Category Archives: Icebreakers

Activities intended to help a group to begin the process of forming themselves into a team. Youth icebreakers are commonly presented as a game to warm up the group by helping the members to get to know each other.

Icebreakers

Christmas – Across the Line

December 18, 2015 kensapp Leave a comment

Christmas - Across the Line
Location
Anywhere a line can be drawn across the meeting area.

Energy level: Medium

Description
Which side are you on? Do you know where you stand? Find out in this Christmas icebreaker where participants move back and forth to opposite sides of the room depending on their Christmas related preferences.

Resources
If you have time, use string or tape to make a line down the center of the room. Alternatively, just use chairs or stand in the center as a reference point.

Preparation
Come up with a list of Christmas related choices. You will want to choose those ideas that are a little crazy and fun
as well as lead into the topic of your discussion. It’s best to end with the one that is most closely related to your Christmas discussion topic. Here is a partial Christmas list. Highlight those or put a tick mark beside those you wish to use for your Christmas Bible study / lesson.

You can also add your own ideas! Don’t use them all… about 10 to 15 is a good number… after that it gets boring! Always leave them wanting for more… as soon as interest starts to decrease a little, it’s time to move on to the next debrief!

Here’s a list of ideas

Shepherd – Wise man
Mary – Joseph
Candy Canes – Chocolates
Give a gift – Receive a Gift
Gingerbread Man – Plum Pudding
Rudolph – Frosty
Poinsettia – Mistletoe
Nuts – Fruits
Live Tree – Artificial Tree
Silent Night – Jingle Bells
Snow – Sunshine
PSP – Wii
Cinnamon – Nutmeg
Eggnog – Hot Chocolate
Christmas Eve – Christmas Day
Nutcracker Suite – Handel’s Messiah
Matthew – Luke
Wreath – Holly
Star – Angel
Homemade Card – Store Bought card
Snowflake – Snowball
Red – Green
Tinsel – Garland
Turkey – Ham
Apple Pie – Pecan Pie

What to Do

Divide the room in half and put a line down the middle. You will be giving the participants TWO Christmas options, one for each side of the room.
Stand on the line in the middle of the room. As you call out each Christmas related preference point to the corresponding side of the room.
Everyone must then move to the side of the room based on his/ her Christmas related preference. If both options apply then they must choose the one which is true more often.

For example. I may call out Eggnog (point to left side) and Hot Chocolate (point to right)… If someone prefers eggnog rather than hot chocolate he /she will move to the left side of the room. If they prefer hot Chocolate they should move to the right side of the room.

Breaking into Groups
As you play, take note of those options where the groups were almost equal in size. Later if you want to break the participants up into two groups, use those identifiers to split them up.

Take It to the Next Level
General discussion questions:

Which Christmas related choice was easiest for you to make?
Which Christmas related choice was most difficult for you? Why?
Where there any surprises? (Example: People with the same choice as you that you didn’t expect?)
In what ways is the group most alike?
In which choices were you in the minority? Does being in the minority make you more bold or more uncertain?
Have you ever felt that you were all alone in certain beliefs, attitudes, habits, or characteristics? How can knowing others are just like you help?

Take It Spiritual

Did you choose Mary or Joseph? Why?
Mary and Joseph had some difficult choices to make. What were some of the issues they faced? Whose choice was more difficult? Why?
Did you choose shepherd or wise man? Why? What did the birth of Christ mean for each?

Action Point

You probably shared something in common with almost everyone in the group during one choice or another. What is one way you can you build on the things you have in common to form positive relationships with everyone.
This Christmas you will need to make a lot of choices… Make sure all of your choices bring glory to God and proclaim the good news to all people!

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.

Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

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Icebreakers

Connected Thanksgiving

November 19, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

Thanksgiving is an American Holiday when people come together, treasure the relationships with those close to them, and thank God for his blessings over the past year. While the New Year celebrates new opportunities and a chance to start over, Thanksgiving reminds us how far we have come and how God and others have helped us to get where we are.

This Thanksgiving Activity encourages youth to remember things for which they are thankful and also reminds us that we are also connect to those around us and need to be thankful for them as well. Being Thankful isn’t just for Americans and Canadians. It’s something all of us should take time to do!

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What You Need

Ball of string or yarn

What to do

Sit the youth group on the floor in a circle with everyone facing inward toward the center of the circle.
Ask the youth to think about the past one year. What have been some of the best times, the highlights, the celebrations? What are some things from the past year that they are thankful for? Give them a few moments to think and then ask them all to think of one thing each and to hold it in their thoughts.
Then choose one youth to begin and hand them the ball of string. The chosen youth must tell everyone in the circle ONE THING they are thankful for.
Then, holding firmly to the end of the string, he or she must toss the ball of string to someone else in the circle who has not yet received the string.
The person receiving the string gives ONE THING he or she is thankful and does the same — holding firmly onto the string, he or she tosses the ball on to another person who has not received it yet.
The string should be held tightly and above the ground at all times.
Continue until everyone has received the string once and has told the group one thing they are thankful for.

VARIATION: In addition to the one thing they are thankful for, have youth to think about one person in the circle they are thankful for and one characteristic of that person that they appreciate. For example: “I am thankful for my family and I am also thankful for Bob, because he makes me laugh all the time.”

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Just as in this game, many of the blessings of the past year are shared and connect us together. When one person is blessed, the joy is shared and we often bless others as a result. Smiles are contagious. Joy is shared. And a heart of gratitude reminds not only us, but others of the source of our blessings which is God.

There are a lot of things in life to be thankful for. James 1:17 reminds us “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Ephesians 1:3 reminds us “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

What are some of the other things you are thankful for from the past one year?
What are some of the things you have been blessed with in the past 1 year?
What are you most thankful for? Why?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Read Psalm 145:1-21
This psalm gives many reasons we should praise God and be thankful to Him. Some of those things listed describe who God is, what he is like. Others describe what he has done or will do. List all the reasons to thank God and praise Him as found in this psalm.

Why should we be thankful to God and praise Him?
What are some of the things that will happen when we praise God according to this psalm?
What does thanksgiving do for us? How does our thanks affect others?

Read Psalm 95:1-7a
“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”

What reasons do these verses give for being thankful and singing for Joy to God?
Why should these things make us thankful?
What are some practical benefits of each?

Read Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

In psalm 100, what are the 6 reasons given to be thankful to God and to praise Him?
Who does the psalm say should be thankful?
Which of the 6 reasons makes you most thankful?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

What lessons can we learn about Thanksgiving and Gratitude from these Bible passages?
Why should we be more thankful each day of our lives, and not just once a year?
What effect could it have on us and others if we always had a grateful heart?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

How can you be a more grateful person with God and others?
Take some time in prayer to thank God for his blessings over the past year.
This week, set aside some time each day to thank God for all the blessings in your life.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 5:19-21
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Colossians 3:17
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

Creative Holiday Ideas
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan not only your next Fall Festival or Thanksgiving Celebration, but also most of the other common holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Icebreakers

Pass Your Name Icebreaker

October 1, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

It is said a person has three names: the one given at birth, the one other people give, and the one (s)he gives him/herself. Names have meaning. Sometimes names are changed to reflect a new direction in a person’s life. In his icebreaker game, youth not only learn each other’s names, but they also explore what it means to be called a Christian, a disciple, a saint, a believer.

What you need
No resources are needed for this icebreaker

What to do

Round ONE

Form the youth into several circles, with everyone faced toward the center of the circle with their arms to their side.
Choose someone to start”Everyone put your right hand in the air. Hand in the air!””On the count of three, everyone point to the happiest person in the circle.”
The person that the most people are pointing to will go first in this game.
He or she must choose someone in the group and use his entire arm to point at them and while pointing to this person call out his or her OWN name. They do not call out the name of the person they are pointing to, but call out their own name. He or she than crosses his or her arms.
The person who was just pointed to, repeats the action, pointing to someone in the circle whose arms are not crossed and calling out his or her own name.
Continue until everyone has been pointed to in the circle. It’s not as easy as it seems.

Round TWO

Repeat the activity, but this round, time make it a competition between groups to see which circle will complete the activity in the quickest time.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Debrief

When you played this activity, what happened?
Why was this game difficult?
Is a person’s name significant?
It is said a person has three names: the one (s)he is given at birth, the one other people give him/her, and the one (s)he gives him/herself. What does this mean?
What does your name say about you?
Do you feel that your birth name adequately expresses who you are? Why or why not?

Teaching Point: Names are often given in reference to: aspects of a person’s birth, hopes the parent has for his or her child, something a parent likes, a connection the parent wants to draw attention to, family ties

What name would your mentor or the person you most look up to in life give to you?
If you had to choose a name to express your essence, what would it be?
If you were to choose a new name for yourself today, what would you choose and why?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

What significance do people’s names in the Bible have?

