Materials
Deck of cards

Instructions
1. In this game the objective is to be the first to discard all of your cards. The person who goes first must discard his aces face down, the second two’s, third, three’s… through king’s. As the person places the cards down they must announce the quantity of cards being played (i.e. 2 aces, 1 two, 3 threes, etc.) If a person doesn’t have a card of the value he/ she is supposed to play, then he/ she bluffs. A person may also bluff at any time by including additional cards of another value in with the cards of the correct value they are playing. For example a person may only have two aces, but includes a six and calls out “three aces.”
2. At any time a player may shout “I doubt it.” The person that just played cards must turn them over and reveal them. If the revealed cards were a bluff and not 100% what they were claimed to be, the player picks up the entire discard pile. If he/ she was telling the truth, then the person who yelled “I doubt it” must pick up the entire discard pile.
3. The game continues until one player runs out of cards.

Discussion
1. What is the primary objective of this game? What are some of our objectives in life? What does winning mean to you?
2. What type of person is best at this game? Did anyone in this game get a reputation for dishonesty or for integrity? What reputation do you have with others? How did you get that reputation?
3. What elements of this game caused you to lie, misrepresent the truth, or stretch the truth? What things tempt you be less than honest in real life? What things tempt you to act against your normal character?
4. Are you known for your honesty, for your integrity? What actions in life build / destroy a persons character / reputation? Why is a good reputation important? How does our reputation affect our testimony?
5. Is TRUTH flexible? Why or why not? Is there such a thing as absolute truth? Why or why not?

Application
1. Stretching the TRUTH: How often in life do we try to gain benefit by either stretching the truth or by an outright lie. How many times do we sacrifice honesty and integrity to get ahead of others in the game of life. While in this game we might get away with it, Scripture tells us that a final judgement awaits us all and everything will be revealed. Are you ready for Judgement Day.
2. DOUBTS: All of us have doubts about God at one time or another, but that doesn’t mean we give up. We make choices the best we can not knowing what the next card in life holds for us. But we do know that God never bluffs. He always is true. And he wants us to be victorious, not in a card game but in life.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

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Materials
Arrange a deck of playing cards with the four aces on top, followed by the four 2’s, then the four 3’s, and so on.

Activity
At the start of the meeting, count the number of youth and remove that many cards from the top of the deck. Shuffle these cards and give a card to each participant. (If people come in late, give each of them a card from the top of the left-over cards in the deck.)

Ask the youth to show their cards to each other and explain that these cards are their ID cards.
• When you want youth to pair up, ask them to find someone with a card of the same value and the same color (example: 3D and 3H).
• To form groups of four, ask the participants to find others with cards of the same value (example: 5C, 5S, 5D,and 5H).
• To divide the youth into four teams, ask them to find others with cards of the same suit. (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs).
• For two teams ask them to divide into red/ black or odds/evens
• Instead of asking for volunteers, randomly call out the name of a card (example: “Seven of Diamonds!”) and ask this person to do whatever you would have asked the volunteer to do.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

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Activity
Try this one in pairs first, then groups of three, then fours and work up to the entire group. Sit on the ground, back-to-back, knees bent and elbows locked. Try to stand up without falling down. For the large group, sit as tightly packed as possible and work in unison!

Materials
Chocolate bar, dice, and various items for children to wear.

Activity
Place a chocolate bar in the center of the table. The candy should stay in its wrapper and, to make the game last longer, you could wrap the candy in layers of gift-wrapping paper as well. Each person sitting around the table takes a turn at rolling the dice. The 1st person who rolls a six gets to start eating the candy bar — but only after he puts on a pair of rubber gloves, a cap, facemask; an apron, and only after he runs once around the table; Then with only with a knife and fork he must remove the wrapper and cut and eat the squares of the chocolate one at a time. Add or remove whatever steps you want to make the game easier or more difficult.

While he is getting ready (according to the instructions above) to eat the candy bar, the group keeps taking turns rolling the dice. If someone rolls a six, then the person who rolled the six before him relinquishes his right to the candy bar, and the 2nd person must try to eat the candy before someone else rolls six. The game is over when the candy bar is finished.

Application
While this game is very difficult, it is not impossible. Yet for us to go to heaven based on our works IS impossible. That is why Jesus gives salvation to us as a free gift if we will trust him as Lord and Savior.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Materials
One set of scrabble letters for each team. Turn all letters face up so they can see them. Also provide a scrabble board for each team.

