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October brings cooler evenings, fresh General Conference messages, and one last tiny stretch of breathing room before the holiday calendar starts filling every available square.

These low-cost church activity ideas are designed for Young Women, Young Men, Relief Society, and Primary children ages 8–11. Each activity can be adjusted for different ages, abilities, and personalities. Not everyone wants to perform a skit, lead a team, or explain something in front of the entire room. Several of these ideas intentionally include quieter ways to participate too.

Each activity also connects with one or more of the four Children and Youth growth areas: spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual.

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Discover 10 great ideas for your next church activity below. Some work better for adults while others are better for children but none are completely out of the question for anyone. We’ve shared gospel tie-ins at the end of each one so you can continue to point back to Christ. However, we love the answer those in our class give often more than our own so ask yours how it all ties together first then close it out with your thoughts and testimony.

1. The Great Conference Takeaway Exchange

Growth Areas: Spiritual, Social

Help everyone bring a favorite General Conference message back to the group with a Left, Right, Open exchange.

Give each person a Conference Takeaway Card to fill out with one short quote, story, invitation, or reminder from General Conference. Invite them to share any of the of the following:

One of their Conference takeaways overall or from a specific speaker (could be a drawing instead)
The speaker or talk title, if it applies and they remember it
Why they chose it
If they are willing to share more about it, color in the heart on the free printable or write their names on the card

Invite everyone to decorate their cards with stickers, washi tape, stamps, colored pencils, or other supplies. We want these to feel like little Conference keepsakes people will be happy to take home, not index cards handed out during a lesson.

Participants can use their Conference notebooks to find a message they want to share. Leaders can also bring some back up ideas for those that didn’t watch or just can’t think of anything.

Once the cards are finished, place each one in an envelope and have everyone sit in a circle. Give each person one envelope. Now take turns rolling a pair of dice.

Every time someone rolls:

Even Number: Pass the envelope to the left.
Odd Number: Pass the envelope to the right.
Matching Numbers: The person who rolled, opens their envelope and shares it with everyone.

If the card includes someone willing to share more, invite the person who created it to tell the story behind the takeaway or explain why it mattered to them. Sharing more is always optional.

Continue until all the envelopes are open. That’s when the game ends. Everyone gets to keep the last card they ended up with.

Gospel Tie-In: You’ve already been doing that with this activity. You can close it though by sharing how God speaks through His prophets (Amos 3:7) and how studying the words of the Lord helps us hear His voice.

Print Takeaway Cards

2. Scripture Object Auction

Growth Areas: Spiritual, Intellectual

Gather ordinary objects that appear in scripture stories or represent gospel teachings. Possibilities include a stone, coin, seed, lamp, rope, cup, shoe, key, jar, piece of cloth, small loaf of bread, or fishing net.

Divide everyone into teams and give each team the same amount of pretend money (go raid your game closet). Auction the objects without explaining their scripture connections.

Once the auction ends, give teams time to connect their purchases with as many scripture stories, people, or teachings as they can. A stone might remind them of David and Goliath, the brother of Jared, an altar, or Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. A coin could connect with the widow’s mites, the lost coin, or tribute money.

Award points for:

A correct scripture connection
Finding the scripture reference
Identifying more than one connection
Clearly explaining the gospel principle

One person can serve as the team spokesperson, but quieter participants can search the scriptures, keep track of money, record answers, or look for additional connections.

If you have extra time, finish with another activity from our collection of Gospel Games.

Gospel Tie-In: You’ve already done a whole lot! Finish it all off by sharing how the scriptures are full of ordinary things that Christ and His prophets used to teach important truths. Encourage everyone to look for everyday things that can turn our thoughts to Christ and always remember Him.

3. Meetinghouse Mini-Golf

Growth Areas: Physical, Social

Transform the cultural hall and nearby classrooms into a miniature golf course.

Leaders can prepare the course before the activity, or small groups can each create one hole using cardboard, cups, pool noodles, boxes, paper tubes, and masking tape. Once the course is finished, everyone rotates through and plays. You can break this up into more activities by designing the courses one week and playing another.

Possible holes include:

A cardboard tunnel
A pool-noodle arch
A ramp
A zigzag made from cups
A narrow bridge
A church-chair slalom
A paper fan that creates a moving obstacle
A hole that requires a bank shot
A ramp leading into a paper cup

Keep the decorations simple. The fun is in playing the course, not spending three days constructing a miniature Augusta National in the cultural hall. Get printable flags, score cards, and a fun gospel twist to take this game even further with our Golf the Mini Way Gospel Fun Kit.

Part of the fun with homemade golf course is the crazy things you use for putters like an old hockey stick or a make your own version with a broom and a stick. We found buying them for this activity impractical but it doesn’t hurt to see if anyone in your ward can loan you some cheap putters. For balls though, we recommend using plastic golf balls like these so they don’t damage the walls but do have some weight to them an can be maneuvered through a course.