Share a few of the familiar ones if not mentioned by the youth.
– Abram -> Abraham “Father of a multitude”
– Simon -> Peter “Peter” or “Rock”
– Saul -> Paul
– Jacob “supplanter” -> Israel “Prince of God” “He who struggles with God”
– Sarai -> Sarah “Princess” “mother of nations”

In the Bible’s most famous name change situations, God is making a statement about the person.
– spiritual accomplishments
– spiritual potential
– a promise or blessing
– change or new direction in life
– new identity
– Indication of God’s plan for them

The name “Christians was first used at Antioch (Acts 11:19-26)
As Christians
– We are called Christians – new identity / nature
– We are given a new name (Revelation 2:17, 21:12, 21:7; Philippians 4:4)
– Our life takes a change of direction
– The disciples called each other, “brethren”, “disciples”, “apostles”, “servants”, “believers”, “followers”, “the faithful”, “the elect”, “the called”, and “saints.” We can also identify ourselves as “bondservants” of Christ.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

What name do you think God would give to you? Why
How can you live according to the name “Christian” “Disciple” “servant” “Believer” or “Saint” this week?

Additional Scriptures

Here are some interesting scriptures related to becoming “Christ”-like

1 Corinthians 1:3-15 – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, …”

1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

1 John 2:29 – “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

1 John 2:6 – “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

1 John 3:2-3 – “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

1 John 4:17 – “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.”

1 Peter 2:21 – “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 – “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,”

2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 – “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Ephesians 4:11-13 – “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 – “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Galatians 3:27 – “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Galatians 4:19 – “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”

John 13:14-15 – “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 15:10 – “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

John 15:12 – “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Luke 6:40 – “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Matthew 10:25 – “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

Matthew 5:48 – “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Philippians 2:4-5 – “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

Romans 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 6:11 – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:4 – “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 8:2-8 – “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. …”

Romans 8:28-29 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Titus 3:1-8 – “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, …

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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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Icebreakers

“Ice” Breakers and Forgiveness

September 3, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

Below is a collection of youth icebreaker games using ice cubes. The primary game leads into a discussion on mistakes and forgiveness.

Optional Ice Games

Ice Sculptures
Make a lot of icecubes using standard ice cube trays. (Note: If you Use hot water you get clearer ice cubes.) If you sprinkle them with salt the youth can stick them together to create ice sculptures of people and other fun shapes.

Ice Cube Musical Chairs
Play musical chairs with a large block of ice. Teams of youth pass the ice while the music plays and whoever is holding the ice when the music stops is eliminated from the game. As a variation, give those eliminated a small ice cube. If any youth who was eliminated can use their hands to get the ice to melt before the game finishes they can join back into the game.

Ice Melt
In this game the objective is to melt the ice cubes given as quickly as possible. Teams may only use their hands to melt the ice. The first team to melt all the given ice cubes wins.

Ice Melt II
In this game, the objective is for the youth to fill a glass with water to the top using only the dropping water from melted ice. Again they may only use their hands to melt the ice. Only one ice cube can be melted at a time.

T-Shirt Melt
Freeze a large soaked cotton t-shirt for each youth team in a zip lock baggie. Ring it out just a little so there is enough water for it to freeze solid, but not enough so that it is inside large block of ice. Scrunch up the t-shirt rather than fold it. Remove the t-shirts from the freezer 15-20 minutes before the game to let them thaw just a bit. Team members must somehow thaw the t-shirt using only their hands and bodies until they can open it up and on team member puts it on and wears it. No liquids or sharp objects are allowed to be used. (Note: Try this once for yourself. It can take quite some time to thaw the shirt enough to wear it, depending on the weather and the amount of water in the shirt)

Primary Game

Ice Pass

What you need

You’ll need two buckets or large containers and two ice cube trays worth of ice for each team.
Teams then form lines and race to pass all the ice cubes from the front bucket to the back bucket for each team.

Rules of the game

Team members must always look forward at all times and cannot look back, even for a moment.
Each youth in the line must pass the ice cubes one at a time over his or her back to the person immediately behind them in line.
If an ice cube is dropped, it must be passed forward, one person at a time under the legs of the person in front until it reaches the beginning of the line. It then is passed back as per the normal rules.

Debrief
Award the winning team then ask the losing teams the following questions:

What happened during the game?
What were the difficulties encountered?
What could you do differently to be more successful if you played again?
If you personally dropped the ice how did you feel? How did you feel toward your team? How did you respond?
If someone on your team dropped the ice, how did you honestly feel toward them? How did you respond when someone dropped the ice?

Take it to the Next Level

Make it Spiritual
Read Matthew 18:21-35

Are some mistakes easier to forgive than others? Explain?
Why is it sometimes difficult to forgive others?
What can we learn about forgiveness from this parable and the response of Jesus to Peter?

Make it Practical

What lessons can we learn from this activity as a group of believers, as the body of Christ?
In what ways do your actions affect others, either positively or negatively?
How do mistakes and setbacks affect others?
How do we recover?
How does forgiveness fit in?

Make it Personal

What do you find it personally, hardest to forgive?
What are some ways you can be more forgiving?

Scripture

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'” – Matthew 18:21-22

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Christ Calls Us Friends

July 2, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

Summer is a time of friendships. The time away from school is a welcome break and provides the freedom to spend time with friends doing the things you enjoy. Friends will come and go but all will teach you something about who you are and who you want to be. But Jesus also calls us friends. So what does that teach us?

What to do
Place a tag/ sticker with each name on the back of people as they enter the meeting. Do not tell them that these are pairs of friends. Their task is to mingle around asking “yes” or “no” questions to discover the character on the tag. After a brief time of mingling have each person find his or her “friend” and share a quality they look for in a friend! (The three stooges are included in case you have an odd number of people.) If the group is small you might give out only one of each pair and then once everyone has discovered his/her identity have them name the friend associated with the person on the tag they have been given.

Here’s a sample list of famous friendships.

Be sure to add any famous friendships from recent television shows or youth culture.

Take It to the Next Level

Put the following questions up on posters around the room – taped to the walls or to the floor. Have youth wander around the room and to add their thoughts and answers for each question. Then discuss them as a group!

A friend is…?
Real Friends always…?
Real Friends never…?
One of my friends is ________ because…?
What do you do to be a friend and to have friends?
What is one of the qualities you look for in a friend?
What is one of your best qualities as a friend?
What is one of the qualities you look for in a friend?

Take It Spiritual

John 15:13 calls us to look to the interests of others for the sake of the common good. Jesus’ whole life is an incarnation of the ideal of friendship. What Jesus teaches he is already living. Jesus gave everything to his friends—his knowledge of God and his own life. Jesus is our model for friendship—because he loved without limits—and he makes it possible for us to live a life of friendship—because we have been transformed by everything he shared with us. Through friendship we come to know God and through friendship we express the love of God. We can risk being friends because Jesus has been a friend to us.

Make it Practical

How can we be better friends to those around us?
How can we express the love of God in our friendships?

Make it Personal

What is something you will do this week to be more Christlike in your friendships?

Scripture

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” – John 15:12-15

This idea is adapted from a similar idea in our ebook “Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the Next Level”

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Interview Icebreaker for Youth

April 6, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

Interview Icebreaker

Pair the youth up as they come into the room.
Give everyone a few minutes to interview each other. (3 Minutes is usually enough)
During the three minutes, the youth must discover 3 “new” interesting facts about their partner. Let the youth know that later they will need to introduce the partner to the group as if the group has never met them before, using the 3 facts.
After the three minutes has passed, bring everyone back to together.
Each youth introduces his or her partner to the rest of the group, including the three new facts they learned.

Take it to the Next Level

Once they have introduced their partners, Ask the youth to meet someone else and ask the following questions:

Out of all the people in the Bible, who would you visit, and why?
And if you had the opportunity to ask some questions, what would you ask?

The Bible is full of stories of people just like us. The only perfect person in the Bible is Jesus. The rest were ordinary people used by an extraordinary God. Though the men and women were flawed, a perfect God used them in his perfect purpose. We can learn much from their victories and their mistakes.

What lessons can we learn from the characters you chose?
How can we apply those lessons to life today?

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Game Ideas, Icebreakers

Knock Down, or Build Up

August 28, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

Description

There are times when we have fun, draw closer to one another, talk about all kinds of things, and experience the joy of being together. Other times though it seems that the things we say, or things that are said to us seem to hurt even more when it involves our families.

We often hear it said that the people we hurt the most are often the ones that are closest to us. There are times I wish I could have taken back the words the moment I’ve said them, but it’s often too late; damage done.

In all our relationships the things we do can say can either build up or tear down. This wacky youth group game presents the same choice to teams of youth.