Activity
The next time you have a Bible quiz or scripture memory, make kids answer the question or supply the missing word by spelling it out using the scrabble letters on the scrabble board. When a team thinks they have correctly spelled out the answer on their scrabble board, have them raise their hands. Tell the youth to not shout out the answer because if the answer is mispelled they will give it away to another team. The first team to correctly spell out the answer gets the points for that question. Continue until all questions are completed.

Variation
Allow youth to choose the location on the board where they place the answer. Use the bonuses to determine the value of the points awarded for that question.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Materials
Collect several sets of clothing items worn by fathers. Some possibilities include a large jacket, work boots, work cloths, a tie, a belt, a hat, etc. Divide youth into several teams of equal number of participants. If a team is short designate someone to go twice.

Activity
Provide one set of clothes to each team. The team must race to put on all the clothing items and then rush to the opposite side of the rooms and complete a task. The task could be anything associated with fathers, like emptying a rubbish bin, putting together a toy, tying a tie, driving a nail or putting a screw into a board, etc. Once the task is completed, the person rushes back to the team, removes father’s clothing, and the next person repeats the process. First team to have all participants complete the task wins the game.

Great fun for Father’s Day!

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Materials
Make a grid of squares on a peice of paper. In each square write a characteristic. Children must then find someone whose dad fulfills that characteristis and have them sign in the square. First person to get all their squares signed wins.

Some possibilities for characteristics are
– Hair color isn’t black
– Wears specs
– travels on business
– Works as(name a job)
– Drives a car
– Wears tennis shoes
– Favorite hobby is (Name of a hobby)
– Likes (a specific food)
– Is tall/short
– Is on church council
– Wears a ring
– Is between 30-40 yrs old
– Is wearing (name an item)
– Has a brother
– Has a sister
– Lives (location)
– Has been to (country)
– Has a gold colored watch
– Watches soccer on TV

If possible think about the father’s of children in your class and use that as a guideline for characteristics.

Use this as a fun game for Father’s Day!

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Materials
Find an inflatable version of a globe. If you cannot find an inflatable globe, inflate a blue balloon and use a permanent marker to draw outlines of the continents. A globe that is beachball size would be wonderful.

Activity
With one of the above you can play a game of dodgeball. In a sense, dodgeball is a game of persecution. Sometimes people team up against others. They attack each other. People are left out. By using a globe or several globes as the dodgeball, you represent the attack of the world. Add additional globes to increase the pace of the game.

Debrief
Did you feel like others teamed up against you?
Did you find the game stressful or relaxing?
How did it feel to be knocked out?
In what ways does the world team up on us as Christians?
Are there ways that Christians are left out?
How does Christ give us strength and peace during persecution and times of trouble.

Variations
There are numerous variations of dodgeball that can be played:

Partner Dodgeball
In this game, you link arms with a partner. If your partner is knocked out he can shield his partner from being hit. This has an addition point of application in that Jesus also shields us from attack and protects us during times of persecution.

Pick-up dodgeball
In this game, you must sit down if the ball touches you. But if a ball rolls by you, you can reach out and grab it. You are then able to stand and get back into the game again.

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This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Supplies
You’ll need chairs. Form a large circle with enough chairs so that everyone but one person has a place to sit. Pick one person to stand in the middle, and ask everyone else to take a seat.

Activity
The object of the game is for the person in the middle to pick a seated person and ask him or her a question. For example, a question might be, “Are you wearing purple socks?” the response determines what the whole group will do. If the answer to the question is “yes,” everyone must get up and move two chairs in either direction. When all the kids are on the move, the middle person will have an opportunity to get into a seat.

If the person answering the question responds “no,” he or she is required to add a second part to the question, such as “but I know some people here today didn’t brush their teeth this morning,” or “but someone here has visited Europe before.” If the second part of this statement is true about some of the seated kids, they must stand up and try to find other chairs. The person left standing without a chair is the one who must remain in the middle and ask the next ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question.

Debrief
You can end the activity by asking a person if he or she is a Christian and discuss what effect being a Christian might have on others. Do we stand out in a crowd as Christians? Will others accuse us of things? Sometimes in life we are persecuted because we are Christians. But Christ said that although we may have troubles as Christians we do not need to worry because he has overcome the world.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Materials a couple soccer balls or whiteboard erasers

Activity
Start by finding a ball which won’t hurt you too much if you get hit in the head with it. Let the youth scatter about a large open area with clearly defined boundaries. If you are inside, use a room as your play area. To start Scatterball, just throw the ball against any old wall or roll it to the center of the play area. The first person to get the ball must plant a foot and pivot around on that foot (like in basketball) looking for someone to hit. They may not walk/ run around once they have possession of the ball. (If successful in hitting their target, that person sits down on the ground in the spot they were hit. The thrower, no longer in possession of the ball is free to move again. The person just hit is not out of the game. As long as they remain seated in their spot, they may grab any ball that is rolling by and hit someone who is still in the game. If any person catches the ball on the fly, the thrower of the ball is dead and must sit down. If an attempt to catch the ball is unsuccessful, but the ball is touched, it is considered a a kill so the person is out and must sit at that spot. Dead players may roll the ball to other alive or dead players. Kids usually try to go for their friends and, of course, the leaders. The ground will eventually be covered with sitting youth. In essence this is dodgeball with a twist, instead of going out of the game, you can still eliminate others. The winner is the last person standing.

