with a lot of families and a lot of people and just show them love," said Kenkel.

This love and interaction started the minute shoppers walked in the door, as they were greeted by an enthusiastic volunteer. They then proceeded to different stations—first, to fill out a liability waiver, followed by a form stating the number of children under age two, and finally, to get a tote and cart and begin shopping.

"We had a lot of different items, like baby monitors, little movement monitors, bottles, clothing and toys, and all sorts of stuff," described Addy. Shoppers could also get two boxes of diapers, wipes, formula, and even larger items like strollers.

"We had a lot of awesome help setting it all up, organizing all the diapers, doing all of that stuff, so that was incredible," she continued. "Then, while we were there, we had volunteers at each different station—we had people just around helping—getting the diapers for them. Then we had some people who helped them load everything into their car."

The congregation was intentional about creating a positive experience for the shoppers. "That situation can be humbling," Pastor Addy explained. "But there was very much a spirit of celebration—no shame or anything like that. It was it was definitely a presence."

The opportunity to serve and connect through this event was a powerful experience for many volunteers.

"It's different than making a care package and bringing it somewhere to have it distributed," described Suzanne. "You actually got to see the impact unfold right there in front of your eyes."

That impact was evident. "It was just cool to see people's faces," said Addy. "We had some tears of gratefulness."

"It was cool to see how it really was an example of Jesus' love in the way of it being a free gift to these people, and they had to accept it," she added.

"Many people attending were already asking how they can give back and bless others," said Pastor Josh.

"I was that person when my first baby was little. I was on my own and scraping every penny I had," shared Suzann. "So for me, to be able to give back, it's super cool."

With the success of this inaugural event, the congregation is already looking ahead to the next one, hoping to hold Baby Blessing events once a quarter.

"I think sometimes it's hard when you think about all of the things that could be like our furnace is on the last leg, we need new shingles, we need treats at the coffee bar and stuff like that, so how do we say that we can spend money on doing this?" shared Suzann. "But giving is first, and really, that's our purpose, and we just need to have faith that God will provide and make a way."

"Our hope is that the baby closet will provide not only financial support but support in community," added Pastor Josh. "We are excited to see how God will work through this ministry."