Try this one

Group, Nov/Dec 2002 by McDonald, Mike, Browning, Jeff, Coletti, Chris, Biel, Larry, Et al

READYTOGO

9 tried-and-tested relationship-- builders sent in by youth workers-- ready to cut out and file

GAME

HUNGRY HIPPO

Kids have wacky fun with this life-size version of a popular children's board game!

You'll need four of the following: plastic laundry baskets, pairs of gloves, 20-foot lengths of rope, pillows, skateboards, and four different colors of balloons (at least 10 balloons of each color). You'll also need a lot of duct tape and a whistle.

Have kids form four teams, and give each team one set of the above supplies. Blow up the balloons and scatter them in the playing area. Have each team duct-tape a pillow to the top of its skateboard and one glove to each side of its laundry basket. (Kids will slip their hands into the gloves and hold the baskets with the open end toward the floor, so they can scoop up balloons.) Each team begins in a different corner of the room and chooses a different color of balloon to go after.

Each team will have someone lie belly-down on the skateboard with hands inside the laundry baskets gloves. Each team will tie a rope around its "skateboarder's" ankles. When you blow the whistle, teams will shove their skateboarder teammates out into the playing area and pull them back and forth with the rope. The skateboarders have two minutes to capture as many of their balloons as possible, with their laundry baskets. Then have other teammates exchange places with the skateboarders. The team with the most balloons wins.

Mike McDonald

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

BIBLE SURVIVOR

Use outcast characters from the Bible in a Survivor-type game to teach about Christ's unconditional love.

For this Bible study, you'll need to create a player profile for each person in your group. Use the Bible to find people who could've been considered outcasts, such as a leper, tax collector, blind person, crippled person, shepherd, Roman centurion, fisherman, prophet, or a demon-possessed person. Write a short description for each profile that explains why that person might be an outcast, and give each teenager a profile.

Have kids sit in a circle and, in character, tell everyone else who they are. Then have each person write on a piece of paper the character he or she wants to vote out of the game, based on who contributes the least to society. Between rounds of voting, allow the "survivors" to give a short reason why they should be allowed to stay in the group. When four people remain, allow the "outcasts" to vote for the final survivor.

After the game, read aloud Matthew 5:1-12. Then discuss the following questions: How do you think Jesus would view our "outcasts"? How would you describe unconditional love? How important to your or your friends is someone's appearance or social status? How is the way others see us different from the way God sees us?

Jeff Browning and Chris Coletti

Vista, California

VIDEO CAROLS

Turn Christmas caroling into team-building fun!

Hold this fun activity on a clear night during the Christmas season. Ask your congregation or youth group parents to lend you video cameras for the evening. Have your group form teams of six or less, and give each team a video camera. Tell teams they have 30 minutes to drive around neighborhoods and record as many Christmas carols on tape as they can. The trick is that they must videotape their teams singing the carols in front of Christmas decorations that are appropriate for the songs. For example, they might look for an illuminated creche and sing "Silent Night" in front of it. They must use a different house for each Christmas carol they record. After the time limit, teams can reconvene at their meeting place and show the videos.

Larry Biel

Omaha, Nebraska

OUTREACH

BOWLING FOR DOLLARS

A bowling alley is the perfect setting for a simple, fun, outreach project.

For this project, you'll need at least $5 for each youth group member (extra if you plan to let your group bowl after the outreach). You might want to ask for a special collection at church or ask parents to donate. You'll also need some "Jesus loves you" stickers or business cards from the church.

Take your youth group to a bowling alley, and give everyone $5. Tell them that they have to spend it at the bowling alley. There's one catch-they can't spend the money on themselves or anyone in the youth group. They must spend it on someone else at the bowling alley. They can buy someone a soft drink or candy bar, pay for shoe rentals, or offer to pay for bowling. Also have teenagers give their recipients stickers or business cards to let them know that Jesus loves them. Afterward, allow your kids to celebrate their outreach success with a game of bowling.

Mark Laster

Anna, Illinois

DISCUSSION STARTER

WHICH CELEBRITY AM I?

Generate a good discussion on how to strengthen our identity in Christ.

Before your meeting, write the names of several different celebrities on separate 3x5 cards. Have kids form teams of four or five, and have each team select someone to be the "celebrity." Give each celebrity a 3x5 card with a celebrity's name on it, and tell him or her not to show it to the rest of the team. Then the team will begin asking yes or no questions to guess who its celebrity is.