7 Events For Children’s Or Youth Ministry

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These events for children’s or youth ministry provide you with great ideas to get your small church out of a funk and into some fellowship in various capacities! Whether you decide to use these for children and youth ministry groups or make them family events, this is an easy way to add excitement to dreary days.

Although this post is written to help find different ways of surviving the winter blues, most of these children’s events are perfect for any time of the year! They are a great “hit” for small church youth ministry, children’s ministry, and family ministry. They also provide us with an excellent opportunity to make a huge impact on your church families.

Looking for a step-by-step to starting or restarting your children’s ministry?

Check out the Children’s Ministry Bundle For Small Churches!

7 Events For Children’s Or Youth Ministry

1. Snow Party

If you’ve got snow, use it to your advantage! Invite kids or families to meet at a great sledding hill or play in the snow on your church property. Non-sledding activities can include snowman and fort building, snow painting and sculpting, or just making snow angels and tracks. 

Then invite everyone inside to a hot cocoa bar! Recruit one of your adult leaders of volunteers to dispense hot water or pre-made hot chocolate, and then welcome everyone to a banquet table filled with peppermint sticks, marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolates, mini cookies, white chocolate chips, or anything else your imagination can find! 

If you’re up for some wild fun, have an indoor snowball fight with soft snowballs. For calmer fun, play some Minute to Win It cotton ball snowball games. End your time together with a small Bible study about joy!

2. Nerf Night! 

This is a perennial favorite for churches of all sizes, but your small church is the perfect place to have a blast in these battles! Although you can purchase inflatable obstacles and barriers for just this purpose, a great way to save money is by setting up a room with tables on their sides, large trash cans, and cardboard boxes in strategic places. 

Have the church purchase Elite Nerf darts in bulk, as well as safety glasses, and then ask families to bring their own Elite Nerf guns without bullets. If you have preschoolers invited, be sure to have a specific area set aside for calmer combat. Set up a separate room with target practice games and another area for snacks —nachos, anyone? 

Maybe you want to take this opportunity to raise funds for missions, charging a nominal fee per child. Families are generally happy for a Friday evening of fun and willing to pay, especially if it’s going to a great cause.

3. Waffle Bar

No matter where you live, this is a tried-and-true hit for small church family ministries! Gather after a mid-week service and enjoy the waffle or toast bar of your dreams! 

To begin, have a station set up with several toasters, plates, and loaves of bread and/or frozen waffles. Next, set up large banquet tables covered with paper tablecloths. It’s fun to write directions, food labels, or just doodles on the tablecloths to add to the festivity of the evening. 

On one end of the table, pile plastic silverware and stacks of napkins. Down the length of the table, place every topping you can dream of, from cinnamon butter and cream cheese spreads to Nutella and jam. Don’t forget peanut butter (pending allergies), syrup, and butter for the purists in your group. Get creative with banana slices, cherries, whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, or anything! 

Have hot chocolate, warm cider, or cold milk on hand. Be sure to take pictures of the smiling and full faces!

4. ”God Loves You Party” For Preschoolers

Pick a date in February and open up this sweet drop-in event to all the families in your community. Set the scene with helium-filled heart balloons and colorful tablecloths. 

This is a great time to keep the morning or afternoon very simple with fun and low-key stations. Think about tables assigned for Play-Doh heart cookies, pre-cut color and glue crafts, and manipulatives or sensory play. Add areas for a few toss games, like bean bags or plush hearts in a basket. 

A cookie decorating station is a fun way to include families with little ones. Because parents will be with their preschoolers, you can spend time making connections with families and invite them to other children’s events at your Sunday school or other children’s ministry events.

5. Game Night

Break out the board games, piles of puzzles, and manipulatives of many kinds for a stress-free family night! Everyone has fun in this evening of small church fellowship. Provide drinks and dry snacks (Warning: Cheetos and card games don’t mix.) or ask families to make it a potluck-style snack event.

An alternative to the classic game night is to purchase a Family Feud-type game for your church members to face off against each other in good-spirited fun. (This takes just a little more prep work than a drop-in game night, as you will need a computer and screen with the preloaded Family Feud questions and answers.) 

Regardless of who shows up, divide into 2 teams, each with a buzzer or bell, and let the games begin! 

6. Souper Supper

Sure, many churches host a Super Bowl soup or sub party, but you can survive winter with a soup night any time! Simply gather your small church with a soup potluck, including classics like chicken noodle, chili, chowder, cheesy broccoli, or whatever is popular in your state! Those who don’t make soup could provide pans of bars for a simple dessert. Send leftover samples home in canning jars with each family. 

If your small church is competitive, spice it up a little with a “souper cook-off!” Enlist entries of families’ best soup recipes, then provide score sheets. Silly prizes like new ladles, spices, aprons, or antacids will add to this night of warmth and laughter!

7. Talent Show

Turn your small church into a safe place of entertainment on a cold winter’s night! Ask young people to put their skills on display, whether they can play the piano, spin a rhyme, or recite a poem. Be sure to encourage involvement with a great array of suggested skills for even some of the shyest among your kid’s ministry. Joke-telling, amazing pet tricks, and basketball skills are all qualifiers for this show, as are cool collections, cloggers, soloists, and silly skits.

Start announcing early to allow kids to prepare for any performances. Set up a sign-up so you can create an order for the evening. Recruit an outgoing, preferably funny, host or two as your evening’s emcees. Refrain from judging the talents! It may work on TV, but it’s discouraging and adds unnecessary pressure on your little show-stoppers. 

If you desire, purchase medals or ribbons to give to each performer at the conclusion of the talent show. (By the way, this is another great fundraiser for your small church! Inviting friends and family to watch their little darlings, all for the price of a $5 admission, can add up to money for your missionary!) 

Start Planning Events For Children’s Or Youth Ministry Today

One of the greatest strengths of small churches is camaraderie and a family feel. Why not spend the season or this coming year with one another, growing rich relationships, and having a wonderful winter? I encourage you to take these fun ideas and new activities, and put your own spin on them!

Looking for a step-by-step to starting or restarting your children’s ministry?

Check out the Children’s Ministry Bundle For Small Churches!

More Children’s Events:

5 Steps To A Perfect Lock-In For A Small Youth Group

One Year Of Monthly Saturday Children’s Events

Youth Mission Trip: Involve Your Congregation For A Bigger Splash!