Gospel Tie-In: If you’re using our Gospel Fun Kit, you already have a lot of great tie-ins. If you need one more, talk about how Christ gives us direction and helps us know where we’re headed, but we still have to keep making little adjustments along the way. Thankfully, one bad shot doesn’t mean the game is over.

4. The Grocery Cart Showdown

Growth Area: Intellectual

Set up a pretend grocery store using your local grocery ads (just cut them up), empty food packages, or play food. Assign prices if you aren’t using the ads and place everything on tables around the room.

Divide participants into teams and give each team a basket, a budget, and a meal-planning challenge.

Challenges might include:

Feed six people dinner.
Create breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Plan a meal that does not require an oven.
Make dinner with enough leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
Include at least three food groups.
Plan several meals using overlapping ingredients.

Give teams a few minutes to shop. Some ingredients should have limited quantities so teams cannot all select the same easy meal.

Halfway through, draw a surprise card:

Two additional people are coming.
The oven stopped working.
One ingredient doubled in price.
Someone cannot eat dairy.
One purchased ingredient has been recalled.
Dinner must now provide lunch for tomorrow too.

Teams must adjust without going over budget. Finish by sharing the proposed meals and voting on which ones people would actually eat.

Gospel Tie-In: Plans change. Prices go up, something breaks, or suddenly there are two more people at the table. Talk about how following Christ doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan. He can help us adapt, make wise choices with what we have, and still look for ways to take care of the people around us.

5. Giant Sticky-Note Mural

Growth Areas: Social, Intellectual

Choose a simple pixel-style image (or use our patterns) and divide it into a numbered grid. Participants work together to place colored sticky notes on a wall or large window until the complete image is revealed.

There are a few ways to enjoy this activity:

Divide the full grid into smaller sections. Each group receives one section without seeing the completed design. When all the sections are placed together, the final picture appears.
Design your mural first using graph paper. Each square represents one sticky note. Then start creating.
Divide into smaller groups and make murals using our free patterns below or themes you choose. Enjoy each other’s creations at the end and take some fun photos.
Choose someone to surprise with your mural. Write a few uplifting messages and scripture verses on some of the sticky notes before putting them up.
Skip the sticky note part and cut up color paper into small squares instead. You can glue them on another sheet of paper to create your own take home artwork instead.
Designate only one person to know the pattern. They then assign everyone else tasks to create the mural. See if you can still assemble it correctly.

Before beginning, make sure the sticky notes are safe for the selected wall or window and plan when you will remove the notes. A few other helpful tips:

Measure your space first. A regular sized sticky note is 3 × 3 inches but you can get them in 2 inches and 1 inch too. So if you have a pattern that is 20 notes wide, you’ll need a 60 inch, 40 inch, or 20 inch space to work with. We find height to be the harder part so be sure you have some step stools or ladders if needed.
Plan for a little extra when it comes to supplies. Some notes get bent or fall off. Also, it’s best to remove the sticky note sideways off the pad instead of from bottom to top. It’ll will lay flatter and look nicer.
Start with the longest line. In our patterns, that’s the middle column. It’s easier to lay out your grid when you have a note in each space. Then you can split into two groups- on on the left, one of the right and fill in the rest.
Don’t stress about super straight lines. It won’t matter too much when you step further back and admire the whole thing.
You can reuse the notes. When you take it down, stack the notes on top of each other. It won’t be super pretty but you can reuse the notes as long as they weren’t repositioned a million times. In fact, it would be fun to write a few uplifting messages over the next week and pass them out to each other.

You can use whatever colors you want for your creation. We suggested colors on our patterns but it’s okay to switch it up. The one thing we wouldn’t switch up is the quality of the sticky note. It’ll be tempting to go with cheap when you are buying all the notes but the cheap ones fall off easily. If you are worried about the cost, cut colored paper into squares instead and use tape or another safe adhesive for your area. We recommend a mix of sticky notes and colored paper so you don’t get too tired of all the taping but can save on the overall cost. You can also skip the spaces that are white if you have a white wall, just be sure to measure the space between.

Print Sticky Note Patterns

For the colors we suggested in the patterns, try these sticky notes:

Gospel Tie-In: Up close, you’re just looking at a bunch of individual squares, and some of them may not seem very important. Step back and you can finally see what they’re creating together. Our efforts to follow Christ can feel a little like that. Small choices to pray, serve, repent, keep covenants, and follow promptings may not seem huge on their own, but over time they become part of something much bigger. By small and simple things, great things come to pass! See Alma 37:6.

6. Paper Sewing Studio

Growth Areas: Intellectual, Spiritual

Set out paper sewing cards, embroidery floss or yarn, needles, and simple instructions. Participants punch the marked holes and stitch the design. Our free printable paper stitching collection includes designs such as Rejoice in Christ, Hear Him, a mountain, and a pumpkin, giving everyone several options for October.

