Themes for 3 Different Women's Socials You Can Hold in Your Church

When I became the head of our church's Women's Ministry, I wanted to start by creating unity, and helping all the ladies of our church feel like a part of what was happening. Even though ours is a small congregation, this was no easy task.

One of the best ways we found to reach women was to offer a monthly social event. Here are a few of the ideas we used for themes, along with some details of decorations, games and ice breakers. We always ask each lady attending to bring a snack to share with the group, so we don't need to provide refreshments.

First Some Information about structuring the event.
Generally we schedule our Women's events on a Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 8:30. This allows working women time to get home, eat dinner and change clothes. Dress is casual, though sometimes we encourage "dress up" or wearing a certain color to match our theme.

We start promptly at 7:00 with a fun ice breaker activity or easy game. This allows the ladies to relax a bit, and fills the time before latecomers arrive. Next we split into small groups (we generally only have enough for 2 groups) and do some activity together. After the ladies have had time to complete the activity, we share snacks and some chat time so ladies can interact and share details of their day. Finally we have a short devotional as they finish eating, then a prayer before they leave. We usually have little prizes for the game winners, too, but your budget will determine whether or not you do that.

We always try to give the ladies who attend a little reminder of the event. If your ladies are crafters, get a group of them together a week before the event to produce your handouts. Otherwise, you could ask for donations or make something yourself. Since I work in stained glass, sometimes I donate glass ornaments or sun catchers. Sometimes we print graphics or verses on magnetic sheets and cut them into refrigerator magnets. For one social we printed Bible verses on 3 by 5 cards and gave packs of them out to help ladies memorize scripture. Use your imagination, but make the gift fit the evening's theme. Find some great inexpensive handout ideas here.

3Specific Event Ideas

Kick-off Social for Women's Ministry
Using the theme "We Have a Place For You" decorate with children's puzzles, rubik's cubes and other things that have pieces. Plates, cups and napkins can be any color. Ask ladies to bring their favorite snack, cut into pieces, for this special evening.

Prepare a variety of "puzzle" sheets for the opening game. Many are available online, but you can make easy word search or crossword puzzles on your own. For the group activity, buy an inexpensive 24-30 piece puzzle for each group. Make sure the number of pieces is equal for each group, even if the picture on the puzzles is different. Have them all start the activity at the same time, and award prizes to the group which opens the box, sorts the pieces and puts the puzzle together first. Be sure to have official, impartial judges on hand to make that determination. Great fun for all.

Your devotional should relate to God using each of us in the church, with an emphasis on how important each individual is to the whole group. Verses like 1 Peter 4:10 about serving the Lord are great references. Talk about how the whole picture is ruined if just one puzzle piece is missing. Of course, the take away item should be an old puzzle piece painted gold or silver, with a pin back attached so the ladies can wear them home.

Special August Social
Since August is the month with no holidays, it's a great time to celebrate them all. Using the theme "Celebrate Every Day" you can decorate with items from all the holidays: Christmas stockings, shamrocks, flags, pilgrims, Valentines, etc. Dig up all the leftover plates, cups and napkins from past events throughout the year and use them all on your snack table.

Because August in Florida is pretty hot, we had ice cream sundaes for our snack. We provided the ice cream and the ladies were asked to bring toppings, sides, etc. If you prefer, you could ask the ladies to bring their favorite holiday dish and see what you get. For your opening game, find a list of unusual holidays online, then create a sheet listing them, as well as some you make up yourself. Ask the ladies to decide which are real holidays. Winner is the one who gets the most right answers.

Divide the women into smaller groups and have them take turns telling each other what their favorite holiday is and why. Your devotional should be about being thankful to God for all he brings into our lives each day. James 1:17 is a good reference from which to start. The takeaway item could be shamrock bookmarks printed with "Celebrate Every Day" printed on the 3 leaves.

Vacation-themed Social
Use a vacation theme, "Everyone Needs a Break," and decorate with items that remind you of summer getaways: flip flops, beach balls, plane tickets, whatever you like. Use bright colored plates, cups and napkins with a fun picture (maybe palm trees) on them. You can usually find some at the local Dollar Store.

Ask the ladies to bring picnic foods for the snack, and see what they dream up. Give out "cruise tickets" at the door, printed with a game on the back. Scramble a list of vacation-related words and have the ladies unscramble them, or have them list items they would pack when going on vacation. Prize goes to the lady who has the largest number of unique items listed. Break into smaller groups and provide each group with an inexpensive striped beach ball. Prepare it ahead of time using a Sharpie marker to write a vacation-related question on each stripe. Choose any you like, but here are a few suggestions: "If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?" "Where did your family vacation when you were a child?" "What is your favorite vacation memory?" The idea is to toss the ball around the group. Each lady answers the question facing her when she catches the ball.

For a devotional, build on the theme by discussing "rest" in the Bible. Point out that even Jesus rested, so why not us? Verses like Genesis 2:2 and Exodus 34:21 are great references. Take away item could be one of those little glow sticks which release light when they are broken, and make summer evenings such fun.

Now It's Your Turn
These are some great starting points for planning your events. Whatever you choose to do, always keep your own group in mind as you plan. Pray before you begin and make sure the event is fun. The best way for the women to get to know each other better, and to create unity within your group is to get them talking and eating together!