Good women’s ministry event ideas should be a focal point for any church. They typically incorporate one or more of the following goals:
- Practicing spiritual discipline
- Learning practical skills that relate to the Bible
- Giving service to the community
- Engaging in fellowship with ladies' church groups
With these four goals in mind, here are the top 20 women's ministry ideas to try this year. These fun activities for ladies church groups will generate many laughs and smiles. No matter which one you choose, promote church events so everyone knows how to join in the fun. An event invitation letter is a good starting point to ensure everyone knows the event details.
Ministries can also help grow your church membership. If your church is considering starting a ministry, these are great starting points.
1. Weeknight Bible Study for Spiritual Bonding
If your women's group isn't hosting weekly Bible studies already, it’s about time you did. Bible studies for women offer a chance to learn important spiritual disciplines.
Bible study is a time for women to read the Bible together and discuss their spiritual journey with the Word of God. Your group, as Christian women, can do this through a unique lens.
Women should talk about the Bible and practice its teachings. Women’s ministry leaders can teach groups how to study and interpret the Bible, guiding members in the right direction. More practical, hands-on lessons are critical for women's spiritual growth. You can even play games based on Biblical themes to make lessons more engaging and impactful.
Bible studies can help women get excited and energized about the Bible, which can go a long way in helping your church group feel more connected to Christ when you're not at church.
2. Themed Potluck Dinners: A Delicous Way to Bring Church Members Together
Potlucks are a classic church fellowship event for a reason. They’re fun, filling and family-friendly. We recommend trying a ladies-only themed potluck dinner to boost social bonds within your church group.
You could try holiday-themed potluck dinners during the festive season, or incorporate a cultural cuisine into your potluck dinner. For example, everyone could bring Mexican or Sichuan dishes to the potluck.
Fellowship events like potlucks are great ways to bring new members into the fold. After all, who can pass up free food and fun socializing with a group of like-minded peers?
Ensure your potluck women's ministry event ideas also incorporate the gospel. Read a passage before everyone starts eating. Or have a new member of the group share her testimony.
3. Christian Book Club: A Great Mix of Reading and Religion
Book clubs are another great women's fellowship event for church groups. However, incorporating a book with spiritual enrichment teachings can make this social event even more meaningful.
Try fiction books from Christian writers like romance author Francine Rivers (Redeeming Love). Mystery book lovers will enjoy Wanda E. Brunstetter's The Amish Greenhouse Mysteries - and you can’t forget the classic Left Behind series!
You should also include inspirational nonfiction books that can help teach women in your church group spiritual discipline. These books can cover subjects like parenting, marriage, prayer, Bible study, and more.
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin is a great book for teaching Bible study, and Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is essential reading for anyone learning about spiritual discipline.
There are so many excellent books out there for your ladies' church group book club. Check out this list of 20 must-read books for Christian women if you're searching for more book club ideas.
4. Get Creative with Craft Night
Crafting is a practical skill many women use every day. According to Exodus 35, craftswomen were essential to building the Tabernacle during Moses's time. The passage specifically discusses craftswomen who created jewelry from precious stones and metals. The same craftswomen spun clothing from yarn.
Your church group will love a craft night inspired by the craftswomen of Exodus. Host a jewelry-making class and discuss the contribution of the female jewelry-makers at the Tabernacle.
Consider selling the goods your ladies' church group makes at craft night for a charitable cause. For example, Women at Risk, an organization that also hosts charitable jewelry crafting nights, helps women rescued from the global sex trade.
You could also host a sewing or knitting night to honor the craftswomen who clothed Moses and his followers.
5. Weekday Afternoon Tea: Pinkies Up!
Women's ministry ideas should strive to include all kinds of women in your church group, including stay-at-home moms who may be looking for fellowship during the week. Weekday afternoon tea is a great fellowship event idea for stay-at-home moms at your church. Make sure to offer childcare so that your group will not have to stress about watching their children while socializing over tea.
You could host themed afternoon tea parties (Paris-themed tea, anyone?) or even teach your group about high tea. Afternoon tea could also be a great mother/daughter event, especially for moms with young girls.
Make sure to brew up many different types of teas, including iced teas and don’t forget the snacks! Cucumber sandwiches, mini quiches, sweet and savory scones, tea cookies and cheese trays are all great ideas for afternoon tea.
6. Prayer Circles: For Spiritual Healing
Practicing prayer is a great way to bring the women of your church together. Prayer is so powerful and when groups of women come together to pray for people who are struggling, it can be even more effective.
Plus, the best thing about prayer circles as women's ministry event ideas is that you don’t have to be in the same place. You can email a list of people to pray for during the week and each member of your church group can pray separately on their own time as part of an online prayer ministry.
When you all come together, you can pray for everyone on your list together. You can all join hands and stand or sit in a circle to pray. Circles are a sign of eternity and perfection in the Bible, granting even more power to your prayers.
7. Bible Journaling Meetings: A Creative Take on the Bible
Bible journaling is a practical skill that women can use for Bible study. It takes inspiration from the wildly popular bullet journaling trend. Here’s how to incorporate Bible journaling into your church group meetings.
