This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from purchased products at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Try a fun new activity at your next small church women’s ministry event. Reach those who don’t usually attend your church with an out-of-the-ordinary party making barn quilts for the outside of their house, garage, or barn.
How To Host A Barn Quilt Party
Have you been thinking about a fun activity for your next women’s event? If so, consider hosting a barn quilt painting party. In this article, I talked with Chris Shopinski from Boyd Christian Church in Dix, Illinois, about her recent women’s event. This post contains nuggets of wisdom for hosting any small church women’s event.
Barn quilts are an Americana art form that often takes traditional quilt designs and paints them on large squares of wood hung outside on barns or sides of buildings. Today, people are painting smaller squares of wood with quilt designs and hanging them inside their homes.
Chris started making barn quilts in 2020 to create some barn quilt art she had come to love but couldn’t afford. Once she started making and sharing them with her family and friends, they wanted to learn how to make them. So Chris, always looking for a way to support her church family, decided to host a Barn Quilting Women’s Party. She noticed many women who had not been to any of the other women’s events, and those who had not been in church regularly showed up to the barn quilt party. It was a great outreach tool and a safe and fun activity for the women who attended.
There can be many benefits when you host a small church women’s ministry barn quilting or crafting party.
Women’s Barn Quilting & Crafting Parties Can:
- Present an opportunity for those to serve who may not want to lead a Bible study but would lead a crafty party
- Furnish a safe space to introduce people to your women’s ministry who might not be sure about attending a small group women’s Bible study
- Provide an opportunity for multi-generational attendance
- Deliver a fun activity with lots of laughter and no pressure
- Create a way to get to build relationships and get to know more people in your church and community
You can have fun in women’s ministry; it doesn’t have to be what we’ve always done. Read along to learn more about barn quilting and how to host this party at your church.
So, last spring, my mom said, “Chris is going to do this barn quilt party. I want you to come! I know we will have fun!” I want to talk to you and find out how to host an event like this. Chris Jones Shopinski, tell us about yourself.
Chris: I was born into the church and have been at the same small church my entire life. I used to teach junior high, and now I’m working with children and families in different capacities. One day, I learned about barn quilts because a lady in our area made them. I fell in love with one of her wooden barn quilts and bought it. At the time, I didn’t have enough money to buy all the barn quilts I wanted. So I needed to figure out a way to make these for me. I took classes from the same lady I bought my barn quilt. It’s a fun hobby for me now.
So tell us a little bit about your church.
Chris: Boyd is a pretty great place to be. The folks there are by far the most supportive family I have ever encountered. There are tons of places and chances to serve. I will be sitting in the present time at church, listening to a sermon, and then I have a precious memory from way back when I was in grade school or high school. We did all these cool, fun things at church, and I love being able to connect that past to my present. It’s a place that I call home.
Why do you think the people reading this should consider hosting a barn quilting party?
Chris: When I went to the women’s ministry, and folks saw my Facebook posts and knew that I was making these, they reached out to me and said, “I want you to teach me how to make this.” I offered to teach a class with the women’s ministry. I think it is important to do things relevant to today’s fashion and times in our little part of the world. So creating those new activities and new experiences was great to see. We had young and older folks, and they all had a good time.
Why Host A Barn Quilt Or Crafting Event?
- Fun events build excitement.
- It’s a great way to introduce others to your church family.
- Laughter is good for the soul.
- It’s the first step event in the Ministry Funnel for event planning.
Connecting and trying new things can be powerful and help reach multiple generations of women. Can you tell us more about how you found barn quilt patterns?
Chris: I found her through a Facebook page called Barn Quilt Addicts. Talara Parrish is the name of the lady who created this book, Barn Quilt Addiction: Beginner’s Resource Guide, and put all these patterns together.
How did you prepare for this event?
Chris: I went to the women’s ministry team and said I would like to volunteer to do this as a service for the women. We publicized it in the bulletin, put it on Facebook, and made a sign-up sheet to ensure I knew how many people I would have so I could have all the materials for them. Because setting yourself up for failure at the beginning is never a good thing.
It usually takes no less than three hours to make a barn quilt by painting and getting it all perfect the way you want it. I didn’t have snacks because I knew I would have to focus my energy on teaching and helping with the barn quilt.
My suggestion, if you’re going to do an event like this, is to have somebody else provide refreshments.
Did you charge per person for materials?
Chris: I did $10 the first time, which does not cover materials. I asked for $20 the second time; it covered the board, the paint, the tape, and the foam brushes.
How many women would be the limit for one person leading this?
