I opened up Pinterest recently and groaned when I saw the Bible games in my feed.
I know you’ve seen them – Bible Jeopardy, Bible Trivia, Match the Bible Couples, etc.
Bible games are great for people who know the Bible.
Those who’ve had a chance to finish every lesson and attend every small group session.
Those who grew up in the church.
Those who have been in Bible study for years on end.
Bible games make those we want to reach run in the opposite direction.
The very people we want to reach, that we want to attend our event, leave feeling like they:
- Aren’t not enough
- Have soooo much to learn
- Can’t compete
- Don’t fit in
- That they’ll never catch up
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any woman at any event to leave feeling less than.
I want women to leave feeling loved, wanted, valued, and smart!
Please, please think twice before you play a Bible game at your next Women’s Ministry event, Sunday school class, or small group meeting.
Always expect visitors.
Assume there will be women in attendance that do not own a Bible.
That won’t know that there is more than one Mary in the Bible.
That won’t have a wealth of Bible trivia at their fingertips.
When God gives us the opportunity to love one another, let’s make sure we do just that.
As I step down off my soapbox, let me say there is a time and place for Bible games.
Bible games can be an effective way to reinforce what was just taught.
We played many of them with our Youth during Sunday school lessons, but we focused on the material from the lesson that we had just taught that day.
And if you want to gather for a friendly game of Bible Trivia with your friends, please do!
If you’re looking for a game or icebreaker to play with your group, I encourage you to check out my Icebreakers & Games page. You’ll find lots of visitor-friendly ideas there!
Your turn to share: What do you think? Do “Bible games” have a place at women’s ministry events?
Hi, I just found you on Pinterest as I was desperately trekking around for ideas for 2026. We will starte our third year in April. We are about to have our Planning Team Meeting to get the five meetings that we have for our 65+ ladies. We are the Golden Girls!!! Last month we had 41 in attendance, pretty good for our very small church. The women are loving the gatherings because they have wanted a venue to invite their unchurched friends to that they could attend and go home having had a great time together. They made it clear at our first meeting that they do NOT want to play games- ugh! And they want to sing only HYMNS!!!! So we are NOT doing both!
I love your approach of how to choose what to offer them at each meeting. We have a successful topic as part of our two hour sessions on “The Year of tghe Grandma”. They have shared some new and exciting ways they are spedning time with their grands. And even though we are up her in cold Maine, they have warmed up to developing a menaingful relationship their grands. It has made our meetings exciting.
I have only watched three podcasts, but you have been so helpful to encourage me to share what I have learned with my Planning Team next week. Thank you so very much.
Now, I’m going to wathc another one before bedtime tonight…
Joanne, thank you for sharing this with me. How exciting! I am thankful for the way God is moving in your church! May He direct and bless your efforts.
I agree with not playing bible trivia games. It makes you feel foolish/stupid when you are not able to provide the answers. I am not a person that remembers a lot of detail. I can not memorize scripture or poetry or quote laws or anything verbatim. Those children who could memorize were always rewarded in Sunday School for memorizing large portions of scripture and where are they now? Some never darken the door of a church building. It is not in my skill set to memorize. I always felt inferior to those who could. I can remember principles and lessons that are taught in the Bible and apply them to my life. Is that not what the Lord wants us to do? I can appreciate those who can memorize but I think that everyone should be rewarded for their efforts. Therefore I do not require memorization in my Bible classes. Rather I reward people who show up, who like to read and study the Bible, who have a heart for people and who apply God’s laws and principles in their own lives.
Frances, I am so glad you shared your thoughts on this. Thank you! I pray your experience will help leaders understand how Bible games can make women uncomfortable.
I’m one of those that memorized large portions. I still grace my church every Sunday. Those portions helped me in my walk with God infinitely and have caused me to lead my children in memorization and encourage others as well.
So thankful you have memorized large portions of God’s Word! <3 And thankful that you encourage others to do the same.
LOVE YOUR WEBSITE. I AM PASTOR GAILAND DRAWHORN OF Amazing Grace Fellowship Intl Inc. I do my “Ladies of Grace” Group at the CHurch as well. My husband Bishop Dr. Josiah Drawhorn of Amazing Grace as well. He is the President of Pentecostal Assemblies of God of America Inc. I will share your website with all our Ministry Ladies in Africa, Philipines, Mexico and America. God bless you for making such a fruitful, warming, meaningful site. I LOVE IT… and they will too.