First, instruct your group to read a passage from the Bible. Afterward, ask each member to respond to their readings creatively. This could mean something different for each member.
For example, some women may prefer to draw, sketch or doodle their thoughts. Other women who are less visually inclined can use prose or poetry to digest their readings.
Finally, have your group come together and share what they learned from the passage. Relate each woman's learnings to the message the passage relays.
8. Return to Nature with Flower Arranging Events
Flower arranging is a fun women’s ministry idea for ladies of all ages. It involves creating beautiful floral bouquets. Believe it or not, this is a skill you can learn.
As with any fellowship event, relate the activity to the Bible. For example, fresh flowers relate to 1 Peter 1:24-25, which compare human flesh to flowers. It withers and dies with time, yet the Lord and His word remain for eternity.
After the event is over, women can take home their bouquets as souvenirs.
9. Fashion Swaps: Ideal for Church Fashionistas
A fashion swap is another favorite women's ministry event idea.
Everyone brings their unwanted clothing, shoes, and accessories and lays them out on tables to display. Then, let the women in your group "trade" fashion items with each other.
You could put on a church fashion show to have even more fun. Women can show off the new items they traded for.
You can also tie this event to the Bible. Use the opportunity to discuss the spirit of giving to add some Biblical meaning and depth to this super fun activity.
10. Weekend Marriage Workshops: A Family That Prays Together Stays Together
The divorce rate among people who go to church regularly may be lower than it is for non-churchgoers. But for the entire Christian population, the divorce rate is about 20% higher than the national average. What does that mean?
The women who infrequently attend your church group may need help in the marriage department. What better way to support these women than with marriage workshops?
Christian marriage retreats and workshops focus on restoring God to marriage. You can also hire a Christian marriage and family counselor to offer more secular advice.
Of course, even advice from a counseling professional should be backed up in the Word. Ephesians 5:22–27, Genesis 2:18, Matthew 19:4–6, and 1 Peter 3:7 are all great verses about marriage in God's eyes.
11. Holiday-Themed Philanthropy: Spread the Spirit of Giving
The holidays are a great time to give back and host charitable faith-based women's events and engage in women's outreach programs.
Christian women's groups could volunteer at the local homeless shelter. Many shelters host soup kitchens around Christmas time.
Another community outreach idea is to host a donation event for local charities like Toys for Tots.
To make your philanthropy event even more meaningful, have your group meet afterward. You can meet off church grounds for coffee and hot chocolate or in your Bible study room for a quick debrief.
This is a time when each of you can share the impact of your work and discuss the Bible's definition of philanthropy. You can also remind your group how Christlike women should always have charitable hearts.
12. Movie Night Creates Cinematic Bonding Moments
A movie night is one of the easiest fellowship events for your women's ministry. It doesn’t require much planning and allows church group members to unwind and relax while receiving a profound spiritual message.
You can show a movie that inspires women's discipleship or choose a non-Christian movie with a positive message.
Secular movies like Soul Surfer, A Fall from Grace and The Chronicles of Narnia have amazing allegories to the Bible. You could also watch classic Christian movies like The Shack, A Week Away and Facing the Giants.
Movie night is also a great time to bring the kids. Just make sure you bring snacks for everyone! Popcorn, peanuts, pretzels and candy are essential to any good movie night.
13. A Mother/Daughter Retreat:
Nuture This SpecialBond
"Like mother, like daughter" is a Biblical term, and that's why it's so important to include your daughters in your women's ministry event ideas.
We’ve talked about a few mother/daughter event ideas already, but a retreat is something more than a fashion show or afternoon tea could ever be.
The Bible also says it's common for mothers and daughters to be divided. If you're the mother of a teen girl, you know how true this can be. A weekend retreat can bring mothers and daughters back together.
Mother-daughter pairs can learn to heal and strengthen their relationship through Christ, and daughters will learn by example from their mothers.
Dozens of Christian organizations sponsor these types of retreats so it shouldn't be difficult to find one suited to your congregation's needs.
14. Church Swaps: Bringing Something New to Prayer
There is a growing trend among various Christian church denominations called the church swap. These women's ministry gatherings allow women's prayer groups to switch Bible study locations and/or leaders with a local church.
You can swap with a church of the same denomination, or you can swap with a different denomination or even religion. This can help ladies in your church group understand the different ways of interpreting God's teachings.
You could try swapping with another Bible study group every other week. At the end of the month, both church groups can come together in fellowship. You can even host a joint Bible study or another fun event together.
There is much to learn from other Christian religions. Although we may share some distinct practices, we have a love of Jesus in common.
Learning about other denominations can also teach women about the history of the church. Incorporate lessons about how and why different denominations split off and discuss the implications comparing it to Biblical verse.
15. Exercise Fellowship: Get Fit with the Lord
Three in five women report wanting to lose weight and get healthier. Weight loss contributes to a woman's confidence and can improve overall well-being. So, what better women's ministry event idea than hosting an exercise class?
Women can build fellowship together through exercise to improve their confidence and relationship with God.
You can host exercise classes at your church fitness center or meetups at a local gym if your church does not have one.
