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.
Sometimes in our busy world, we have to be more intentional about some things than others – just to fit it all in our schedule. As much as I enjoy being around other women, I am one of those who requires a little more thoughtfulness to make fellowshipping with others a priority in my busy schedule.
As I learned early on in our ministry, generally if one woman feels a certain way, she is not the only one (even if that one woman is the pastor’s wife or another woman in leadership), so creating intentional times that the women in your church community can use for relationship-building will be beneficial for more people than you may think. So keep reading for 3 great women’s ministry fellowship ideas that you can start planning for today!
Fellowship And The Impact It Can Have In The Lives Of Women
Fellowship with other believers is so very important, no matter if you’re a brand-new believer, or if you’ve been a follower of Christ for decades. The Bible encourages us not to neglect our gathering together with other believers, but to encourage one another. By having regular times of fellowship (yes, even those that are planned ahead) I have seen the spiritual and emotional benefits not just on a personal level, but also within the women’s ministry at our church too!
My husband often defines fellowship as “more than one fella in the same ship” … and that’s a pretty accurate view of it! Regular, intentional fellowship with like-minded women who are possibly going through the same things we are, or maybe have been through what we’ve been through, and can be there to hold our arms up till the battle is over – can truly be life-changing in some cases. And in all cases, it will be beneficial on some scale or other!
The Best People To Fellowship With
We tend to compartmentalize everything in our lives and ministries, but I want to encourage you not to do that so much with your women’s ministry. Yes, there are times when it’s good to have members divided out and grouped together by age or stage of life (some Bible Studies lend themselves to that, as well), but there is so much goodness to be had when we are able to successfully mingle the generations, too!
In fact, years ago when I was a teenager myself, I wanted to become more active in our ladies’ ministry at the church, so our women’s leaders instituted a “Prayer Mother/Daughter” program and I was paired with a dear lady who was 60+ years older than me. We could not have been more different – except for our love of the Lord! And many times, when I wasn’t comfortable asking for prayer from anyone else, she would sense that I needed encouragement and would slip me a little note to let me know I was being prayed for and was loved.
As you look ahead on your calendar, trying to plan some good, intentional opportunities for your women’s ministry to fellowship together, let me encourage you to just provide the opportunity. The ladies may need a little guidance, but the idea behind these intentional times of fellowship isn’t to have everything so planned out that they can’t have genuine communication. Our job is just to give them the opportunity to fellowship, and below you’ll find three ideas to jumpstart your creativity for those intentional opportunities for fellowship in your women’s ministry.
3 Creative Women’s Ministry Fellowship Ideas
1. Sisters Speed “Dating”
Just like speed dating for finding your “soulmate”, this activity has a goal of finding a good match, too – as a friend, prayer partner, or an extension of our faith family.
The Sisters Speed Dating event is designed to give people who normally don’t interact – or have a chance to have a conversation, open up with each other, even if just for a few minutes at a time. The hope is that it will spark a link of commonality in the sister pairs so that they can continue growing their relationship after the event.
If possible, set up chairs in a circle (facing outward) to represent half the women attending. Then set up a second circle of chairs around the first, so that each chair now has a chair facing it, conversation style. The leader will have a timer (usually set at 3-5 minutes, but use your best judgment here), and every time the timer goes off, only those seated in the outside ring of chairs will move to the chair to their right. (The ladies seated in the center ring of chairs stay where they are.)
For added help, have some sample questions printed and distributed to each center chair (since they will be stationary). You could even cut out the questions and place them in a cup or bowl for each chair pair so the ladies can draw a random question out and answer it for their paired-up partner. Questions can range from the standard “Tell me about your family.” to more direct questions like “What was the most special you have ever felt? Tell me about that experience.”
2. “Staycation” Retreat
The idea of a “staycation” retreat is to benefit from the positives of a destination retreat without having to plan or pay for the out-of-town costs. It works beautifully to provide a bit of renewal without being too taxing on time and finances.