Variation 1 Play the game with partners. If either you or your partner gets hit you are both down. Also, you can pass the ball to your partner if your partner has a better shot at someone.

Variation 2 When the person that got you out gets hit then you are able to get back up again.

Variation 3 Play with partners, but holding hands. Partners are out if they break thier grip. Both partners must be hit before they are frozen and must sit down together. But while there is still one of the pair unfrozen, the frozen partner can act as a shield, deflecting the ball.

Variation 4 If you are sitting and manage to throw the ball and knock someone else out of the game you may get up again.

Take it to the Next Level

• God lifts us up – When everyone is sitting down except one. Go and help all the kids up. Talk about how life and people knock us down but God comes around and helps us back up! Sometimes when it seems like life is knocking us down, God is there to pick us up.
• Fallen NatureOnce we have fallen due to mistakes, sin, circumstances in life, only God can pick us back up. In our own efforts, we are unable to break free from the oppressions in our lives. Jesus must set us free. John 8:31-36

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Freeze Tag
This common game of tag, forces a person to freeze in place, when tagged. Other people who are not frozen can unfreeze a person by tagging them.

Application
A game of freeze tag serves as an active visual illustration of the fact that we are unable to break free from the oppressions in our lives. In a sense we are also stuck, frozen, unable to break free from the oppressions in our lives. Only when Jesus frees us are we able to be truly free. Unfortunately, sin often touches our lives again and we find ourselves back in the same condition. Jesus says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31-36) True freedom comes from being set free by Jesus Christ. True freedom is freedom to be myself as God made me and meant me to be. This freedom comes only when we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus and invite Him to be our Lord and Master of our life.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Fun for Mother’s Day!

Whose Kiss?
Blindfold the mother, then have a couple of the children in attendance kiss her on the cheek. Give each child a number and have the mother guess which number her child is. Give a few Hershey’s Kisses to the mother-child who guesses correctly.

Mother – Child
All mothers stand in a circle. Then all children form a circle around them. The inner and outer circles contain an equal number of people. Each mother should be with their child. Mothers begin walking clockwise while the children walk counterclockwise. A leader then interrupts by calling out “Birdie on a perch” At that moment, both circles stop and children must find their mother. The mother must place the child on her knee. The slowest mother and child to assume the designated position is eliminated. Continue until one couple is left.

Variation
Instead of calling out “Birdie on a perch” call out two body parts and in a position couples must assume. For instance, one might call out, ”Wrist to nose!” or “Knee to elbow”.

Silhouettes
Set up a sheet so that if someone is standing behind it you can’t see them, only their shadow. You can then place mothers behind the sheet and have children try to identify their mother, or vice-versa.

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Materials
Purchase several pairs of tube socks (at least four). Gather the same number of items that relate to mothers — lipstick, pacifyer, ring, kitchen utensil, etc. Be sure objects are not fragile. Place one item in each sock, tie it closed, and pin a number on it.

Activity
Children and Youth have to feel each sock using their FEET ONLY and try to guess what is in the sock. Write down each guess by number on a sheet of paper. Whoever guesses the most items correctly wins a prize.

Variations
Obtain interesting objects belonging to various individual mothers or have the children bring a “show and tell” item relating to his/her mother. For a mother-child activity you can also put items belonging to the children in a sock.

Application
Just as there are numerous items related to mothers, the things that mothers do for us are also numerous. But the true glory of a mother is not found in the things she owns but in the child she nurtures. Her children are her greatest treasure.

This game for Mother’s Day reminds children and youth of the numerous roles that mothers play in our lives

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Activity
Invite mothers to the Sunday School classroom. Temporarily separate the mothers and the children or youth. The teacher asks some planned questions to the group of mothers and each mother is expected to try and guess the answer her child/teen will give to each question. Answers are written on a large peice of cardboard or a piece of paper that can later be held high for everyone to see.

Bring the mothers and children/youth back together. Assign point values for each question in which the parent successfully guessed the child’s answer. You can also reverse roles for the next set of questions and have the kids try to predict their mother’s answer. The mother-child with the most points wins a prize.