STACKERS

Resources

Plates and cups – You want an even number of plates and cups so they can be stacked. Don’t use breakables ones as they will be knocked over and dropped. Plastic works great, but you can also use disposable ones. Be warned that if they are too light, they can be easily blown over.
Balls – Tennis balls work well but you can use a smaller ball to make the game more difficult or a bigger one to make it easier.
Instead of cups and saucers you can use other objects but must take into account the weight of objects and the ball used. A light ball won’t be able to knock down heavy objects. Other options include using just cups, jenga blocks, shoe boxes, empty food cans (beware of sharp edges), Pringles cans, cereal boxes, wooden blocks, etc. The only requirement is that the objects must be easily stackable by the youth.

Preparation

Create an open space in the middle of a room or of an outdoor area.
Place the cups and saucers in a pile for each team.
Set up teams an equal distance from the piles in the center. The further away, the more difficult the game becomes.
Give each team a ball.

What to Do

The first person on each team must run to the pile in the center for his or her team in the play area and stack all the plates and cups. The cups and saucers must be stacked so that each cup rests on a saucer, then the next cup and saucer is placed on top, continuing until a tower of cups and saucers is built.
After the tower is built, the youth runs back to his or her team and tags the next person.
The next person has a choice. EITHER run straight to their own team’s tower in the center and unstack and re-stack the cups and saucers OR
Toss the ball to knock down another team’s tower. If the ball is tossed, the next person in line must retrieve the ball and bring it back to the group before the person who tossed it can run to their tower in the center and unstack and re-stack the plates and saucers.
If a team’s tower is knocked down by another team, the person who originally stacked that particular tower must run to the center and stack them again before the next person can go to the center and unstack and re-stack the plates and saucers.
The first team to have everyone on the team finish unstacking and re-stacking their tower wins.
Strategically, a team has a choice to focus on building their own towers or taking time to knock down other towers so that they slow others down. Bear in mind that they could knock down more than one tower with one throw – including their own!

Take It to the Next Level

In all our relationships the things we do and say can either build up or tear down. It always seems easier to tear someone down rather than build them up. It takes a long time to build someone up with positive words, words of life, words of blessing, but only a moment to tear them down. And often, all the positive that was done before is wiped out in an instant.

We can all remember occassions when we have personally been torn down by someone’s hurtful words. Most of us have been intentionally, or unintentionally torn someone down with our words or actions.

Paul tells the Christians to let no “unwholesome talk” come out of their mouths. What are some things that might be called “unwholesome talk”? Words that tear down?
Why do people speak to others with hurtful words?
What are some examples of words that build up?
Before we do or say things to others, we need to ask ourselves, will this build up or tear down? Will it benefit, or harm?
How should we respond when we have been hurt by words?
How should we respond if we have hurt others? What can we do to make it right?
How can we build up others who have been hurt?

Closing

Give each youth some adhesive address labels and a something to write with. They must write down encouraging remarks on the stickers and place them on the backs of other youth with a personal comment to encourage them. Be sure to let the youth know this is a time to be serious and if they can not do it in a meaningful, caring way you’d rather them not participate. You might want to have some soft music playing while they do this. Tell them to go build each other up.

Then ask for volunteers to come to the front and read the words on their back. Let the youth keep them and ask them to place them some place at home where they will be reminded of the encouraging words.

Action Point

Issue the youth a challenge to speak positive words to at least 2 persons everyday for the next week and then in the next meeting ask them to share their experiences.

Scripture References

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there be any virtue, and if there is anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8)

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Tee Freeze Icebreaker

August 24, 2012 kensapp 1 Comment

Description

Beat the hot days of summer with a frozen T-shirt contest for your youth. The objective is simple – Unfold a frozen t-shirt and wear it. But it’s not quite as easy as it sounds. It can be played as a team effort or you can have one frozen tee for each youth.

Resources

Gallon Freezer Bags
You’ll need one t-shirt for each team or participant. Larger shirts are best and if possible you want them all to be the same size. Sometimes t-Shirts can be torn or stretched in the process.
Water
Freezer

Preparation

Soak each t-shirt in about 2 cups of water then wring it out. If there is too much water it will take too long to thaw.
Once the shirt has been wrung out, nicely fold each one into a square that will fit inside the freezer bag. Once you have folded it flat, press it down again to try to remove even more water.
Seal each bag, and place each t-shirt in the freezer so that each lies flat.
Let them freeze for a couple of days for best results.
If you need to transport the shirts to another venue, place them in a cooler filled with ice so they stay frozen.
Want to play on the theme a little? Have “Iced Tea” for refreshments.

What to do

Tell the youth you are going to have a real icebreaker game.
If you play by teams, don’t tell the youth what you are going to do and instead ask for a volunteer from each team. (You don’t want more than 4 or 5 on a team or it gets too crowded and some youth end up sitting on the sideline and watching.)
Give each youth (or team) a frozen tee.
The objective is to use whatever means possible to thaw the t-shirt enough so that it they can put it on. (They’ll sit on them like hatching an egg, throw them on the ground, rub them with hands, roll them, stick them on bare arms and legs to use their body heat to warm them up enough to unfold them and put them on.) They’ll be worn out trying to get them unfolded enough to wear.
The first person to get the t-shirt on wins! Heads and arms must be completely in the t-shirt for normal wear to be declared the winner.

Rules of the Game

You might want to set some rules such as:

You cannot place the t-shirt in water or any other liquids
You cannot microwave it or use any appliance or machinery to heat it up.
You cannot leave the game area
You are not allowed to use any sharp object on the t-shirt

Take It to the Next Level

Like many things in life, this game takes a lot of effort. It’s the same with building relationships. If you want to have relationships that aren’t so cold and are more warm and friendly, it takes work. “Cold hearted” and “Hard – hearted” are terms we commonly use to describe how youth relate to others. We also often talk about the warmth of friendship.

Take It Spiritual

In the Bible, Cold and Hot are used to describe the relationship of a person with God. But God’s greatest criticism is not to a person is either hot or cold, but to someone that is lukewarm. In Revelation, God refers to the church of Laodicia in the same terms.

“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot”. “Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Laodicia had no water supply of its own, so an aqueduct was built to bring water to the city from hot springs. By the time the water reached Laodicia is was neither therapeutically hot nor refreshingly cold. And because of it, one of the strongest words in Revelation is used, emesai, meaning to vomit.

Take it Personal

What actions of a Christian might be described as Hot? Cold? Lukewarm?
How does a lukewarm Christian behave?
Why is lukewarm worse than being either hot or cold?
What is an area of your devotion to God that could be described as Lukewarm?
If we are cold or lukewarm, how can we become “On Fire” in our devotion for God?

Take Action

What can you do this week to become more fired up about your relationship with God?
What can you do this week to share the warmth of Christ with someone?

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Ducks in a Row

February 9, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

Description

In this icebreaker game, youth must arrange their group in order according to specific criteria.

Number of Youth

Unlimited (in groups of at least 8 teens)

How to Play

Youth are told they may not talk.
Teens are then told to line up their group in order of height (shortest to tallest).
Once everyone is lined up the team must shout “Ducks in a Row” and Quack loudly while flapping their arms as wings.
The first team of youth to do so wins the round.

Additional optional rounds

Alphabetical order by first name
Alphabetical order by mother’s or father’s first name
In order of their birthday
According to shoe size
According to phone number
According to the number of letters in their full name.
According to their house number or address block
According to length of hair
Others?

Take it to the Next Level

The phrase “Ducks in a row” is a common English idiom meaning that things are well-organized – that all the small details are accounted for and are in their proper positions before moving on to something else. At first thought, the sight of a mother duck followed by all the little ducklings seems the logical source for this idiom. But the most popular theory is that it comes from bowling as a sport. Early bowling pins were shorter and thicker than modern pins and were commonly referred to as “ducks.” Before the invention of automatic resetting machines for the pins, after each round they would be manually placed back into position by a person. So to “have all your ducks in a row” was to make sure all the pins were properly placed in position before sending the next bowling ball down the lane.

A lot of people put off making various decisions until everything seems to be in place and perfect. Older people might use the idiom “When I get all my ducks in order I will…” Youth may not use the phrase much, but they use similar expressions. “When I get my life (or act) together, THEN I’ll make that commitment.” “When I grow up, then I will…” “When I finish my education, then I will…” “When I am successful in my career then i will…” In fact, people of all ages make similar excuses.

The truth of the matter is that becoming and living as a Christian is a step of faith. You will never on this earth fully understand the scriptures. You will never fully understand the ways and mind of God. (Isaiah 55:8) You will never even truly understand yourself. While it is good to use your mind and plan ahead, we must also trust and depend completely upon God.

