Bible study icebreakers are a great way to spur conversation – especially in an online Bible study environment.
When people meet in person, the attendees will naturally start talking to the person next to them. But icebreakers are important to engage those who might be a little shy or reserved.
But, in an online environment, icebreakers are even more important because you have a group of people who (mostly) don’t know each other and are simply in a FB group or maybe on a video call.
In these situations, people are more reserved because
- They don’t know each other.
- They feel more like they are in a classroom where they should wait to be “called” on.
Icebreakers can help spark conversation and help everyone get to know each other a little better.
Bible study icebreakers can help get the group to actually engage with the topic (which helps them understand it more).
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How to Use Bible Study Icebreakers
For Bible Study icebreakers, I actually have broken them down into two separate sections – Icebreakers for Facebook groups and icebreakers for live events.
Some of them you could probably use in both situations but the dynamics of each one are a bit different so you’ll need to get creative in how you approach it.
Bible Study Icebreakers for Facebook Groups
Since a Facebook Bible study group is more of a passive study delivery, it can be a bit more difficult to get the members to actually engage.
Many of us follow lots of different groups or pages and our feed can easily be filled with content. In general, most people in your group will probably “like” a post but don’t regularly comment on them.
Getting them to comment is key because that shows they are actually stopping to reflect on whatever the post was about.
General FB Group Icebreakers
When you are not actively doing a specific study, it is important to keep the group engaging with each other.
New Member Welcome: You should post regular Icebreaker posts in your FB Bible study group to welcome new members. If you are consistently adding new members, consider doing a weekly “Welcome to the Group” icebreaker post.
This could be as simple as adding a graphic that says “Welcome! Please introduce yourself! Tell us your name, where you live, and anything you’d like to share about yourself.”
Weekly Engagement Topics: These could be things like sharing a verse and asking the group what that verse means to them or how they can apply it to their life.
You could even create icebreaker posts just to get them talking. I love the “this or that” type of posts. Basically, you just write “Dogs or Cats? And why?” or “Coffee or Tea?” Just give them 2 options within a category and ask their preference. This has nothing to do with Bible study but is just a fun way to get them to engage.
Another fun one is “What is your favorite XXXX?” You can put anything in the blank (food, book, hobby, etc). This type of icebreaker gets people sharing and helps members with common interests connect.
You could also include what I call “Christian” Icebreakers. These would be faith-inspired questions such as “Did you grow up in church?” or “What is your biggest struggle with reading the Bible?” All of these types of questions have something to do with the Bible or being a Christian.
FB Group Bible Study Icebreakers
When you kick off a new study in your Facebook group, you can use Bible study icebreakers to get the members to engage with the actual study materials.
These questions should directly relate to or tie into the new study topic.
For example, if you were kicking off a study about Naomi, you could use an icebreaker such as “How can bitterness keep you from receiving God’s many blessings?”
If you are delivering your study over the course of several weeks in the group, think of a couple of questions like this specific to each week’s study materials.
Zoom Bible Study Icebreakers
Icebreakers during a live virtual Bible study event can be a bit more challenging – especially if the group is large. This type of event has a time limit and you want attendees to get the most out of that time.
In this scenario, I wouldn’t worry about “get to know each other” types of icebreakers because you just won’t have the time to do them.
During a live Bible study event, it will be more about you delivering the material. However, you do want to provide ways for the attendees to engage.
Before you dive into the actual study, you could begin with a few Bible study icebreaker questions and ask attendees to comment in the chat with the answers.
As for the type of icebreaker questions to ask, you can use the same types of questions as in the Facebook group (remember the bitterness question?).
Bible Study Ice Breaker Questions
So, what types of Bible study questions should you ask? That depends on how creative you want to get!
Just keep in mind that these ice-breaker questions should directly tie into the Bible Study topic/character/book.
Be sure to check out this list of free printable Bible study worksheets to take an even deeper dive into your Bible study time! And if you love using an Ipad, be sure to also check out these digital Bible study journals!
Bible Study Icebreaker Resources
There are a lot of places to find ideas for Christian icebreakers for your Bible study groups. Some are meant for in-person events but can be tailored to an online environment.
Below are some other websites where you can find more icebreakers for your Bible study groups.