We found that, like a more traditional retreat, our staycation retreat helped to bring our ladies together outside of the ordinary routines, and because we had planned in a good amount of worship and Bible study, these ladies not only grew closer together, but closer to the Lord… together!
Simply choose a day (or two, if you’d like), and plan the “staycation” retreat for someone’s home that could fit everyone. We were blessed to host ours at a friend’s home everyone could drive to, and between living room furniture and dining room chairs, everyone fit nicely in the open floor plan home. We did recommend people bring folding camping chairs just in case, but they wound up not being needed.
As an added bonus, we hosted a “just for fun” girls’ night the night before so that people who wanted to (and were able) could stay overnight the night before in our hostess’s home. Some brought sleeping bags and air mattresses, but we all had a great time the night before just talking and laughing with each other.
3. PJ & Board Party
I don’t know many women who won’t like to wear PJs to someone’s home to be more comfortable, and this last event takes full advantage of that! Everyone attending is invited to wear their PJs – and bring a charcuterie board that she has prepared! For the charcuterie board, the ladies could prepare a traditional charcuterie with meats, cheese, and crackers or they can choose a fun theme as well! One lady brought a “movie” themed board, with movie butter popcorn, popcorn seasonings, and all kinds of assorted candies you might find at a movie theater snack bar.
Other ideas I’ve seen are: chocolate board, s’mores board, fruit board (with a dip or two), a buttercream icing & cookie board, and even a Chic-Fil-A board!
As you plan this, I encourage you to host it at someone’s home, not necessarily the church, because having it in a home just adds a level of intimacy and hospitality that some of our churches might be missing sometimes. One thing I encouraged our ladies to do is to team up with someone to make/purchase the items for their board or tray.
This theme is also great to have for a game night for the ladies in your church – with board games, of course! Don’t forget to take pictures or videos of the ladies’ creativity with the charcuterie boards and post them on your women’s group’s social media!
A Great Starting Point
No matter where or how you start planning your intentional times of fellowship, remember these tips as you plan:
Let go of the idea that the success of the event is dependent upon how many, or who, comes. The purpose of these times is not to grow in numbers; it’s to grow in friendship with each other. Seeing each other only one or two days a week doesn’t really lend itself to a deep relationship, so focus on the quality of the time, not necessarily the quantity.
Also, in the words of a sweet friend of mine, “KISS – Keep It Simple, Sister!” Remember, these times are meant to be a blessing, not a burden. Ask for help in planning – or especially with implementing the plans. That in itself could also be a lesson in fellowshipping with others as you lead!
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!
Gathering Together Without An Agenda
As we learn to gather together without an agenda, we start to see our relationships become more genuine, more uplifting. And as most womens’ ministry or small group leaders will tell you, one of the byproducts of ministry that is the most enjoyable is seeing those around us leaning into the community of believers God has blessed us with.
Heading into this next season, be encouraged! The Lord has placed you within your group for a reason, and leading women into lasting relationships with Christ and with his church will be something you’ll never regret.. May you and your women’s ministry be blessed by the relationships that are fostered within these times of intentional fellowship.
If you’re navigating the challenges of small church ministry and want a place to connect with other leaders who understand the journey, consider joining our Small Church Ministry Facebook group. It’s a space for encouragement, shared wisdom, and real conversation as you lead.
Read More:
5 Creative Ways To Build Connections In Small Church Women’s Ministry
10 Must-Have Women’s Ministry Mixers For Small Churches
Women’s Ministry Ideas To Build Community
Tabatha Rewis serves alongside her husband, at a small church in southwest Georgia, where they have been lead pastors for eleven years now. They have one adult son who loves that his mom still calls him her miracle baby. Tabatha’s passion for ministry lies in helping women to find the truth of their worth, and teaching practical ways for busy moms and women to protect their peace while still reaching out to a chaotic world.
