Connection is important when it comes to church groups. It’s important to encourage people to talk and get to know one another. An easy way to accomplish this is through fun icebreaker games! Whether it’s a small group or a large group such as a youth group, icebreaker games are a great way to make everyone comfortable.
There’s a high chance that when you gather a group of people together, they won’t know everyone in the group. This is why a Christian icebreaker game is a great way to introduce people to each other. A Church small group and especially youth groups can oftentimes be intimidating, so check out any of these great icebreaker games and have fun!
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Large Group Games
When it comes to youth groups or large groups, this can be between 25-200 people. You’ll often need a large amount of space so everyone can spread out. We’ve gathered some of the most fun games that require little to no preparation. Check out this list of 17 fun games any church youth group will love for even more ideas!
1. Three Question Mingle
Three Question Mingle is a really great and effective ice-breaker that can be easily played in a Church group. It doesn’t require any special equipment, all you need is a bunch of pens and some paper!
How to Play
The good thing about this game is that there’s no limit to the number of players you can have. To play, hand each player three pieces of paper and a pen. Then, every person writes down three open-ended questions such as “What is your dream vacation?” or “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” The questions can be centered around Biblical topics or just simple getting-to-know-someone questions.
When everybody’s finished writing their questions, give your group members 10 minutes to mingle. While mingling, players will find a person in the room and ask one of their questions to that person. Once they’ve both asked and answered a question, they will swap that question with the other player.
After the time has elapsed, ask your group what new and interesting things they just learned about the other members of the group!
2. Animal Pairing for the Ark
This fun game is similar to the one above, and is a great way to get people involved. You’ll need index cards and markers to get started! Before the faith-based ice breaker games start, do some prep work. You’re going to write the name of an animal on every card and make sure there are two of each so they can match.
How to Play
Depending on how silly you’re willing to get, there are a few ways to play this game.
Each person will stick the card to their head without looking at it. No one knows what animal they are at the beginning of these Christian icebreaker games. Then they have to find their match so they can get on Noah’s Ark! They can ask questions to figure out which animal they have on their head. When they’re confident they’ve found a partner, they stay together and move forward.
If your group is full of children who love funny icebreaker games for church, there is an alternative option. Instead of having the card on their forehead, they can look at their cards. They will try to find their partners by making sounds that their animal would make. This gets super funny but it’s really great for younger children!
3. Find One in Five
Give your group five seconds to find one person who has something in common with them, but make it something unusual like their shoe size or a place they have traveled. Once they find someone, they yell, “FOUND ONE!” Then do it again, but they must find two people, and so on.
Other possible questions: Find someone who has as many siblings as you, someone whose last name starts with the same letter, or someone whose dad’s name is the same as your dad’s name. This is a great game to get people talking to each other and finding out information they otherwise wouldn’t have known.
4. Family Feud
This one is very fun and requires a bit of prep work beforehand. Much like the popular game show on TV, this one is great for a Church staff and larger groups. To begin, check out any of these Family Feud Templates to easily fill in.
The questions can range from Biblical topics to random questions or questions about a group member. You’ll need an area set up for the host and two players from each team to come forward. You’ll also need a computer and screen to display the questions. Someone will need to control the game, giving points to the team and controlling the flow.
Much like the game, two people will compete to ring the buzzer as fast as possible so that their team can answer more questions and get more points. This is a fun game that loosens everyone up and let’s people have fun.
5. Human Knot
The Human Knot is a great game for youth groups! Have everyone in your group stand in a large circle. Each person in the group must hold the hands of two different people who are not immediately standing next to them on their left or right. This creates a human knot.
From here, let the group untangle the knot into a circle again. Play fun music while the game plays out. If any two members of the knot let go of their hands then you’ll have to start all over! The icebreaker ends when there is no longer a knot and everyone is standing in a circle.
6. Rock Paper Dragon
This game is great as an icebreaker and really gets everyone moving! First, everyone finds someone and plays the basic game of “Rock-Paper-Scissors” with them. Then the loser attaches themselves to the winners by grabbing their shoulders like a “train”.
That team will be called “Team A”. “Team A” then finds another team or pair (Team B) to challenge. If “Team A” beats “Team B” then “Team B” has to attach to the back of Team A’s train. That group challenges another group and so on until eventually every group in the room is attached to one big dragon and they make a loop around the room.
