LAURA DILEONARDI’S life felt like a cluttered room of chaos with no doors. In 2012, she became pregnant for the first time. With the new reality came anxiety, exhaustion, and loneliness. She struggled to make connections in her community. Mother support networks failed to ease the pressure. Thoughts of defeat took hold and lingered like the flu.
Then came the compulsion to aid other mothers.
The now-Lebanon resident never dreamed that national growth would take root from such a burden.
Agape Moms is a family network of mama tribes navigating motherhood together as they seek Jesus. Women come with anxiety, depression, pain, chaos, and more. No matter how small or large the problem, the group refuses to treat anxieties as just your “typical mom struggle” or mental health issue, believing these problems can belie spiritual issues.
The organization exists to equip mothers to make disciples of Christ, providing a purpose and a community for those struggling. Women feel encouraged, empowered, and embraced. Members profess that the motherhood differs from one’s average mom group.
Living their mantra, this group wants mothers to bring their kids and “bring their mess.”
Their founder, Laura DiLeonardi, means it.
Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Laura and her husband, Matt DiLeonardi, graduated from the Moody Bible Institute in the city and began their careers in ministry soon after. This led them to the Tampa Bay area in Florida, where Laura first became pregnant. Two more children would follow soon after.
“My first year as a mom, I tried to mom alone, and it didn’t go very well,” Laura confessed. “When you don’t have community in your life, it can lead to things like depression, anxiety, loneliness, and really just feeling isolated in some of the common problems and struggles every mom faces.”
Laura began joining different maternity clubs in the Tampa Bay area, but certain club requirements — like completing Bible homework and rigid dress codes — hampered her growth, so she tried something else.
In 2016, Laura recalled, she gathered six other moms in a park to form the first Agape Moms tribe, a gospel-centered group despite only half of them believing in Christ.
A defining moment came when Laura fell on her stomach in an accident while pregnant with her third child, sending her to the hospital. Her long absence tanked the momentum of Agape Moms as they became a group of two when Laura recovered enough to return.
“I feel that God was testing me and asking me, ‘Are you willing to show up, Laura, for one mom?’ and I said, ‘You know what? I am. I’m willing to show up for just one mom.’”
That one mom, Jessica Hundley, went from not knowing God to believing and inviting others to join their group. Eventually, a regrowth occurred. Laura later moved away after Matt received a promotion, leaving an equipped Hundley to become the new Tampa director, which she still leads as of 2025.
After living in various places, Laura found herself in Middle Tennessee in 2021. She found a home in Lebanon’s Journey Church, where she became the director of women’s discipleship and planted her third Agape Moms group. The group consisted of seven Tiny Tribes, each with two Tiny Tribe leaders and a mentor mom, who all organize weekly meetings in which moms bring their kids. They openly discuss emotional issues, share their “mess,” offer Biblical advice, and learn how to study Scripture.
Once a month, the women participate in “Brunch and Play,” where members go out into the community to invite other moms to their group. The event includes a biannual clothing swap outreach where they give away their possessions like the early church did.
Also, do not let the name fool you. Laura stresses that Agape Moms open their arms to all women, not just moms.
Like wildfires, Agape Moms spread from Florida, branching out into Washington, Tennessee, Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa and even reaching Australia.
It only takes a willing mother to launch a new Agape Moms group in her community to create space for moms to grow together. The online training for Agape Moms walks them through the process of creating their own tribe.
Laura’s love for God and her three children — Jack, Selah, and Lucy — continues to drive her work in the Agape Moms group.
“This started with me just having a burden for moms who know Jesus to have community and also a huge burden for mothers who don’t know Christ to come to know him through the brokenness and the hardships of motherhood.” GN