Chris: I would say 10. I could handle a few more. But I did 20. And that was pushing the limit because if they’re first-timers, you’ve got to give them more attention and instruction than if they’ve done it before. So start with 10. If more folks had wanted to come to the barn quilt class, I would separate it into two classes.
Give us an overall picture of the barn quilting party.
Chris: So, I gave my little introduction on the history of the barn quilt and how to make the barn quilt.
I always have examples as well; I will have some that I’ve painted there. And then I’ll have pictures of some I’ve done that are no longer with me that I’ve given to others.
I go step by step through the process. I give them the paint, the patterns, and the board. And I will just walk around throughout the entire time helping. Whenever I find somebody is doing something and I can give a tip, I’ll yell that out to the crowd so that everybody can hear that. When they signed up, I had them choose which pattern they wanted so I could have it ready for them.
Even though [the Christmas patterns] were relatively easy, the pattern to draw them was more difficult. I want to set them up for success, so that was something I did beforehand to ensure they were successful with their barn quilt.
You mentioned before that promotion of the event was just at your church because it was hard to handle a huge amount of women at the event. People like our moms invited women to the party by word of mouth. Did you do any other kind of advertising?
Chris: My mom told some family members who don’t regularly attend church but had been talking about wanting a barn quilting class. So for my Christmas barn quilting class, I had about 20. There were about 10 or 12 folks from our church who signed up, and then they brought other people. So I had two kinds of groups forming one big group. And it was great to see folks who normally wouldn’t attend church. They came into the church to barn quilt, and it was fun. And they had a success and a good experience at church.
How did you set up the day and then clean up? Did you have a committee? Or did you do it all on your own?
Chris: No committee; it was my inner circle and me. My husband is great about supporting me and being there for manpower whenever necessary. I also used disposable plastic tablecloths on all the tables. So at the end of the day, I could just gather those up and throw them away.
That’s a great idea. Did you put anything down on the carpet underneath?
Chris: Not when we were painting, and thank goodness, nothing has happened. But it is an acrylic paint that I use. So it does wash out with water easily.
But at the second quilt party, our quilts had stained wood in the background. The stain is a bit more tricky. I laid down a big plastic tablecloth where we did the staining. We kept [the stain] in a small, little area. And I enlisted my mom’s help to do the stain.
If another small church wanted to duplicate this activity, what advice would you give them?
Chris: If you can find somebody who is good at barn quilting or likes to do it, that’s optimal. Start small. Don’t try to make things too complicated; just start small and set yourself and your women up for success.
Is there anything else that you would do differently?
Chris: I would enlist some help getting set up. I think a smaller class size would be better. Make sure [the pattern] is easy; make it simple. Something I loved about this class was that we had one design. But if I had 20 people and one pattern, 20 different, beautiful barn quilts would come out of that class. Each person puts their own personality, spin, and colors. It is really neat.
So, what is something that has come out of this event?
Chris: Well, I think we’ve created this new activity that draws people who were not attending any women’s ministry meetings or activities.
We’ve created a whole new group of people I don’t even think realize they’re doing a “women’s ministry” activity. They just get excited about being able to make a barn quilt.
So what do you think this party has done for the kingdom and your church?
Chris: I think it’s strengthened our women’s group.
It’s become an outreach for people who have friends and family that wouldn’t come to most women’s events. But because they like barn quilts and want to make one, it gets people in.
It reminds me of the top events in the Ministry Funnel. Some people will come to a more broad activity before they are open to participating more. Then slowly, when they are more comfortable, some even narrow it down to the real nitty gritty deep, delving into scripture events and studies.
Invite Women To Join A Fun Party
There’s a buzz and excitement about being in a church with other Christian women and women seeking God but just don’t know Him yet.
Looking for a step-by-step guide to starting or restarting your women’s ministry?
Check out the Women’s Ministry Bundle For Small Churches!
Four Steps To Get Started
- Decide on a simple project. Simple and easy is always best!
- Make a list of the supplies based on the number of people attending your party.
- Create a budget and price your event to cover the costs.
- Find volunteers to help.
As you plan for your women’s events this year, consider a barn quilting party! It’s a great way to host a multi-generational event. It is also a very low-pressure activity with lots of laughter.
If there are women in your community who are not yet interested in a deep dive into scripture, this can be one way to get them interested in what you are doing in your church.
After your small church barn quilt party, please tell us about it in the Creative Solutions for Small Churches Facebook community! Post your pictures and let us know you found this post and how this event impacted your small church ministry!
Read More:
Host A Women’s Ministry Paint Party At Your Small Church
