Are you organizing church activities for youth groups, kids ministry, or even adults? There are so many great ideas and creative ways to get the whole family involved! A great church activity will often have a spiritual element, but that’s not a requirement.
From the youth ministry playing human football to an adult small group participating in outreach in the local community. We’ve put together an extensive list that younger children and all family members can enjoy! Start planning a family movie night, or organize a scavenger hunt. These 26 church activities will bring fun and faith together.
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How Can Church Activities Enhance Community Engagement?
Church activities are a great way to engage both your church community and the local community around your property. While your congregation regularly meets in services throughout the week, activities are a chance for people to connect in a more fun, relaxed setting.
Church services don’t provide as many chances for guests to engage with one another one-on-one, so activities are a good place for those connections. Additionally, activities provide a place for members and visitors to participate in activities they enjoy and build common ground with each other.
Also, those who don’t currently attend church might be more hesitant about coming to a church service on a Sunday but could find an event like a craft fair, family fun day, or musical performance less intimidating. Church group activities for adults and church group activities for young people are both settings where you can welcome in visitors who will hopefully want to become regular attendees at your church.
How to Balance Fun and Faith in Church Activities?
Fun and faith are both crucial parts of church events. Focus entirely on one and ignore the other and guests walk away either having had a blast but not learning anything about God or their faith, or they leave a blah event where they received spiritual guidance but likely didn’t enjoy themselves enough to want to return for future events. This is true whether you’re looking for engaging men’s ministry ideas, women’s ministry event ideas or church youth group games that will infuse your student ministry with energy.
Not every part of your event has to be 100 percent Bible-focused and deeply spiritual. Leave space for something fun like a water balloon toss, trivia contest, relay race, talent contest or other church involvement ideas that allow people to show off their personalities. When you do present spiritual messages and ideas at events, try to do it in a creative way that differs from the traditional setting or a sermon or formal message. By balancing fun and faith, you create more impactful events for all who attend. Incorporate a fun mix of Bible Studies that let everyone play games and have fun!
Outreach Activities
- Trash Pickup – Hold service days to pick up trash on the street. This may sound like nothing, but small acts of service show your neighbors that you care and view yourself as part of the community. This can make a big difference.
- Book Drive – Hold an annual book drive for a local school. Talk to the school leadership to find out their needs. With budget cuts, most schools can benefit from donations of required reading books as well as other children’s literature!
- Tutoring – Offer tutoring for local school children or a school in need. Work with the administration to set it up for after the school day is over or host a tutoring session at your church one night a week — with pizza and other yummy snacks.
- Lunch Buddy – Work with a local school or a school in need to set up a lunch buddy program. The school will identify kids who need extra care, and a church member can meet them for lunch at school once a week or once a month. A lot of kids can benefit from a caring adult who just wants to be their friend and read to them.
- Baby Supplies – Provide an infant and new mother pantry at church where you keep essential baby supplies such as diapers, formula, bottles, blankets and lots of baby clothes to help struggling moms. Also, stock supplies for the moms such as maternity clothes, feminine products and other items they may need.
Kids Activities
- Seasonal Festival for Kids – Families are always looking for free, kid-friendly activities. Host a seasonal festival that is open to the whole community and feels like a genuine way to connect with the people on your street and in the community, versus a sales pitch to come to the church. People are more likely to visit your church when they see you are interested in genuine relationships, especially their children. These outreach events can be fun and casual such as a fall festival, an Easter egg hunt or even a Christmas play.
- Bible Art – This game is an great example of church activities for youth and adults that encourages creativity and spirituality. Participants create art pieces based on a verse or passage from the Bible. Doing this helps them express themselves creatively while learning more about the Bible.
Instructions:
- Ask the participants to pick out a Bible verse or passage. Have them create an art piece based on it. Let them use whatever materials they want (markers, crayons, pencils, paper) to create their art. Ask everyone to share what they created and the spiritual lesson they learned. Organize a scavenger hunt where children search for hidden clues related to different Bible stories. Each clue unveils a part of the story, allowing kids to actively engage with the narratives while having fun.
- Praise and Worship Dance Party – Incorporate music and movement by hosting a praise and worship dance party! Let the children express their love for God through dance, using contemporary Christian music that resonates with their age group.
- Creation Art Workshop – Explore the beauty of God’s creation through a creative art workshop. Provide materials for children to create their interpretations of the world, emphasizing the divine touch in every aspect of nature.
Youth Activities
- Youth retreat weekend – Leave the screens behind and take youth members on a weekend trip away. A healthy balance of fun activities and spiritual reflection can spark a transformational experience in this next generation of disciples. Make it an adventure to remember with good food, group games, special messages, and worship sessions.