Focal Scripture

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

Practical Application

What are some of the choices and decisions that God calls us to make as Christians?
How do we know when God is calling us to do do something?
How do we know when the timing is right to step out in faith?
What are some things in your life that God might be calling you to get in order before he calls you to a position or task?
Don’t wait till you undestand everything. If God is calling you to something make a decision today to yield to that calling and trust him for the results. Simply step out in faith and trust him and he will make your way sure.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Draw the Names of God

November 29, 2011 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description
This icebreaker activity makes a great creative learning activity to help introduce youth to some of the many names of God. If you use the names of God and Christ related to the Christmas Story it also serves as a great icebreaker or Bible Study discussion starter for Christmas.

Game Materials
Whiteboard, chalkboard, or simply paper

Game Preparation
None

Game Play
Youth attempt to get their partner or team to guess a name of God using only drawings. This can be done one at a time before the group or in pairs. For simple names like “The Door” this may be easily done by drawing a door. But for more difficult names it make require several words in the form of a rebus. Numbers and letters are not allowed to be used.

Variation
Place the names of God on a peice of paper and tape them on to the back of youth as they arrive. Give each youth sheet of paper and a pencil and have them help each other to discover the names on their backs by merely drawing them. Numbers and letters are not allowed to be used. Also, to keep the youth mingling, have them write down all the names of God they see on other people’s backs.

Optional Discussion

Which name do you think was most difficult to communicate? Why?
Would you prefer to see a photograph or hear the story?
Do you find it easier to express yourself in words or through images?
Have you ever felt handicapped in trying to communicate God to others?
In what ways is this activity similar to sharing your faith?
What concepts in sharing your faith are most difficult to communicate?
How does God communicate himself to us in a way we can understand.
How is Christmas a means by which God communicates to us?

Here are a few of the many names of God

Abba – Romans 8:15
Advocate – Job 16:19; I John 2:1
Alpha – Revelation 1:8; 21:6; Revelation 22:13
Ancient of Days, Ancient One – Daniel 7:9, 22; 13:21-22
Author of life – Acts 3:15
Author of our Faith – Hebrews 12:2
Banner – Exodus 17:15, Isaiah 11:10
Branch – Jeremiah 33:15, Isaiah 4:2
Bread of Life – John 6:33-35
Bridegroom – Isaiah 62:56; Matthew 9:15
Chosen One – Isaiah 42:1; Luke 23:35
Comforter, Consolation of Israel – II Corinthians 1:4; John 14:26, Luke 2:25
Cornerstone – Isaiah 28:16
Counselor – Isaiah 9:6
Creator – Genesis 14:19 -22; Dt 32:6; Eccl 12:1; Isaiah 27:11; 40:28; 43:15; 45:18; 1 Peter 4:19
Defender – Psalm 68:5
Deliverer – II Samuel 22:2; Psalm 18:2; Romans 11:26
Door – John 10:7
Father – Matthew 6:9; Matthew 11:25
Gardner – John 15:1
God of all Comfort – II Corinthians 1:3
God of Heaven and Earth – Deuteronomy 4:39; Ezra 5:11
God of Peace – Romans 16:20; I Thessalonians 5:23
God With Us – Isaiah 7:14; 8:8
Good Shepherd – John 10:11
Great High Priest – Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 3:1; Hebrews 6:20; 2:17; Hebrews 5:6
Guide – Psalm 48:14
Healer – Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3; Isaiah 30:26; 61:1; Jeremiah 3:22; 30:17
Hiding place – Psalm 32:7
High Tower – 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2; Psalm 59
Immanuel, God with Us – Matthew 1:23
Intercessor – Job 16:20; Isaiah 53:12; Romans 8:26
Judge – Genesis 18:25; Psalm 7:18; 96:13; Isaiah 33:22; Acts 10:42; Acts 10:42; Psalm 94:12; II Lawgiver – Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12
Lily of the Valley – Song of Songs 2:1
Name above all names – Philippians 2:9&10
Omega – Revelation 1:8; Revelation 22:13
Physician – Luke 4:23
Redeemer – Genesis 48:16; Job 19:25; Psalm 19:14; 78:35; Proverbs 23:11; Isaiah 41:14; 43:14; 44:6; 24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 26; Isaiah 54:5; 8; 59:20; 60:16; 63:16; Jeremiah 50:34; Job 19:25;Psalm 19:14
Refuge; Refuge from the storm – Psalm 14:6; 46:1; 62:7-8; 71:7; 91:2,9; 9:9 94:22; 142:5; Proverbs 14:26; Isaiah 25:4
Rock – Deuteronomy 32:18; Psalm 18:2; 42:9; 144:1; Isaiah 30:29; 1 Cor.10:4; I Peter 2:8
Salvation, Savior – Psalm 62:1; Isaiah 12:2; Psalm 38:22; Exodus 15:2; Psalm 27:1; John 4:42; Acts 13:23; I Timothy 4:14; Luke 2:11; Isaiah 43:3; 49:26
Shepherd – Genesis 48:15; 49:24; Psalm 23:1; 79:13; 80:1; 95:7; 100:3; Isaiah 40:11; I Peter 2:25; John 10:11; Hebrews 13:20
Stronghold – II Samuel 22:3; Psalm 9:9; 27:1; 84:11; Psalm 43:2
Sustainer – Psalm 55:22; Isaiah 46:4
Vine – John 15:5
Way – John 14:6

Christmas Variation
Use the names and titles of God related to Christmas and this becomes a nice icebreaker for your Christmas Party or introduction to a Christmas related Bible Study.

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.

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Icebreakers

Easter Egg “Who Am I” Icebreaker

February 20, 2011 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
In this Easter Icebreaker, youth will need to discover each other’s secret Easter identity.

Resources
Colorful Plastic Easter Eggs (one for each youth)

Preparation
Place a piece of paper inside each plastic Easter egg with an item on it. All items are related to Easter. Here is a list of potential items:

Easter items related to the Biblical account:
Gray fleece or donkey (Matthew 21:2-5), Palm branch or a coat (Matthew 21:8-11), A vial of perfume (Matthew 26:7-13), A lock of hair (Matthew 26:7-13), 30 silver coins or 3 10-cent coins (Matthew 26:14-15), A strip of terry cloth fabric or towel (John 13:4-11), A communion wafer or bread (Matthew 26:17-29), A communion cup or grape (Matthew 26:17-29), , Praying hands (Mark 14:32-42), A watch (Mark 13:37), Rooster or a feather (Luke 22:61), Piece of rope (John 18:12), A leather whip (John 19:1), Small piece of soap (Matthew 27:20-24), A piece of scarlet cloth (Matthew 27:28), A crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29), A cross (John 19:16-22), nails (John 19:16-22), Dice (John 19:23-24), darkness or Black circle (Luke 23:44-45), sponge with vinegar (John 19:28-30), spear (John 19:32-37), A shattered or split rock (Matthew 27:51, 54), Purple cloth (Matthew 27:51), Clean linen cloth or gauze (Matthew 27:57-61), Spices (Luke 23:55-56), A stone and wax or paraffin (Matthew 27:65-66), an empty tomb (Matthew 28:5-8), Sign reading “King of the Jews”

Easter items NOT necessarily related to Biblical account:
Easter Basket, Bells, Easter Bonnet, Bunny Hop, Candies, Chicks, Chocolate, Chocolate Rabbit, church, Peter Cottontail, Daffodil, Easter Card, Easter Egg, Egg Hunt, Egg Tree, Faberge, Hard Boiled egg, Hot Cross Buns, Jelly Beans, Lamb, Easter Lilies, Marshmallows, New Clothes, Easter Parade, Passover, Pastel Colors, Peeps, Pretzels, Rabbit, Ribbons, Spring, Straw, Easter Sunday, Sunrise Service, Easter Bunny

What to Do

As each guest arrives at the door, give each youth a plastic egg with the secret item written inside (a person, a place, or a thing associated with Easter). It might be biblical or secular.
Youth must mingle with the others at the Easter party to discover each person’s secret identity as written on the piece of paper inside the plastic Easter egg.
Have a special prize for the person who correctly identifies the secret identity of the most people in the room by asking questions that can ONLY be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No”
Youth are obligated to answer questions but only by saying “yes” or “No”
The person who figures out everyone else’s “secret identity” first wins a prize! (You might want to provide a piece of paper for youth to write people’s names and their secret identity on.)

Variations
If you need to group the youth into teams for games or other activities, group them by color of Easter eggs. See Easter Egg Teams for specific detail on how to do this.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party. You can immediately download my best Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

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Icebreakers

Welcoming new youth to the group

September 27, 2010 kensapp Leave a comment

Fall is a time of new beginnings for many at school.

Whenever a new person joins the youth group or when a group of people come together for the first time, there is often a period of unease and tension. It is not because anyone has done anything wrong or because people are mean – it is simply because most of us have our guard up when we meet someone new for the first time. To make new persons feel at ease and relax the participants in a newly formed group, there are many games and activities that can be used as icebreakers and integration techniques.