Before, during or after your exercise class, you can talk about what God says about physical fitness. The Bible says that physical training is important, but it should never come at the expense of your spiritual values.
16. Prayer Stations: Bring Prayer Everywhere
Prayer stations are an excellent way to practice spiritual discipline. These fun church event ideas allow you and your group to meet in different locations or 'stations ' around town to pray.
These women’s ministry ideas work best when you meet somewhere you wouldn't usually pray. For example, you could meet at a local park. Or you could host a prayer around the flagpole at a local school.
Women's ministry event ideas like this can teach prayer discipline. After all, we often forget about prayer once we step outside the church's walls.
Prayer stations remind us that prayer isn't just for the church. It's an essential activity Christian women should partake in, no matter what time or day it is or where they are.
17. Self-Defense Classes: Learn Practical Skills
Are you searching for ways to bring new members into your women's church group? One of the best women's ministry ideas for getting new members is to offer free classes. Self-defense classes are an especially good idea.
Self-defense is a practical skill that all women can benefit from, especially those in low-income communities and those who have experienced abuse or domestic violence.
You could host a self-defense class for your church group. Then, allow each member to bring a plus-one. If you bring in a professional instructor, your church group could pay for the service, while their plus-ones get to come for free.
Try contacting your local police department. They may have a female police officer who can give your church group some tips. They may even do it for free because it’s for a good cause.
18. A Road Trip to a Women's Conference
Road trips are the ultimate bonding experience. When you take a road trip and attend a life-changing conference, you can create even stronger bonds between the women in your group.
There are so many conferences to consider, no matter where your church is located. For example, the HeartStrongFaith Women's Conference took place in Dallas, Texas, this year, and it’s one of the top women's ministry event ideas for 2024.
Lifeway is another organization to contact for information about Christ-centered women's conferences. This organization has events in almost every state.
Women can also attend conferences without taking a road trip. Organizations now host conferences over the Internet, so your church group can meet up and attend the conference together virtually.
19. Weekend Spa Days: Refresh and Rejuvenate
Stress is a big factor in many women's lives. We have jobs, families and our relationship with God to tend to and these tasks alone can often leave us feeling that we have little time for ourselves. That’s where spa-inspired church activities can come in!
Your women's church group will love a day of peace and relaxation that's just for them. They can fellowship together while also getting some much-needed "me time."
A spa day at your church may sound difficult to put together, but all you need are a few plastic tables and household ingredients. Try giving sugar hand scrubs, foot massages and mani/pedi stations.
This event could be even better when you get the men involved. Have husbands or sons administer the spa treatments. After all, the Bible says that men should do their best to cherish and nurture their wives! Plus, this could also be a great opportunity for them to start a men's ministry if they haven't already.
You can even incorporate prayer stations into this fun fellowship event. Have a station where women can pray and reflect on the Bible quietly. That way, you can easily tie your spa day into a more meaningful and deep activity.
20. An Adult Ladies' Only Retreat: The Ultimate Connection to God
If a spa day isn't enough for the overworked ladies in your church group, consider a retreat. We’ve talked about mother/daughter retreats already, but this one is meant specifically for adults.
Retreats can incorporate one or many of the goals of women's ministry event ideas. You can have a retreat that's exclusively about socializing and fellowship, or you can incorporate skills-based activities backed by the Bible.
Philanthropic retreats are also common. Your women's group can spend a weekend or week giving back to a community in need, whether local or distant.
Most ladies' spiritual retreats incorporate some type of spiritual discipline. That could mean learning how to analyze Bible verses better or learning the best ways to incorporate prayer into your daily life.
Conclusion
Women are often the anchors of their families. Ladies' ministry ideas bond them to the church, promoting engagement for their spouses and children. They also support discipleship and overall well-being.
Now, it’s your chance to implement these women’s ministry ideas. Choose one or multiple ideas to help the women in your church grow and build community. Follow up with a thank-you-for-attending message to encourage participants to come back for future fun church events that build long-term growth and loyalty.
FAQs
How do we choose topics for women's events that appeal to diverse ages?
You can research to learn what appeals to different age groups, but the most effective way to choose women's events that appeal to all ages is to ask the potential participants. Conduct a survey asking congregation and community members what events they would like to see at their church. The people surveyed can remain anonymous, but they should include their age, indicating which events are best suited for which age group.
What is the best way to keep costs low while providing a meaningful experience?
It is not difficult to keep costs low while providing a meaningful experience. Several of the events mentioned in this article are inexpensive. They become more meaningful when ladies take time after the event to discuss what it meant to them and how it relates to the Bible.
How can we encourage new members to attend and get involved?
There are several ways to get new members to attend and get involved with the church, but events may be the most effective. For example, a potluck event can be enjoyable for anyone who likes a good meal, and who doesn't? Spa days offer relaxation, which also has wide appeal. You may also attract volunteers with leadership training.
However, churches should go beyond one-time events to get people involved and promote regular attendance. They must continue to engage them through emails, social media, and newsletters. Let them know what's happening at your church and come up with fun ideas to maintain a connection.
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