Finished pieces can be add to bigger projects for more fun such as:

Greeting cards
Ministering notes
Notebook covers
Small framed decorations

This is a particularly good choice for Relief Society, Young Women’s, or other groups that include people who enjoy visiting while their hands are occupied. Those who prefer less conversation can work quietly without feeling like they are refusing to participate.

Gospel Tie-In: Each card shares a gospel message. Share why you picked the design you did and how it points you back to Christ.

7. Jigsaw Puzzle Scramble

Growth Areas: Social, Intellectual

Divide everyone into small groups and give each group a 100- to 300-piece puzzle (ask around your ward, go to the thrift store, or try a 4 pack of puzzles like this one for kids, or this one for adults).

Before the activity, secretly move several pieces from each puzzle into the other puzzle boxes (take pictures if you need to so you remember what goes where). As groups begin assembling their puzzles, they will eventually realize that they have pieces belonging to someone else.

Teams must decide how to locate and trade missing pieces. They might send one representative to negotiate, establish a central trading table, or create descriptions of the pieces they need. They can’t, however, give or take a piece for nothing in return.

For a cooperative version, challenge the entire group to complete every puzzle before time runs out. There is no winning team unless all the puzzles are finished.

Once the activity is over and the puzzles put back in the box, brainstorm who you can give the puzzles to: an old folks home, a family with young kids, keep it and go to shut-ins home and do the puzzle together another week, etc.

Gospel Tie-In: You can have a lot of the right puzzle pieces and still be missing part of the picture. There is so much truth and goodness in other churches, but we believe that through the Restoration, Jesus Christ brought back pieces that had been lost, including priesthood authority, ordinances, revelation, and additional scripture. Those pieces help us see more of His whole plan.

8. Ward Record Night

Growth Areas: Physical, Social

Create a collection of silly, safe records that individuals, pairs, and groups can attempt throughout the evening. Instead of making everyone rotate together, set up the challenges around the cultural hall and let participants choose which records they want to try.

Possible records include:

Most socks matched in two minutes
Longest balloon volley
Tallest cracker stack
Fastest cup pyramid
Most clothespins clipped to a paper plate in one minute
Longest paper chain made from one sheet
Most hymn titles identified from three words
Slowest successful walk across the cultural hall
Most rubber ducks balanced on one person
Fastest 25-piece puzzle
Longest pencil balance
Most ping-pong balls bounced into a cup

Post the best results on a large Ward Record Board (i.e. a decorated poster board). Save it and bring it back another month so future groups can attempt to break the records.

Gospel Tie In: Encourage participants to cheer each other on and connect that to the way Christ encourages and strengthens us.

9. Mystery Bag Masterpiece

Growth Areas: Social, Intellectual

Prepare identical bags filled with inexpensive or recycled art supplies (ask around the ward and see if anyone has things they need to get rid of). Possibilities include cardboard, aluminum foil, yarn, tissue paper, straws, paper clips, paper plates, craft sticks, and one baffling object that must be included.

Divide into small groups and reveal one creative challenge:

Invent an animal no one has seen before.
Design the world’s least practical hat.
Create a fall centerpiece.
Make a trophy for an unusual accomplishment.
Build a tiny room for a fictional character.
Create a recognizable scene using abstract shapes.
Invent a mascot for your ward or class.

Give everyone 20–30 minutes to create. Instead of requiring formal presentations, set everything out for a gallery walk. Participants can leave notes by each creation sharing what they admire about it.

Gospel Tie In: Use the gallery walk to briefly talk about how Heavenly Father has given us different gifts, ideas, and strengths. You received the same supplies but created different things. We can use what we’ve been given to help build His kingdom and bless others.

10. Fall Color Remix

Growth Areas: Physical, Intellectual

Enjoy a fall-themed activity without requiring a trip to a park, trail, or pumpkin patch. Before the activity, leaders collect fallen leaves or bring printed photographs of fall colors, seeds, tree bark, clouds, and other seasonal details. Add fall-colored paper, crayons, paint, glue, and cardstock.

Set up several creative choices:

Make leaf rubbings.
Arrange leaves into temporary pictures.
Create a fall color palette.
Match natural colors using paint.
Make a leaf bookmark.
Create pressed-leaf cards.
Photograph interesting textures around the church.
Build a collaborative fall garland.
Arrange natural materials into a small mosaic.

Gospel Tie In: Fall reminds us to slow down and notice the details we usually rush right past. Look for evidence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the beauty and order of the world around you as you create. Invite people to share what they’re grateful for and what they’ve noticed.

Use the Great Conference Exchange to revisit what you just heard. Set up mini-golf or Ward Record Night when your group needs to move. Try paper sewing, puzzles, or a sticky-note mural when you want something creative that also leaves room for conversation.

Discover more games and activities.