30 Activities for Your Church’s Married Couples Group
By LaCharla
It’s summer! And summer is a synonym for fun! You probably have plans already to maximize your fun this summer, but what if you could share some of that fun with other married couples in your church?
Face it, every week, you stare at the backs of other couples’ heads in church. You may hug a few or smile at a few after church. But how many of them do you really know? Which ones can you call on when you need someone to agree with you in prayer? Chances are, you know little or nothing about most of them. Except, of course, the way their hair looks from the back.
Stronger Together
In my previous post, The Grass Is Always Greener, I said one way we can support our marriages is by living them out in the community. We need each other. The pull of work, church, charitable activities, caring for children, taking care of a household, and maybe caring for aging parents can add up and leave us feeling isolated and exhausted.
Having other couples to talk to, confide in, and pray with can make a big difference. If your church offers specific support to couples, the list below offers 30 activities for your married couples group. The idea is for them to have fun as they build connections with each other.
If your church has no married couples’ group, you can take the lead yourself. Find those casual acquaintances and near-strangers at church, and organize a series of activities for those married couples in your church. Invite them to participate in an activity listed below or another one that you prefer. If all goes well, take turns hosting or planning regular gatherings.
No More Back-of-the-Head Events
As you plan activities, make sure most of them allow enough face time to get to know one another. And consider alternating between quiet activities and more fun ones so that there’s something for every kind of interest. And let me put in a plug for introverts like me: we often don’t do well in large social groups, but enjoy one-on-one and small-group interactions. So know that if you’re organizing large-group activities, introverts might need a bit of one-on-one encouragement to show up.
Ideally, over time friendships will take root naturally, and the group will work together to keep things fresh.
Activities To Try
- Indoor Game Night – Board games, quizzes, ping-pong, pool, charades
- Back Yard Olympics – Croquet, horseshoes, tag football, soccer, volleyball
- Miniature Golf
- At-Home Movie or Movie at the Theater
- 60s or 70s Party with Costumes
- Professional Sporting Event – Get seats in a group instead of just across the row
- Cookout in the Park
- Dinner at a Specialty Restaurant
- At-Home Potluck Dinner
- Bowling
- Karaoke Night – At a local restaurant or at home. Check out You Tube.
- Dessert Social – Everyone brings a special dessert to the party
- Group Vow Renewal – Marriage refresher class, then the special church service
- Charitable Project – Home fix-up for elderly residents, soup kitchen
- A Day at the Beach
- A Guided Tour of a Local Attraction
- A Morning of Bicycling
- Theme Park Outing
- Festivals – Pumpkin, hot air balloon, medieval, fall
- Roller Skating
- Ice Skating
- Cruising – Ocean liner or local waterway cruise
- Live Theater Outing – Local production or bus trip away
- A Day of Water Sports – Canoeing, white water rafting, sailing, kayaking
- Outdoor Winter Sports – Skiing, snowboarding, tubing
- Attend Fireworks Events
- Local Carnivals and Fairs
- Air Shows
- Classic Car Shows
- Comedy Show Outing or In-House DVD (Example, Tim Hawkins)
One note: Some of these will be tougher to arrange if you live in a small city or town. So you may have to be a bit more creative with your activities or travel outside your town. Getting away can be part of the fun, too. So call your local travel agent, and get busy!
Please share your activity ideas in the comment section below, and use the buttons to share this post with your friends. We want to hear their ideas, too!
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