Some sample questions
“Most common thing you fight over?”
“You are most alike in what characteristic?”
“What is your favorite activity together?”
“What is the funniest thing that happened when you were together?” “What is one music group you could listen to and both enjoy?”
“What is a television show you watch together?”

The parent and child answer the questions on an index card, without talking to each other or having any type of collaboration at all on answers.

Makes a great activity to encourage mother-child communication, especially among teens.

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Play this like “doggie doggie where’s your bone!” Except you choose one child to be the baby bird in the middle and the child with the hidden block or toy is the mommy. The Bird points to a child and asks “Are you my Mother?” the child answers “Yes” if they have the block or “No I am a ___” and fills in the ___ with cat, dog, boat.. etc On the third guess if the child guesses incorrectly the child should respond “I am a Stork” and everyone can point to the “Mother” for them. Of course the stork brings new babies so someone else become the baby bird and the game continues.

This game can be a fun filled activity for Mother’s Day. For a nice bridge into mother’s day… say it is not really storks that bring babies, but God. And God puts them into the loving care of mothers.

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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This game is based on a skit I saw as a teen called “Aunt Sally.”skit

Preparation
Divide the youth into at least two teams of 4-8 people. Line each team up in a line, sitting side by side in chairs. (To make it more humorous you may wish to have teams lined up facing each other.)

Game Play
Instruct each team in the following dialog. This will start with person in first chair and be with the person next to him/her.
1: “Guess what?
2: “What?”
1: “Aunt Sally went shopping again.”
2: “Oh no.. what did she buy this time?”
3: “A rocking chair” and begins to rock back and forth in his chair.
4. “Oh, a rocking Chair.” and begins to rock. He then turns to the next person and repreats the process. Meanwhile he and the first person continue the actions. Actions are passed down the line until the entire team is doing it.

Everyone continues with actions non-stop adding each new one as it comes to them. When it gets to the last person, he ends with the name of the item e.g. “Oh, a rocking chair”, but instead of doing the action, he runs to the leader for the next item. Every one on his team scoots down the line one chair, so that the last person in line is able to sit in the first chair. He then begins the process by repeating any previous actions in the appropriate order and then adding the new item he received.

Winning
First team to get through all the items wins.
The Last Person on the last action says:
Guess what? What? Aunt sally Died! all fall on floor from exhaustion.

Items that can be used are:
Rocking chair (rock back and forth)
Knitting needles (knitting motions while sitting down)
Toothbrush – motion brushing your teeth
Basketball – mime dribbling a basketball and shooting a shot
Bicycle – sitting in chair pretend you ar epedaling with your feet
Pogo stick – get out of chair and jump up and down
Hula Hoop – sway those hips like using a hulahoop
Jump rope – pretend you are jumping rope
Accordian – Side to side motions as playing an according
Escape from Prison – All stand Up – last guy must crawl through legs

Of course you can add or remove any items to control the time required for the activities. You may wish to start with the simpler actions and move to the more vigorous and humerous ones. Be sure to have a list of actions and corresponding motions to give to each youth as they come up.

Application
This game can be used as a discussion starter about going through the motions in our Christian walk. They are not really doing the things on the list but only going through the motions. What are some of the things we do as Christians simply to be seen by others?

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Preparation
1. Get a large group of youth together and split them into two teams.
2. Give the members of each team a colored cloth to use as an armband so that they can easily identify friendlies and foes. (You can also use different colors of waterguns to identify teams.)
3. Give each person a water gun, a string, and an Alkaseltzer tablet.
NOTE: If you allow youth to bring their own water guns, specify a maximum size inorder to prevent one person with a large super soaker from dominating the game.
4. Have each youth tie the tablet around their neck with the string. It must hang down the front of the shirt and be visible.
5. Have a designated refill point for each team. A couple buckets of water will do the trick.
6. Have kids wear old clothes as this can get a little messy. Rule out white t-shirts to pervent embarrassment when they get wet.

Play
Let everyone run around in a large area squirting each other with the squirt guns. If a person’s tablet dissolves, he’s out. First team to eliminate all the opponents wins.

Variation
This game also works if you want to play every man for himself.

GREAT SUMMER FUN

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

For small to large groups

Have all players sit in a circle and then chose a person to be “it”. “It” must then leave the room. While “It” is gone, one to four players move to a new seat in the circle. When “it” returns he is to figure out who has moved in the circle. Great ice breaker for new groups! If he guesses correctly, he swaps places with the person who moved.

Variation
Instead of moving locations, have someone change body position.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!