Whether it is a new person joining a youth club, school or church group, or just a group of youth meeting together for the first time, the icebreakers must come as early as possible during the meeting. This will make each person feel like an integral part of the group, encourage active participation of all during activities and thus make the accomplishment of the goals of the group much easier.

So what are some of these icebreakers?

Round Repeat
Round repeat is a good example. Here, the persons in the youth group stand in a circle. The first person to be chosen is asked to say their name. This should be loud enough for everyone else to hear. Then the second person says the first person’s name and their own name. The next person gives the names of the two people in front and their own name. This goes on until the last participant who may be required to say the names of every single person in the group. This is a great way of learning the names. If the group is large, the last persons in the circle will have a difficult time recalling all the names. But the amount of fun during the game will have effectively broken any psychological walls between the youth.

Zip and Zap
Zip and Zap is another great game to break the ice and learn people’s names. The group sits in a circle. One person is chosen to sit in the centre of a circle as the first leader of the game. The simple rules of the game are then explained – Zip is right and Zap is left. The leader then points to anyone in the circle and says ‘Zip!’. The person pointed at gives the name of the person who is sitting on his or her right. If the leader says ‘Zap!’, the person gives the name of the person sitting on his left.

When the leader points at someone and says ‘Zip-Zap!’, the youth sitting on the immediate left and right of the person must switch places. If the call is ‘Zip-Zip!’, the person pointed at must say the name of the person seated two spaces away to their right. Same will apply to ‘Zap-Zap!’ only this time it will be their left. Anyone who is unable to correctly recall a name has to leave the circle perimeter and sit at the centre. The game continues until the last person is eliminated or until the last people remaining can remember the names of every person still on the circle.

Artistic Collaboration
A game that can be used for integration or even team building in a group of youth is artistic collaboration. The youth are grouped in sets of six or so persons. The six persons are assigned a table and each person is given a paper and a different color of crayon. They are then given the go ahead to start drawing a picture. When the coordinator shouts ‘change!’, all stand to move and sit on the chair on their right. They then continue drawing someone else’s picture. This goes on until everyone comes back to their original sitting position and looks at the finished picture!

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Splitting Youth into Groups: Make a Word

July 16, 2010 kensapp Leave a comment

Introduction
Use this activity to introduce a topic and divide the youth into small groups or teams at the same time.

Game Description
Youth will break into groups with the each youth forming one of the letters of a keyword.

Game Materials
None

Game Preparation
Think about a keyword somehow related to the topic of discussion for your youth Bible Study or discussion. There will be one group member for each letter in the keyword, so if you want groups of 5 youth then you will need to come up with a word that contains 5 letters.

Game Play
Here is a sample dialogue

“Everyone please stand up. “
“I am going to give you a special word for the day. The word is _______. On the count of three, everyone shout the word back to me! 1 2 3 Ok, now say it twice as loud. Great! Three times louder! What is the Word? Great!”
“Next, when I give you the signal I want everyone to split into groups, with each youth using his or her body to form ONE letter of the word. As an example, everyone make a letter ‘A’ Great well done. If you don’t have enough youth to form all the letters, you might have to be a little more creative to spell the word with your bodies.”
“Does everyone understand? Do you know what you need to do? Are you ready? Go! Spell out the word with your bodies. And, DON’T be the last group to form the word. “

Variations

You can choose to have a fun forfeit for the group that is last or you can also make them go first when you have the follow-up youth discussion or activity. You can also call out different words of different lengths so that the youth are forced to keep forming and reforming groups to spell out different words until you call out a last word to get the youth into the final groups of the desired number.

Take it to the Next Level
Once you have them in groups of the desired number of youth, you can play games, have discussions, etc. This is a great way to introduce a topic because you have implanted the keyword into the thoughts of the youth. It also creates some energy and makes the awkward task of breaking up the youth into groups so much easier.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Books of the Bible – Puzzle 2

May 27, 2010 kensapp Leave a comment

This is a variation of the Books of the Bible Puzzle also found on this website.

Thanks to Caitlin in the UK for passing this on.

Description
In this icebreaker puzzle, youth will discover 16 books of the bible in a paragraph of text.

Materials
Print out of the text

What to do
Give the text to the students as individuals and groups before a session and reward the person who finds all 30 books first.

Here’s the text
In the following story, there are the names of 30 books of the Bible hidden. Can you find them all?

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing the banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving the puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are real easy to spot. That’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon fine themselves in a jam especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in the paragraph. During a recent fund raising event which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Hummana humbly puts it, the books are right there in plain view hidden from sight. Those able to find them all will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know all the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

Solution

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends…One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo, Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, “The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight.” Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without theirnumbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Pet Introductions Icebreaker

July 27, 2009 kensapp Leave a comment

Simple Icebreaker Ideas

People introduce themselves with their first pet’s name (or doll’s name if they didn’t have a pet) as their first name and the street they lived on as their second. If your first pet was a dog named “Lucky” and you lived on Cross Street, you would be Lucky Cross.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Chatter Bugs

July 27, 2009 kensapp Leave a comment

Icebreaker Description
A fast-paced icebreaker game for youth where partners quickly share answers to a question from the facilitator. Partners and questions are changing all the time.

Icebreaker Materials
(Optional) “Chatter Bugs” handouts containing a list of questions for youth that are somehow connected to your session theme or topic.

Optimal Youth Group Size for this Icebreaker Game
15-30 youth but it can be played with less or more.

Icebreaker Venue
This icebreaker can be played anywhere, but ideally the location should be large enough for the youth to form some semblance of a circle.

Icebreaker Preparation
If you have time in advance, you might create a list of questions that are somehow connected to your session theme or topic.

Instructions for this Icebreaker Game for Youth

Setting the Stage

“This game is going to be played in Rounds! This game is going to be played in what?” [Everyone will answer “Rounds”]
“!Round 1 – Everyone find a partner. Everyone find a partner.”
Wait a few moments then announce: “If you don’t have a partner raise your hand. If you don’t have a partner raise your hand.” Help those without a partner to match up. (The facilitator might need to partner up with a participant if there are an unequal number of youth.)
“Now that you have found a partner you will have to choose among yourselves who will be the ‘ladybug’ and who will be the ‘lightning bug’. You cannot both choose the same thing!” Give them a few moments to decide.
“Lady Bugs raise your hand… Lightning Bugs raise your hand!” If you want to add a little craziness, ask the lady bugs to flap their wings and the lightning bugs to shake their tails!

Round 1

“In round 1 you are going to introduce yourself to your partner and share 3 things about yourself that most people don’t know! Only one person will speak until I tell you to stop. Whenever I shout ‘Chatter Bugs Stop’ You stop. You stop when Whenever I shout what?” [They will Answer — “chatter Bugs Stop”]
“Lady Bugs speak first — Go.”
You can give them a few minutes depending on the overall time available. When you are ready for them to change shout “Chatter Bugs Stop!”
“Lightning Bugs Next — Ready…Go” Give them the same amount of time then shout “Chatter bugs Stop”
“Give yourself a big round of applause. You have completed Round 1.”

Round 2

“Now for round 2″ Are you ready? …Are you sure you are ready?”
“Lady bugs form a circle facing outward, shoulder to shoulder.”
“Lightning bugs, form a larger circle around them.. facing your partner.”
(Optional) Once everyone is in place, distribute “Chatter Bugs” handouts with the questions or topics they will discuss.
“Now we are going to play round two. We are going to play what?” [round two]
“In round 2 you will be given a question or topic to discuss. Sometimes you will be the person talking – the ‘sender” while the person facing you will be the listener – the “Receiver.”
“For the first discussion, Lady bugs you will be the sender. Lightning bugs you are the receiver. When I announce “Chatter Bugs stop”, you immediately stop. Any questions?”
“The first topic / Question is….” [Announce the first topic or question]. “Lady Bugs GO!”
“Chatter Bugs” Stop!”
“Lightning Bugs… Your turn. Ready… Go.”
“Chatter Bugs Stop”
“Now, everyone in the outer circle… Rotate one person to your right to face a new partner. Rotate”
Now Call out a different topic and have participants repeat the process until they have completely gone around the circle and met everyone.”
“Give yourself a round of applause, you have completed Round 2”

Round 3 (Optional)

“Now for round 3″ Are you ready? …Are you sure you are ready?”
“Facing your partner, I want all the lightning bugs to rotate your body 90 degree to the right so that you are now facing the back of another lightning bug.” “Good.”
Lady bugs, rotate your body 90 degrees to your right so that you are now facing the back of another Lady Bug.” “Great”
“When I say ‘Go’, you will start walking forward, staying in your circle. This means the Lightning bugs will be in a circle rotation counter-clockwise and the Lady bugs will be in a circle rotating clockwise.
“At some point I will yell ‘Chatter Bugs.’ When I yell ‘chatter bugs’ you must return to your original partner, get back to back with your bums touching, and flap your wings — arms” “The last couple to get into that position will be eliminated.’ [You might want to demonstrate the correct position with two of the youth.] “Any questions?”
“Let’s try it once for practice.” Ready…. GO!”
Shout “Chatter Bugs”
Once they have done it, correct anyone who is out position. Point out who would have been eliminated.
“Any Questions?”
“Ready.. GO”
Play the game until there is only one couple left and give them a prize as the “World’s Greatest Chatter Bugs”

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Left Holding the Bag – Game Idea

June 14, 2009 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description
This game is based on the familiar English idiom to be “left holding the bag.” “Left holding the bag” refers to a situation when a person is abandoned by others involved so that they bear the blame or responsibility. Example: Everyone rushed home after the party left the room in a mess so the youth leader was “left holding the bag”. The phrase is a variation of one which dates back to about 1600 — to “give one the bag (to hold)” in which a person was left with an empty bag while others took all the valuable contents.