Dr. Gailand Drawhorn, PhD.Psy., D.M., M.Edu. http://www.MYAGF.com
Thank you for your encouraging words and for all you to do reach women with the gospel!
I love your ideas and your bible game instincts are right on!
However, sometimes our knowledge can surprise us. Years ago we were at a neighbor’s house. They had been missionaries abroad for many years. They wanted to play a bible game, and I knew I was going to fail miserably — I hadn’t been a regular church attendee, wasn’t a regular bible reader, etc. But to my surprise/their horror, I won. What the heck? I knew SO much about the bible just from Sunday school. Crazy.
Vicki, that is a wild story! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for addressing this topic! I wholeheartedly agree with you. There is a time and place for these games but I personally don’t like them for the reasons you have stated.
Jennifer, thank you for your comments. Bible games seem so harmless…
So true! No person in attendance should be made to feel inferior!
Agreed!
Quiet interesting! Thanks for sharing this with us. Personally, l don’t think we should rule out playing bible games in women’s group. What l could suggest is to choose discreetly the ones that everyone can relate with. For example, you could compile all the questions from all the bible studies your group ha had together and have a quiz base on that.
Esther, I appreciate your response. If your bible study group is a closed group (meaning no new ladies are showing up after week 1) than perhaps it might work if you stick to questions that come specifically from the Bible study. However, anyone who missed a week or more might feel at a disadvantage. You may not have encounter this situation, but we have a number of women who aren’t always able to complete the weekly homework and a quiz would definitely discourage and not encourage those women from coming…just something to think about.
Agree i remember feeling this way my first years on the Lord even a few ithers that had years in the Lord but didn’t know much bible you could notice felt embarrass. While the ones that answered boasted.
Luz, thank you for sharing your experience… I hate that happened…
agreed!
Thanks Rebecca! 🙂
Thank you so much for this. I went to a conference a while ago (happened to go by myself), and one of the speakers was emphasizing how important it is to know The Bible. SHE GAVE EVERYONE A QUIZ! I grew up in the church and I still missed several! The organizers were clear that this was an OUTREACH for women. I left really, really irritated about it, but since I was alone, there was no one to vent to…haha. You could feel the “tension/awkwardness” in the room. Glad I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Holly, Wow! I am floored!! A bible quiz? Goodness! There’s no way I would have gotten all of them right either. My heart hurts for the other women that were in attendance… Praying for eyes to be opened so women don’t ever leave an event feeling less than… Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us! Just sorry it had to happen!
Cyndee, this is a very good point. One of the ladies on my women’s ministry team did host Bible Trivia during our Wednesday night service several years ago, and it did draw some women in our church whom had not been coming to other things, but they all knew each other well. So, I am sure they felt “safe” playing, and they felt like they learned a lot from the experience. But you are right, in that this game probably would not be a good idea when hosting an event that you hope will draw new (unknown) women into. Years ago, I had been trying to get a girl I worked with to come to Sunday School. She and her husband started coming to our church, but would not plug into a small group. Finally, she told me one day the reason she never planned to attend SS – she was not raised in church and did not even know basic children’s Bible stories; therefore, there was no way she was going to embarrass herself in an adult Bible study class. She was horrified at the thought of people realizing that she did not know the difference between Noah and Jonah. My heart broke for her, and it made me realize that everybody is not Bible literate just because they look like us other home-grown church folk. This is a very good point with real wisdom.
Oh Gina! Thank you for sharing your experience. My heart hurts too!! I cringe any time I hear a Pastor or speaker say “you all know the story….” assuming everyone in the audience knows that particular Bible story… It’s something I hope we’ll all become more sensitive to.
So agree … there’s a time and place … this venue would not be the place 😉
Thanks Shelley – it’s just not worth the risk!
I understand your concern and agree you do not want to make visitors feel uncomfortable, but I don’t have a problem with a Bible game in the right context. We have successfully used them in our small groups, but we always play as a team. If someone is new or less equipped to answer they can still participate.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. Sometimes playing as a team can be helpful!