5 Great Icebreakers For Small Groups
Have you ever felt awkward in a Bible study or small group when you don’t know anyone? With any new small group introduction, there’s often some initial hesitation to open up. But as a leader, it’s your job to help your group overcome these barriers. So what’s a good way to accomplish this? Icebreakers.
Why Small Group Icebreakers Help
Small group icebreakers can be a simple, straightforward way to get people comfortable, move past any conversational hesitation, find common ground, and naturally facilitate connection at the beginning of your discussion. And even better, they can help your group members actually get to know each other in unique ways.
If you do a quick Google search on small group icebreakers, you’ll get tons of results. Icebreakers can range from fun games to get people relaxed and engaged to more thought-provoking small group introductions that encourage depth, authenticity, and vulnerability. You can go with what works best for your group’s dynamics. But if you’re unsure where to start, we’ve selected a variety of our favorite icebreakers to help your group connect and go deeper.
Our 5 Best Small Group Icebreakers
Fun Fact Scavenger Hunt
This icebreaker will require a little prep work on the front end, but it’s a great way for your group to connect with everyone individually. Before your group meets, have each member send you a fun fact about themselves. The more unique, the better! Once you have everyone’s fun facts, make a grid of them on individual sheets of paper, like a bingo card or checklist.
During your small group introduction, pass out each fun fact grid to your group members and release them to go on a “scavenger hunt” on their own to guess each other’s fun facts. You could even make it a competition to see who matches all the fun facts with each group member first.
2. Charades Relay
This is a good icebreaker for energizing everyone at the beginning of small group. There may be a few memorable laughs as well. To start, have everyone stand next to someone they don’t know well. Then split up everyone into 2-3 teams, depending on the group size. Have each team go into separate rooms so they can’t hear the other teams.
You as the leader (or another volunteer) make a list of 5-10 phrases, pop culture references, or items for the teams to act out as charades. Have each team pick one representative to start, and secretly show that person the first charade. They then hurry back to their team to act out the charade. Whoever guesses correctly from the team then comes to you to share the answer and receives the next charade to act out, and teams continue to race down the list of charades. The relay finishes when the first team completes the entire list.
3. Faith in Pictures
Before your group meets, gather several random pictures of people, places, and situations. Cut them out from old magazines or that junk mail pile you meant to throw away, or even print images from the internet. Spread them out on the floor or large table once your group arrives. Instruct everyone to select a picture that best represents their faith or relationship with God right now, and have each person explain why to the group. This small group icebreaker gives people an opportunity to be honest and real about their faith so that others can relate.
4. Colorful Candy Game
For a fun and insightful small group introduction, pass around a large bag of colorful candy (think Skittles, Starburst, or M&Ms) and have everyone take a small handful. Make each color represent a different question they must answer. These questions could range from sharing lighthearted things about themselves (favorite hobbies, travel destinations, etc.) to more serious questions like what made them interested in joining the small group. The colors in their handful will determine what they must share with the group. And of course, they can eat the candy once they share their answers.
5. Highs and Lows
If you need an easy and low key small group icebreaker to start your discussion, incorporating the tried-and-true highs and lows can be a good strategy. Simply have each group member share one good experience from the week (their high) and one difficulty from the week (their low). This helps the group learn what’s going on in each other’s lives and fosters a culture of trust together. This is a nice option once your group is past the “get to know you” phase.
A Few Final Tips for Small Group Icebreakers
The main takeaway here is that an icebreaker opens the door to deeper small group connection. If you’re ready to implement icebreakers into your small group, keep these tips in mind as you get started:
Be an Active Participant - As a leader, don’t excuse yourself from the icebreaker. Jump in and participate with everyone else. The group will feed off your enthusiasm.
Experiment - If one icebreaker falls flat in your first group meeting, be patient. Keep experimenting with different ones to find what works best for your group.
Keep Them Going All Year - Icebreakers aren’t just for new groups. You can utilize them throughout the year to help your group forget their distractions and get focused for every meeting.
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