Game Materials

A bag (You can use just about any bag for this but the game is more fun if it is a cloth bag that makes very little sound when dropped.)
You’ll also need solid chairs for everyone as things usually get a little wild with youth diving for chairs. There should be one less chair than the number of participants.

Game Preparation

All the youth are seated in a circle and one youth stands in the middle holding a bag.
Safety Tip: Place the chairs in a tight circle with no gaps or you might have some youth miss the chairs and end up on the floor!

Game Play

Select one youth to be in the center of the circle, “Holding the bag”.
The youth in the middle of the circle must then walk around the circle and take the hand of another seated youth. (If you have an almost equal mix of girls and guys you can ask them to grab the hand of someone of the opposite sex.)
That person then leaves his/her chair and takes the hand of another youth and so on.
This continues until the first youth drops the bag and everyone runs to a seat.
The youth left without a seat picks up the bag and the game begins again.

Variations
Play a few rounds and then add some items to the bag:

Slips of paper, each with icebreaker styled questions like: “what is your Favorite Ice-cream? Most embarrassing moment? Happiest memory? Best vacation? Favorite movie? Favorite book?” etc.
Slips of paper with a forfeit on each one. You can find examples of forfeits here: Game Forfeits
Slips of paper with review questions from a previous lesson.
Slips of paper with personal questions to introduce the topic of the next lesson.
Charades that youth will need to act out for the rest of the youth to guess. (Can give points and have girls vs guys teams for the guessing)
Items of clothing in the bag (pillowcase) – youth must pull something out and wear it.

Take it to the Next Level

In real life, have you ever been left “holding the bag?” What happened?
What feelings might a person have when they are forced to take the blame for someone else’s actions?
Are there times when we let others take the blame for things we have done?
Was Jesus “left holding the bag” when the disciples abandoned him at his arrest? Is it the same thing? Why or why not?

While we have to take responsibility for our own sins, Jesus wants to take the blame – He has stood in our place to take the punishment for us. There may still be consequences, but through His death on the cross we receive God’s forgiveness. He took the punishment for us!

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Icebreakers

Guess Who?

June 8, 2009 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description
Divided into at least 2 groups of 4-6 people, an individual youth will attempt to get his/her team to guess a name written on a piece of paper.

Game Materials

Pens
Small Pieces of Paper
A Container (basket, hat, bowl, or bag) for each team
Timer or stopwatch

Game Preparation

Cut several pieces of paper into small pieces, large enough to have a name written upon them. You want to have enough slips of paper for each youth to have 10 pieces.
Each youth writes down the names of 10 people on the 10 pieces of paper. These names must be famous personalities (real or fictional) as well as names of those in the youth group, their parents and other significant adults everyone knows.
Collect all the names into a container for each team and then distribute each container to a different team of youth than the one that wrote the names it contains.

Game Play
This icebreaker game for youth is play in rounds.

Round One

must describe that person to the other members of his/her team.
Every time a name is guessed correctly, another name is retrieved from the container.
Each team has one minute to guess as many names as possible.
If the youth get stuck on a name, they can set the name aside and draw a new name.
When the time runs out, add up the total number of names guessed and subtract those passed and set aside to calculate a score for each team.

Round Two

Put all the names back into the container.
This round is similar to Round One but a youth can only use one word to describe the person to his/her group. Some of the names will have already been guessed so it is easier then it seems.
Once again, calculate the score for each team

Round Three

This round of the game is played similar to the first two rounds, but this time, the youth must ACT out the name written on the paper without making any sounds.

Add up the scores from all three rounds to determine an overall winner.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Icebreakers

Books of the Bible

March 1, 2009 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
In this icebreaker puzzle, youth will discover 16 books of the bible in a paragraph of text.

Materials
Print out of the text

What to do
Give the text to the students as individuals and groups before a session and reward the person who finds all 16 books first.

Here’s the text
In the following story, there are the names of 16 books of the Bible hidden. Can you find them all?

I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for facts and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others it was real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea, so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the bible in this story. (One preacher found 15 books in 20 minutes but it took him three weeks to find the 16th.)

Here’s the answers

In the following story, there are the names of 16 books of the Bible hidden. Can you find them all?

I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for facts and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others it was real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea, so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the bible in this story. (One preacher found 15 books in 20 minutes but it took him three weeks to find the 16th.)

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Icebreakers

Olympic Icebreakers: Olympic Sport Pantomimes

August 14, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Use these Olympic Sports related Icebreakers for a sports related or Olympics related meeting.

Use this list of sports as a resource for the next few icebreakers:

Baseball
Basketball
Bobsledding
Bowling
Boxing
Canoeing
Chess
Cross-country Skiing
Darts
Diving
Downhill
Skiing
Fencing
Football
Fencing
Figure skating
Golf
Gymnastics
Horseshoes
Ice Hockey
Kayaking
Luge
Ping-pong
Rappelling
River Rafting
Rock Climbing
Horseshoes
Rugby
Ski Jump
Slalom
Soccer
Speed skating
Swimming
Synchronised swimming
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Water polo
Wrestling

Olympic Icebreaker Ideas

Give youth different sports to pantomime. Let the rest of the youth guess the sports.
Give youth different items of equipment for various sports to pantomime. Let the rest of the youth guess the items.
Tell us about your most embarrassing moment while participating in a sport.
Tell us about your greatest triumph while participating in a sport.

Take it to the next level

Ask you to name a sports figure they admire and to explain why.
What characteristics of athletes are also admirable in Christians?
In what ways is the Christian life like various sports?

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Icebreakers

Olympic Icebreaker: Famous Olympic Athletes

August 13, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
This icebreaker is appropriate during the Olympics or for special sports events.

Preparation
On small slips of paper write down the names of numerous athletes. (Best if they are the more prominent athletes from the Olympic Games or the more famous athletes from a variety of sports.)

What to do

Tape the names of Olympic athletes to the back of students as they arrive.
The task of the students is to discover which Olympic athlete’s name is pinned on their backs by asking only “yes” or “no” questions.
This continues until everyone arrives and has learned the name of the famous Olympic athlete on his/her back.
Then go around the group and ask each youth their name, favorite Olympic sport, and other information you might like to know.

Famous Olympic Athletes

Here’s a few well known Olympic athletes to get you started

Bruce Jenner – Track and Field
Carl Lewis – Track and Field
Dorothy Hamill – Figure Skating
Edwin Moses – Track and Field
Eric Heiden – Speed Skating
Ian Thorpe – Swimming
Jesse Owens – Track and Field
Jim Thorpe – Track and Field
Lance Armstrong – Cycling
Mark Spitz – Swimming
Mary Lou Retton – Gymnastics
Michael Phelps – Swimming
Muhammed Ali – Boxing
Nadia Comaneci – Gymnastics
Usain Bolt – Track and Field

Keen to use some of the most promising Athlete from the 2012 Olympic Games in London?
Here’s a list of the top 2012 Olympic Athletes to Watch

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Icebreakers

Olympic Icebreakers: Spiritual Sports Similies

August 12, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Youth will compare thier spiritual life to an Olympic sport.

What to do
Ask each youth what sport best describes his/her spiritual life and why.
“My spiritual life is like ____________ because __________________.”

A list of sports is included below if the youth need help thinking of some.

