Emergency Meeting Plans
Planning Ahead for Absences
 Your phone rings even before the alarm clock goes off. It’s MOPS day and your speaker has the flu! You aren’t feeling so great yourself. What’s a leader to do?
Welcome to MOPS leadership! The names in the above story can be changed from “Special Speaker” to “Coordinator” to “MOPPETS Teacher” to “MOPS Mentor,” but the idea is the same. Even the most faithful leader has times when life doesn’t go according to plan. It is helpful to have discussed these types of scenarios at a Steering Team meeting before you need to implement an emergency plan. Each Steering Team member should have a designated back-up person. Obviously, when someone is sick, plans can flex and change, and MOPS meetings can be simplified. But it helps to have thought through alternatives
ahead of time.
When the Speaker Cancels:
- Keep a video for an emergency speaker substitute. There are several video curriculums available from the MOPShop.
- Have an extended Discussion Group time. Have extra questions ready to help the moms go deeper. The Complete Book of Questions offers great conversation starters.
- Have a panel of MOPS Mentors and/or Steering Team Leaders . Let the moms write down questions while they are visiting and eating at the beginning of the meeting, and then have the panel answer as many questions as they can.
- Play board games at Discussion Group tables. Enjoy laughing and learning together. How about Mommy-Charades?
- Talk about family traditions for whatever holiday or season is coming up next.
- Bring in a bunch of cookbooks and index cards. Let moms do some meal planning together and find some new recipes. Share simple meal ideas around the tables. Everyone can go home with a new recipe and an idea.
- Broaden your worldview. Bring in some National Geographic or similar magazines and look for stories about moms and families in different parts of the world. Wonder about the differences or similarities about being a mom in different cultures. Use the Connections archives to print out stories about International MOPS groups.
- Have an extended Creative Activities day by using up leftovers. See how creative the moms can get in thinking of different uses for surplus materials. Consider making leftovers into gifts for MOPPETS workers or church staff.
Download an Emergency Action Plan Form now!
*From Connections magazine, January 2005 | 
