10 Fun Women’s Ministry Mixers For Small Churches

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Here is a list of 10 fun small church women’s ministry mixers made for small groups to use at your next women’s ministry event.

Let’s Mix It Up, Please!

Have you ever noticed that when you host a women’s ministry event or Bible study at your small church everyone always sits in the same spots next to the same people?

As much as we try to encourage our church members to connect with each other and develop new relationships, our natural tendencies are to go to the things that are ‘familiar’ or comfortable.

You know exactly what it looks like when they enter the gathering. It’s like a ‘Pavlovian’ response and off they go to their familiar corners with their familiar friends. You may try to change it, but you can’t ‘guilt’ them into sitting somewhere else. That just doesn’t work, and it certainly isn’t going to spark conversations! 

So, two questions you’re probably asking right now: Why do we need to change this and how do I go about doing it?

Why Do We Need To Mix Anyways?

As women, it is so important for us to make relational connections, especially at church. 

Jesus showed us the connections He made while doing ministry here on earth. He always took time to ask questions, speak into other peoples’ lives and show compassion. He showed He was interested in their lives, their homes, and their families. 

We, as leaders in the small church, need to take His example and encourage our women to make those connections! Using mixers at events or gatherings is a fun and easy way to make that first step.

Here are ten of my favorite, tried and true, women’s ministry mixers:

1. Pick A Card, Pick A Seat

Print out ‘That’s Me’ category cards (approx. 4 x 3 inches) or you could use index cards as well. Each card should have a different category on it that could describe something about someone’s life (‘Grew up in the city’, ‘Was born in a different state’, ‘Have traveled to another country’, etc.).

Use your imagination!

Attach the cards to the back of the chairs where you will be meeting. 

When participants come to the event, they must find a seat where the card correctly identifies something in their life. After everyone has found a seat, then you can have everyone share what their card is.

2. Birthday Table Mix Up

Each table will have a sign with multiple months listed on it, but not consecutive
months (January-September-July). 

When the ladies arrive, they find the table that has their birth month (If you find too many people at one table, you can always move them around). 

Once seated, we played a quick game of ‘Birthday Would You Rather’. Ask questions, give them two options, and a quick raise of hands for which option they would rather do! (Would you rather celebrate your birthday at a nice restaurant or a backyard BBQ? Would you rather have layer cake or ice cream cake? etc.)

3. Personal Points Game

Put numbers at each place where people will sit. When participants arrive, have them draw a number out of a basket and that is where they will sit. 

Once everyone has arrived, play the ‘Personal Points Game’. You can find ideas on Pinterest, but it’s very easy to make up your own. 

People receive a point for every category they can answer yes to. (Give yourself a point if you are wearing flip-flops. Give yourself a point if you have mailed a snail mail card in the past month. Or, give yourself a point if you know how to play a musical instrument, etc.)

It’s a fun way to explore some things we may not know about each other!

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!

4. Popcorn Praise Time

Start by using a different color plastic tablecloth on each table. 

Make small squares of cardstock with a colored dot (or sticker) in the middle, coordinating with the colors of the tablecloths. Make sure to have an even amount of squares, so you are distributing the seating evenly. 

As the women arrived, they reached into a bag and pulled out a color square, and found their table corresponding with the color. 

That night we did ‘Popcorn Praise’ before we started. At the center of each table was a large popcorn bucket (purchased at Dollar Tree). The tubs were filled with caramel popcorn. Each person was told to come up with a ‘quick’ (like popping popcorn) word of praise to thank God for something that happened in their day, their week, or about their family or themselves. 

Great positive way to start the night!

5. Bingo Mash Up

Print up a single Bingo card for this game (5 columns and 5 rows, put a FREE space in the middle, and in each of the other squares put different personal categories).

Here are a few examples you can put on the Bingo card:

• Have spent Christmas in the hospital
• Grew up with more than 3 siblings
• Married my high school sweetheart
• Became a Christian as an adult
• Have sung in a choir before
• Played on a high school sports team

Place the Bingo cards at each place setting, face down. 

As women arrive, give them the freedom to sit wherever they like, but not to turn over the papers at the tables. (Trust me, if you have been doing the mixers each week during a Bible study series, they will be asking you where they should sit and wanting to be directed!) 

Once everyone is seated, give them instructions that they will have 4 minutes (timing is up to you, you know your group best) to travel around the room and get people to sign your Bingo card. Each space represents different personal categories. 

Once you sign a square on someone’s card, you must move on. You cannot sign multiple squares at one time! You may go back around the room and get them to sign again later. 

Once the timer goes off, see how many people actually made BINGO or count up the squares and see who has the most signatures. 

Fun and can get a little crazy!!

6. Puzzle Piece Match Up

Purchase some inexpensive puzzles (children’s ones with only 10-15 pieces) at the dollar store. Take out the number of pieces from each puzzle that you will have sitting at the tables (we had 5 per table, so I removed 5 pieces from each puzzle). I would also suggest putting a number on the back of each puzzle piece, so you know which puzzle is at which table.

When guests arrive, they draw a puzzle piece out of the basket and match the number on the back of their piece with the number on the puzzle sitting at the table. Partially construct the puzzle and leave the rest of the pieces scattered around the table. 

Each person brings their piece in, and together, the ‘table’ constructs their puzzle!

We then played ‘How Puzzling Are You?’. A game with different personality questions with a choice of two answers. (When you drive, do people call you Safety Sally or Led Foot Lucy? When I go out to eat, I can be a ‘Spicy Hot Mama’ or a ‘Mello Jello Baby’? etc.)

7. Scrabble Letter Scramble

For this mixer, I came up with a 5-letter word (we had 5 seats at each table so that determined the length of the words, and the category of words coordinated with the subject of our Bible study series). 