Baseball
Basketball
Bobsledding
Bowling
Boxing
Canoeing
Chess
Cross-country Skiing
Darts
Diving
Downhill
Skiing
Fencing
Football
Fencing
Figure skating
Golf
Gymnastics
Horseshoes
Ice Hockey
Kayaking
Luge
Ping-pong
Rappelling
River Rafting
Rock Climbing
Horseshoes
Rugby
Ski Jump
Slalom
Soccer
Speed skating
Swimming
Synchronised swimming
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Water polo
Wrestling

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Icebreakers

Evaluating Icebreakers

August 3, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Were the directions clearly understood by the participants? Were they loud enough?
Was the leader facing the entire group? Did the leader make good eye-contact with everyone?
Was the leader enthusiastic? Did the leader pick up on humorous situations?
Was everyone involved? Were there periods of waiting?
Were the materials prepared and ready-to-go? Was there minimal delay in getting things ready for the icebreaker?
How did the group respond? Did it engage the participants? Did they enjoy the activity? Were they bored? Did the icebreaker get out of control?
Evaluate the length of the icebreaker. Was it too long? Too short? Did it leave people wanting for more?
What was the atmosphere after the icebreaker? Did it lead into the next activity or talk?
9. How could the icebreaker, or the leadership of the icebreaker, have been improved?
Were safety measures maintained?

Looking for some effective icebreakers that smoothly transition into lessons on values, character, and other youth related issues? Find out More!

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Game Ideas, Icebreakers

Valentine’s Day Forward and Backward

February 12, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
In this Icebreaker game for your Valentine’s Day Party, youth will move forward or backwards when they meet the Valentine’s day criteria that is called out.

Resources

List of actions related to valentine’s Day or Dating
Chairs in a circle, one chair per person.

Preparation

Arrange the chairs in a circle, facing inward to the center of the circle.
Prepare the list of items

What to do

Sit everyone in a chair and then read the instructions for participants to follow. Instructions should be related to Valentine’s Day or dating.
If someone is in the chair you move to, just sit on his or her lap. You can stack people three or four high.
The first youth to make it all the way around the circle wins. Have youth to take note of the chair they start in before you begin calling out situations.

Sample Instructions

“If you are wearing something red, move forward one chair”
“If you are wearing black, move back three chairs”
“If you have a cute stuffed animal at home, move forward one chair.”
“If you are not dating anyone right now, move back one chair.”
“If you like chocolates, move forward one chair.”
“If your birthday is in the month of February, move forward one chair.”
“If you didn’t buy your sweetheart something for valentine’s Day, move back Two chairs.”
“If you have said “I love you” to someone today, move forward two chairs.”
“If your sweetheart has a habit that irritates you, move back one chair.”
“If you have ever sang a serenade to your sweetheart, move forward 1 chair.”
“If you have ever gone out on a date with a best friend’s boyfriend/ girlfriend move back 2 chairs.”
“If you have ever made your own home-made Valentine’s Day card move forward one chair.”
“If you kissed on a first date, move back one chair.”
“If you have ever bought or received a red rose on Valentine’s
“Day, move forward one chair.”
“If you have never enjoyed a candlelight dinner on Valentine’s Day please move one chair backward.”
“If you have ever shared a drink using two straws in the same glass move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever forgotten to celebrate Valentine’s Day move back one chair.”
“If you have a special love song that you share as a couple move forward 1 chair.”
“If you have ever been embarrassed by your date on Valentine’s day, move backward one chair.”
“If you have ever received roses or a gift from a secret admirer move forward one chair.”
“If your car broke down on a date, move back 1 chair.”
“If you have ever called your sweetheart just to hear his/her voice move forward two chairs.”
“If you have ever called your boyfriend or girlfriend by the wrong name move backward 2 chairs.”
“If You have ever sent flowers to someone anonymously move forward 1 chair.”
“If you have ever gone to McDonald’s on a date move backward one chair.”
“If you have ever left your sweetheart a message of love on an answering machine move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever sent a Valentine without signing it with your name move backward one chair.”
“If you have ever Sent you sweetheart a mushy SMS message move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever bought your sweetheart an item of clothing that was too small or too large move back one chair.”
“If you initiated the very first kiss with your sweetheart move forward one chair.”
“If you blush when kissed move backward one chair.”
“If you have never been on a romantic date then move forward two chairs.”
“If you have held hands with your sweetheart in a public place move back one chair.”
“If you like to do things for someone to show you love them move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever received a call from an ex boyfriend / girlfriend while out on a date with your new sweetheart move back two chairs.”
“If you have ever been chaperoned on a date before move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever dated someone on the rebound move back one chair.”
“If you tend to be the decision maker in the relationship move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever refused to answer the phone after an argument with your sweetheart, move back one chair.”
“If you think having a steady is overrated, move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever walked out on a date move back one chair.”
“If you have ever been offended by the body odor of your sweetheart, move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever gone to a party with a date, but left with someone else move back one chair.”
“If you like to give gifts to show someone you love them move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever made an embarrassing body noise while on a date, move back one chair.”
“If you have ever been recognized by a friend while on a date, move forward one chair.”
“If you have not brushed your teeth today, move back one chair.”
“If you wore something special on Valentine’s day move forward one chair.”
“If you have ever eaten at a lousy restaurant on Valentine’s day move back one chair.”
“If a friend introduced you or set you up with your sweetheart, move forward one chair.”
“If you tend to be passive in relationships move back one chair.”
“If you are still friends with someone you used to date move forward two chairs.”
“If you have a difficult time expressing love move back one chair.
ADD your own…

Take It to the Next Level

Do you ever feel that some of your dating relationships are like this game – sometimes you move forward and sometimes you find yourself moving backwards?
As you think back over the past year, do you think you have moved forward in your relationships or backwards?
How do you measure progress in your relationships?
Do you ever feel you are going in circles in your relationships? Why?
What are some things that move relationships forward?
What are some of the things that create setbacks in relationships?
What are some Biblical guidelines for relationship?

Action Point

Take a few moments to commit your self to a couple plans of action (things to avoid or things to do) in order to improve the significant relationships in your life!

Click here to get 52 of my best Icebreakers in the digital eBook: Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the Next Level. You can download it immediately and each icebreaker has teaching ideas so that you can use them as lessons or introductions to lessons.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Icebreakers

Valentine’s Day True or False

February 10, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Can you separate the Valentine’s Day related facts from the fiction?

Resources
Valentine Heart shaped pieces of paper or Index cards and pens (or pencils)

Preparation
None

What to Do

Let everyone write four statements about themselves on the heart related to Valentine’s Day. (They can be in any order, but three must be true, and one must be false.) People should be encouraged to make the false statement sound plausible to make it more fun. (The clever ones will use something true about someone else in the group in order to mislead the group about the author’s identity.)
In this Valentine’s Day variation of a classic icebreaker, the statements should relate to Valentine’s Day or romance / love:
- Write down four things you have received or given your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day.
- Write down your four favorite love songs.
- Write down four things you find romantic.
- What happened on your four most memorable dates?
The Valentine’s Day Hearts are then distributed randomly to the participants.
As each person receives a heart, he or she will read the statements out to the group that are written on it. The group tries to decide which statement is false and the identity of the person who wrote it.
Once the group guesses the correct person, the next person reads his or her heart until all the hearts are completed.

Take It to the Next Level

What are some of the things our hearts reveal about us?
What are some of the things the Bible teaches is about our hearts?
Is honesty important in relationships?
What are some of the potential consequences of dishonesty?
What are some of the other essentials for a good relationship?
What are some of the Biblical guidelines for relationships?
How can we restore relationships that have been damaged by dishonesty?

Action Point

Make a point to be truthful in your relationships and to do those things that will make them last!

This Valentine’s Day Icebreaker is adapted from “True or False” in the digital eBook: Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the Next Level. Click here to get 52 of my best Icebreakers. Each has teaching ideas so that you can use them as lessons or introductions to lessons.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Icebreakers

Valentine’s Day Boggle

January 28, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day Game Description
In this Valentine’s Day Game, party participants are to create as many words as possible before the timer runs out using only the letters in the word “Valentine”

Valentine’s Day Game Resources

Word List (possibly a dictionary as well)
Timer
Paper and pencil/ pen for each person

Valentine’s Day Game Preparation
None

What to Do

Participants are to create as many words as possible using only the letters in the word “Valentine”
You may wish to allow only those words for which the participants can give the definition.