- Family movie night – Whether under the stars or in the comfort of your main church building, roll out the big screen for a family movie night! Witness a thought-provoking faith story together, or share a few laughs with a classic family-friendly comedy. Afterward, discuss your favorite parts and important lessons learned.
- Picnic in the park – Head out this spring for a family picnic in the park. The kids can run around and play while the adults get a chance to connect. People can pack their own lunches or sign up to bring supplies for a build-your-own-sandwich station.
- Family talent show – Skits, songs, and choreographed performances make for an exciting evening of entertainment! Encourage soloists and group acts to bring their unique gifts to the stage. This is a chance to celebrate your youth and bring families closer as they perform together.
- Human foosball – Line up lanes for players. Give them ropes, PVC pipes, or pool noodles to hold, face them in the proper directions, toss in a rubber ball, and let the hilarity and chaos commence. Some companies will have inflatable foosball set ups to further make this fun!
- Human Hungry Hungry Hippos® – Each team wheels out one of their teammates on a skateboard (representing the hippo). In the middle of the gym are balloons (i.e., the marbles) and each young man or young woman makes a single swipe with a laundry basket to collect as many balloons as possible before being pulled back by a rope.
- Prayer Wall A Prayer Wall is a fun church activity for youth that encourages them to be mindful and reflective of their own faith. Participants are asked to write down any praises, worries or gratitude statements on a wall decorated with Bible verses and prayers. Doing this helps young church members learn more about the Bible while teaching them to think deeply about their relationship with God.
Adult Activities
- Game night mixer – Game nights are an easy and fun way to bring people together for an evening of fun and friendly competition. Classic board games, a simple deck of cards, and even multiplayer video games offer the chance to connect in a casual setting. Get the word out, grab some snacks, and game on!
- Bible study brunch – Some of the best conversations happen over a yummy plate of food, and you can encourage this connection with a Bible study brunch. Create a cozy, relaxed atmosphere where young adults can dive deep into scripture and get to know each other better while enjoying a tasty meal.
- Worship & coffee nights – Unlike a regular evening service, you can create an intimate space for sharing stories, offering prayer, and worshiping with a warm cup of coffee (or hot cocoa) in hand. Consider including a short devotional to foster conversation and encourage personal reflection.
- M&M’s Game – This game is a super fun church activity for adults that encourages them to think deeply about their relationship with God. Participants answer questions while enjoying M&M’s! Doing this helps participants learn more about scripture and makes it enjoyable and interactive.
Instructions: Ask each participant to read their Bible story closely and answer the questions. Give them an M&M reward after correctly answering the question. Discuss the answers together as a group. Allow participants to reflect on their relationship with God. Allow the group to pray for all the worries, praises and gratitude statements discussed in the stories. Celebrate the collective effort by singing a song of praise or worship together through music or dance. Enjoy the M&M’s as a reward for all your hard work.
- Scripture Charades – Scripture Charades is a great church activity for adults that encourages them to explore the Bible in a unique way. Participants are given a Bible verse and then act out the verse without speaking. Doing this helps them learn more about the Bible and encourages spiritual growth while teaching them to think deeply about their relationship with God.
- Group Bible Discussion – Group Bible Discussion is a fantastic engaging church small group activity that encourages participants to discuss their interpretations of the Bible. Participants are given a Bible passage and asked to share their thoughts as a group. Doing this helps small groups learn more about the Bible while teaching them how to express their faith in an open atmosphere.
Instructions: Divide the group into smaller teams. Give each team a Bible passage. Ask them to discuss the passage as a group. Have them share their thoughts and interpretations. Discuss the spiritual lesson behind it and how it applies to their lives. Celebrate the open dialogue with a song of praise or prayer. Reflect on how this activity allowed them to explore their faith and express it in a safe environment.
- Bible Trivia – This engaging church activity for all ages encourages Bible knowledge and competition. Participants answer questions about the Bible in a fun game setting. Doing this helps everyone to learn more about the Bible and teaches them how to work together as a team.
- Cook Off – Host a cook-off to compete to see what chili or other food wins! Or if you want even more fun, try splitting into teams and give each team a bag of groceries with five ingredients. Each team will head to a local member’s home to prepare the meal with those ingredients in any wildly creative manner they chose. After the groups finished, then it’s judged by by taste, visual appeal, and so forth.
- Daily Devotions – Subscribe to a devotional book that residents can read as a group each morning. To increase participation, serve mini doughnuts and coffee for the residents.
- Monthly Fellowship Breakfast – Invite the spiritual leaders that volunteer at your facility for a special monthly breakfast with residents.
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