Agape Moms Tampa's Story: God’s Faithfulness in Quarantine
I wasn’t sure if or when I was going to share this testimony. I wrote it out at the beginning of the year, to commemorate all that God had done in Agape moms since the pandemic hit, but the timing didn’t feel quite right. This afternoon it came to mind, and I asked Haley “should I share the testimony?,” and she said “it’s the perfect time!” So here goes.... and God gets all the glory!
2020 was quite an eventful year for Agape Moms of Tampa Bay, but God was so faithful through it all! I have to confess that I spent most of the year second (or even third) guessing every single decision I made. Oftentimes I wasn’t sure what to do, but God somehow made a way every single time! He always delivers on His promises to us!
When I look back at photos from the past year, I can see His faithfulness and His hand so clearly. He has taught me so much through all of this! In January of 2020 we had an incredible launch! We were digging into The Gospel Centered Life, and had a fantastic turnout at our kickoff party! As I look back at all of the beautiful, smiling faces in our group photo, all I can think of is “we had no idea what was coming!”
Everything went well until mid-March. Our last pre-Covid playdate was a tour of Publix, and the kids had a blast! Little did I know, it would be the last time I would enter the store without a mask for a very long time. A few days later the Governor shut down our state. We were supposed to take the next week’s study off for spring break, but instead we switched gears and kept going. We put our book on hold and met via zoom each week, doing devotionals on topics like God’s faithfulness and praying scripture.
On April 27th, we had our very first of what would be many trunk gatherings! I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. I brought a whole bunch of individually packaged Chick-fil-A meals and hoped for a good turnout. Minutes later our church parking lot was full of mamas and kiddos! We had missed seeing each other so much! It had only been a month we’d gone without seeing each other face-to-face, but it felt like an eternity.
After that, we met weekly in various empty church parking lots. Some of our mamas took turns giving devotionals while our children played. Sometimes we bought donuts and coffee or popsicles for the kids. We also did a kid’s field day the first week of July, complete with a visit from the Kona ice truck!
We also kept our zoom meetings going, and had some fun virtual events like a game of zoom bingo.
I began to pray heavily for God’s direction regarding our big Fall relaunch. I reached out to our group’s sponsor Pastor Ryan Tirona for his advice, and I met with him and my four other discussion leaders on zoom to come up with a plan.
Our conversation was a game changer. Instead of tapering back, he wanted us to go full speed ahead with the launch! He even offered his sanctuary to us so we could spread out if we had a very large group. He understood our sense of urgency to connect with the moms in our community and share the gospel with them during this very stressful time. We also discussed the precautions we would need to take to help keep everyone healthy moving forward.
We kicked off on August 27. We had a morning in-person meeting, a morning zoom meeting, and an all-new evening meeting. The evening meeting turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of all. It allowed our working moms to participate in the group, and gave our stay-at-home moms a chance to get away for awhile.
With God’s help, we were able to build and maintain a wonderful sense of community grounded in Jesus and the truth of the Gospel. We did a wonderful life changing study on the book of Ruth.
We took a break from our study one week a month to do a morning playdate for the kids, and a mom’s night out. We did a number of fun outdoor play dates for the kids, including hiking, a visit to a farm, and a splash pad.
In November, we had a wonderful pumpkin decorating play date and thanksgiving feast for the kids, and a Friendsgiving MNO for the moms!
We had a great turnout, and it was a Friendsgiving I will never forget! Two Agape moms who had been participating in our zoom study traveled quite a long distance to join us in-person. My dear friend Sheila Parrish (who moved to Jacksonville last summer) showed up at our Friendsgiving feast as a surprise. Another dear Agape mom, Amari Daniel Zupa, who had moved to Sarasota, also made the trip to join us! Seeing them in person made our Friendsgiving complete!
In December, we capped off the year with some fun Christmas parties! The kids had a feast and craft day at the very playground where Agape Moms began five years ago. That night our Agape mommas had a kid-free casual Christmas gathering at a local pizza place, complete with Christmas pajamas!
As we kicked off the new year, many more mommas joined us for our incredible new study. I even started to host weekly evening firepit sessions at my home! A month ago our wonderful morning group leader moved away, (come back Jennifer Elder Goldstein ), but God has raised up some awesome new leaders to take on that role. Thanks to nothing but God’s goodness and faithfulness our morning and evening groups are growing and thriving!
This past year wasn’t easy, but it packed a whole lot of blessings! I am learning to trust in God more, and follow his leading. As we walk through the summer of 2021, I’m grateful for how far Agape moms has come, and I can’t wait to see where God takes us next!
Jessica Hundley
Agape Moms Tampa Bay Area Director
Jessica loves spending quality time with her husband Scott, and their two children Haley and Luke. Jessica moved to Florida from Massachusetts in 2012, and never looked back! She loves sharing the good news about Jesus by telling others how the truth of the gospel has radically transformed her life. Jessica has a special passion for connecting with other moms who are struggling and pointing them to Jesus. She is a founding member and former leader of the original Agape Moms in Lithia, FL. She recently felt a burden to expand Agape Moms in her own neighborhood, and it led to the launch of a new group in Valrico. Jessica has a love for God and others that overflows into every facet in her life.
Contact AgapeMomsTampaBay@gmail.com if you'd like to get connected with the Valrico, FL Agape Moms.