Small Group Games
There are some ice breaker games that are best played in small groups. These are typically games that are more personal or need a quieter space to hear everyone. A lot of these games in a small group will include name games so everyone can familiarize themselves with each other if they’re meeting for the first time. Check out any of these small group icebreaker games!
7. Character and Scripture matching game
The character and scripture matching game is a great game for a youth group, but it can also work at any church gathering. This is one of the most fun faith-based ice breaker games that can also be educational! You’ll need a few items such as index cards and markers to get started.
Before the game, you’ll need to write one character from the bible and a scripture that involves them. You’ll be passing them out randomly when it’s time for the church icebreaker games.
How to Play
Then each person will get a card that has either a character or a scripture on it. Their task is to find the person who has their matching card. Scripture cards will look for character cards and vice versa.
If you want to make it extra challenging, you can have people stick the cards to their foreheads. This way, no one knows what they have and they have to ask each other questions to determine their own cards. When people think they’ve found their match, they stick together. The faith-based icebreaker games end when everyone has a partner. Then, you get to see if everyone is right!
8. Would You Rather
“Would you Rather” is a fantastic ice breaker game. It’s easy to modify so it has a perfect place amongst faith-based icebreaker games. This is also a game that you can keep going endlessly if you choose to, and it doesn’t require a lot of preparation.
How to Play
As far as the prep goes, if you want to use materials, write down scenarios on each strip of paper. These scenarios will be the “would you rather” questions. They can range from simple to difficult and then you’ll place these slips of paper into a bowl.
Good examples include:
- Live through famine or live through the 10 plagues?
- Live on the Ark or in an isolated room for the same duration?
- Be baptized by John or hear Paul speak of Jesus?
You could have people choose their questions, but that may feel like too much pressure. Prepping questions ahead of time is helpful so people won’t spend too much time on the beginning part of this game. Now when you’re ready for the faith-based icebreaker games to start, have a volunteer pick a slip from the bowl and read it aloud. They should be the first person to answer the question. They can choose to give their reasoning or not.
Everyone else will also give their answer. This is a great way to generate discussion and even friendly debates. Remember, there are no wrong answers!
9. Who Am I?
This fun game “Who am I?” is a perfect game for interacting with one another and talking to new people. It encourages quiet group members to step out of their shells without exiting their comfort zones. To play the game, you will need note cards and a headband for each person. Fold the cards in half and give each person a card. Each member should write a biblical character on a side of the card, facing outward.
Take the cards back and redistribute them to the group, instructing them not to look at their card. Hand out the headbands and tell everyone to tuck one side of the card under the headband so that the name will face outward. Then, each person will wander around and talk to other people. As the group mingles, they should treat one another as if they are the biblical characters on their foreheads. Those playing are encouraged to guess their character when they think they know how they are.
An example interaction would be: “I’m so surprised the lions didn’t eat you!” “Am I Daniel?” When a person guesses their bible character, they can take off their headband and help others figure out who they are.
This fun icebreaker activity is perfect for any size group. A small group will have an opportunity to interact closely with one another while a larger group will have a chance to pair off into smaller groups.
10. Hot Seat
This is a great game that focuses on one person each week. You’ll pick one person from the group to come up to the front of the room and be in the “hot seat.” Hand out a few questions on scraps of paper for people to ask the person. You can do this one every week as a group gets to know each other. This is a great way to get to know each individual member of the group in a comfortable setting. These questions shouldn’t be too personal, but just enough to get to know them.
11. Name Relations
Get the small group into a circle. Then start out by saying your name and a food that begins with the same letter. Then the next person does theirs, plus yours. Then the third person does theirs, the second’s and the first’s name and food.
It then moves on down the line, so the last person has to do everyone in the group. Different variations of this can be played but it is great for getting the group to know one another and the names. Pick different categories such as animals or Bible characters. Do this game each week as you might have new members that attend and after several weeks of doing this, everyone will know everyone’s names!
Summary
Any of these icebreaker games would be great for your Church group. Whether it’s a small group or a large group, we hope that you can get to know each member of the group, have fun and open up the group to getting to know God better in a relaxed environment.
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