I made name cards for each table and placed scrap paper and pencils in the middle of each table for the game we would play later. The words we used were FEAST, JESUS, GRACE, and BIBLE. I then made a tray full of scrabble-type letters (you can use actual scrabble letters, or you can purchase them on Amazon for crafts) with the letters of those words and put them face down. 

As the ladies came in, they picked out a letter and then found a seat at the table that had their letter. (Obviously, if you picked out an ‘e’ or an ‘a’, you had a choice of where you sat, but the other letters were only one per table.)

To begin the evening, we played a round of ‘Scattergories’ with the letters in the word “Bible.” So for each letter in the word “Bible,” you would call out a different category, and they would have one minute to write as many words in that category that begin with ‘B’, then ‘I’, then ‘B’, etc., until you use them all. You only get points for writing words that no one else thinks of. (You can look for subjects to use in a real Scattergories game box, by Googling it, or just make up your own!)

8. The Shoe Is On The Other Foot!

Print out cards (approx. size of 3 x 4 inches) with the following shoe categories and try to include a clip art picture that shows each kind. 

Make sure you have enough cards for one per participant and that categories are equally represented. Some examples of categories are: sandals, sneakers, wedges, stilettos, and crocs. 

Print out a larger 8 ½ by 11-inch sign of each category to place in the center of each table. Use a dollar store picture frame. 

When participants enter the room, have them draw out a card from a basket and match the picture to the appropriate table. After everyone is seated, play ‘Shoe’ trivia in the Bible.

Get your printable PDF by filling out the form below!!

9. ‘I.D.’ Card Collection Chaos

Before your study, make up ‘I.D.’ cards (standing for I Do resemble this!).  

Then make several different categories (1 category for the number of people attending. 20 people = 20 categories). They can cover all topics from jobs, hobbies, family, food, likes, skills, etc., and make sure to print multiples of each one (2-3 of each). 

Cut all the cards up (approx. 4 x 3-inch cards) and place them face down around the room, on tables, counters, shelves, etc. 

Everywhere that a card was placed, place a marker (I placed an orange cone), so they knew where to look. (If you wanted to be sneaky, you could just have them search!) 

You can also place the name cards at the table before the meeting, so each person can find their spot when they arrive.

When everyone arrives, explain that around the room there were cards with topics on them. They are to go around the room and gather cards that describe them. If they read a card and it did not pertain to them, turn it back over and keep on looking. The object of the game was to gather as many cards as possible in 3 minutes!! (At our study, it was a crazy, chaotic frenzy for 3 minutes, but all the women laughed and loved it!)

Afterward, share which cards were gathered! It is a fun way to get to know more about each other. (One of the cards we had said, “I love to go out to lunch.” The 3 people who picked up that card made plans to do just that sometime during the week!)

10. Recipe Round-Up

For this last mixer, determine how many people would be sitting at each table (we had 5 people at each table). Then go and search for the number of ingredient recipes that correspond with the number of people you have at each table! (I went to Pinterest and searched for five-ingredient recipes. There were a ton of them!) 

Find enough recipes for each table you have (we had four tables) and then print each main recipe out on an 8 ½ by 11 paper. Place it on each table in a picture holder. 

Then print the ingredient lists in a bigger font and cut them all apart. One ingredient per slip of paper and place all the slips in a bag. 

When the ladies arrive, they will draw a slip and find the table that has the recipe that the ingredient belongs in. (I also had blank index cards available if any of the ladies wanted to copy down the recipes.) 

Then share memories about the best church potluck you’ve ever attended. Such fun!

But I Only Have A Handful Of Women. How Can I Do A Mixer?

Even if you only have 2 or 3 women in your group, you can still do this. You just need to adapt and alter them a little bit. 

Remember, the premise of these mixers is to start conversations, to get people to share about themselves, and to share their stories so that we can connect with them. You actually have an advantage in a smaller group in that you can ask multiple questions and have more time for sharing parts of your story! 

For example, the Birthday Table Mix-up! You have one main table decorated with birthday party decor. Print the months out on individual cards and sprinkle them around the table, and when your women arrive, have them grab the card of their birth month (if two share the same month, then cut the card in half). You can still play the ‘Would You Rather’ game, even in a small group. As they answer, ask them a follow-up question and share something specific about a birthday they had (a time when they had a surprise party, their favorite birthday tradition growing up, the best present ever received, etc.).

On ‘Popcorn Praise’ you can have particular categories of things to praise God about and place them scattered on the table. Have each woman pick a card and make their praise about that.

Use categories like:

• A time when God provided in an unexpected way
• Praise for a special friend God has brought into my life
• Something in nature that makes you just worship God
• A time when you saw God as a healer
• A surprise blessing that someone gave you

On many of the other mixers, you can play the games as stated, but these mixers are made so that you can alter them to the needs of your group. We always want to make sure that we are facilitating our small church ministries to be creative and to be doing ministry the best way possible! 

You don’t need a large group to make any of these ideas work.

Women’s Ministry Mixers Make Connections

With just a simple mixer, you can get the ladies in your women’s ministry who have never really connected before to start a conversation. 

You will see people finding things that they have in common or discussing jobs or where they came from, all because of some fun little starters! 

Even though we attend small churches, that does not automatically mean we have deeper connections with all the people in our church. Sometimes we need a little help to get the conversation ball rolling, and when you can do it while you’re laughing and having a great time, all the better. 

I found that after doing this for a few weeks in our women’s Bible study, I saw several women exchanging emails and phone numbers. I saw a general caring and concern for each other when we shared prayer requests. The connection with these people started with, “Hi, how are you?” to real engagement. 

Praise God.

So next time you have a gathering of your women at your small church, make sure to mix it up a little. You’ll be glad you did!

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!

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