Word List
ae, ai, ail, ain, ait, al, ale, alee, alevin, alien, aline, alit, alive, alt, alvine, an, ane, anele, anent, ani, anil, anile, ant, ante, anti, anvil, at, ate, ave, eat, eave, eel, el, elain, elan, elate, elative, elint, elite, en, enate, enliven, entail, entia, et, eta, etna, eve, even, event, evil, evite, ilea, in, inane, inlet, inn, innate, invent, it, la, lain, lane, lat, late, lateen, laten, lati, lav, lave, lea, lean, lean, leant, leave, leaven, lee, leet, lei, lenient, lenite, lent, lenten, let, lev, levant, levin, li, liane, lie, lien, lieve, lin, line, lineate, linen, linn, linnet, lint, lit, lite, live, liven, na, nae, nail, naive, naivete, nan, native, nave, navel, ne, neat, neat, neaten, nee, nene, net, neve, nieve, nil, nine, nit, nite, nival, ta, tae, tael, tail, tain, tale, tali, tan, tav, tea, teal, tee, teel, teen, tel, tela, tele, ten, tenail, tenia, ti, tie, til, tile, tin, tine, tinea, vail, vain, vale, valet, valine, van, vane, vat, veal, vee, veena, veil, vein, veinal, veinlet, vela, velate, vena, venal, venetian, venial, venin, venine, vent, ventail, vet, via, vial, vie, vile, vina, vinal, vine, vineal, vita, vital

Icebreaker Game Variation

Pin a large card bearing a letter from one of the above words to each person’s sleeve
Give each person a small card and a pencil.
The goal is for people with the various letters to get together and spell words.
Once they have spelled a word, they must write the word on their cards and have both people sign it.
They can then separate and look for new words.
Award a prize to the person with the longest list of words.
And you might award a special prize to the members involved in making the longest word.

NOTE: If your group size is bigger than the length of the word, double up on some of the letters, but realize that there may be additional words possible that are not in the list above.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Discussion Questions, Icebreakers

Favorite?

November 19, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

These discussion questions make great icebreakers to allow people to get to know each other a little better.

DO YOU Have other discussion questions using the word ‘favorite”? Please add at least ONE as a comment so we can increase this list together!

Do you have a favorite painting or drawing? What makes it special to you?
Growing up, what was your favorite comic strip?
Growing up, what was your favorite fairy tale or children’s story?
What are your favorite television shows? How frequently do you watch them?
What is one of your favorite quotes? Why is it special to you?
What is your all-time favorite movie, and how many times have you seen it?
What is your favorite bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan?
What is your favorite poem or saying? Why is it your favorite?
What is your favorite style of music?
What was your favorite subject in school? Why?
What’s one of your favorite birthday memories?
What’s one of your favorite questions to ask? What’s your favorite question to answer?
What’s one of your least favorite things to do? Why?
What’s the name of your favorite magazine? What do you like most about it?
What’s your all-time favorite band?
What’s your all-time favorite meal, and how often do you enjoy it?
What’s your favorite aroma or fragrance?
What’s your favorite beverage?
What’s your favorite Bible verse and why?
What’s your favorite board game? Do you usually win?
What’s your favorite color? Why?
What’s your favorite fast-food restaurant and how often do you go there?
What’s your favorite genre of literature?
What’s your favorite kind of candy?
What’s your favorite picnic memory?
What’s your favorite place to go when you want to be alone? Why?
What’s your favorite room in your home? Why?
What’s your favorite spectator sport, and how often do you watch it?
What’s your favorite subject to discuss? Why?
Where’s your favorite place to take out-of-town guests?
Who was your favorite teacher growing up, and what did you like most about him or her?
Who’s your favorite comedian?
Who’s your favorite talk show host?

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Icebreakers

Eye Contact

September 26, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

This icebreaker game is similar to Connected but the connections are visual ones as participants make eye contact with one another. You can use this icebreaker to discuss communication, attention, community, and connections or relationships. It can also be used for team building and relationship building in training events.

Description
Sitting or standing in a circle, youth look across the circle at someone and then when mutual eye contact has been made, they switch places while maintaining eye contact the entire time.

Resources
None

Preparation
None

What to Do

Sit the group in chairs in a circle, or stand in a circle with everyone facing inward toward the center of the circle.
Each person must announce his or her name and one characteristics about himself/herself. You could also have everyone answer the same common question like “What is your favorite movie?”
Participants then look across the circle to another participant. At any time two persons make mutual eye contact, they must announce the name of the other person and begin moving to switch places. They must maintain eye contact the entire time until they have switched. They must not rush, but move slowly and purposefully.
Once they have switched they must again look around the circle until they make mutual eye contact with another person. They cannot exchange places with the same person twice in a row.
Many pairs can exchange at the same time.

Variations

Play the game silently
Have participants exchange greetings in the middle of the circle.
As the game continues, periodically call out various emotions they people should try to express through their eyes only (care, love, anger, disappointment, honesty, encouragement, forgiveness, trust, hope, joy, etc).

Taking it to the Next Level

Did anyone feel uncomfortable maintaining eye contact the entire time? Why?
How did you feel to have someone’s attention focused completely on you? Why?
Ok, admit it. Who broke eye contact during the exchange? How did it affect the exchange?
Is eye contact important in relationships? Why or why not?
What functions does eye contact have in relationships?
What feelings did you experience in this game? Why?
Did you have different feelings with different people? Why?
Is there anyone you did not make eye contact with? Why? Look at that person now. Are your feelings any different than from those people you made eye contact with?
It has been said that the eyes are a window into the soul. What do you think this means?
What things do a person’s eyes reveal? How accurate are they?
If you were to look into Christ’s eyes what do you think you would see?
If Christ were to look you straight in the eyes, how would you feel? What do you think he might see?

Teacher’s Note: This is a fun way of looking at Bible Stories that involve encounters between two people. Read the story. At crucial points throughout the story, stop the narrative and then ask: “What feelings might you see reflected in each of the characters eyes at this point in the story?” For example, in the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Do you think the woman was trying to avoid eye contact? When Jesus asked her for a drink, what might you see reflected in her eyes? As she looked back at Christ, what do you think she might have seen reflected in his eyes? Then continue the story. Later, when he tells her he has living water from which she will never thirst again, stop the story and ask the same questions. This can be applied to numerous narratives and events in the Bible and may provide a fresh perspective on a well known story.

Conclusion
Our eyes reveal a lot about us. Look a person in the eyes and you can learn a lot about them. As you seek to build meaningful relationships with others, take some time to look into their eyes. Try to see the world through their eyes. Try to see them through Christ’s eyes! When you do, you will get a little more insight into God’s love and place for you in this world.

Action Point

Try to see others through the eyes of Christ?
Take a little time, away from the hustle and bustle of life, and spend some focused time with someone this week in eye to eye communication. By your attention let them know you care!

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Steering Your Icebreaker: Successful Ice-Breakers

September 8, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Using icebreakers successfully is similar to being able to tell a good story: you need to know your audience, delivery is everything, and good stories build up intensity as they go along. And props never hurt if you have them.

1. Make Course Corrections (Be Flexible)

As with most games, you can change the rules to suit the group. Icebreakers may start off well but may degrade into a stale activity quicker than we anticipate. Always be ready to change your routine and learn a new game to become enthusiastic about. Generally, with youth you can move pretty quickly into highly active, or silly games that get everyone laughing. For “too-cool” teens or “very serious” adults, you need to proceed very slowly. You can always tell how things are going by the level of conversation and laughter.

2. Iceberg Ahead! (Obstacles to Avoid)

Anything that causes embarrassment to individuals: “my most embarrassing moment” speeches might be entertaining for the instructor, but they don’t do anything to foster a conversation.

Also watch out for icebreakers that involve:

uncomfortable or forced communication
fun and games that detract from course content
time consuming activities
competition
assignments that highlight differences
cultural bias
activities in which success requires prior knowledge or experience

3. Let’s Try a New Heading (Variation)

Use fun props. Buy rubber chickens, silly rubber faces, fun stuffed animals, or other objects that create laughter or interest by themselves. Whenever possible, use these props in place of tennis balls, or whatever standard objects you might use. If you don’t have any, don’t worry, the activities are fun enough, fun props are just a bonus! You don’t always have to use the same icebreaker the same way. Feel free to experiment with a different variation or add a new twist to an old, familiar icebreaker to spice things up a bit.

4. Put Your Backs Into It! (Enthusiasm)

Participate enthusiastically. The whole point of name games and icebreakers is to help participants break down barriers, learn something about the others in the group, and most of all… have fun.

Encourage everyone to participate, but it is not advisable to force someone to participate and risk bringing the whole group down. An extremely introverted person may not immediately be comfortable participating in icebreakers, along with youth with below average physical abilities. You will find that when given the option to decide on their own, most people will choose to participate.

Be sure to play an active role in the game, as it is important that the participants learn something about you as well. This is equally true for youth or corporate groups, too. Always encourage your participants to play full out, 200% – that includes you! Be a good example of enthusiasm.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Ice Breakers : Knowing the Ice

September 7, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

When planning ice breakers, think about the “ice” that needs to be broken.

If you are bringing together liked-minded people, the “ice” may simply reflect the fact that people have not yet met.
If you are bringing together people of different grades and levels in your organization for an open discussion, the “ice” may come from the difference in status between participants.
If you are bringing together people of different backgrounds, cultures and outlooks for work within your community, then the “ice” may come from people’s perceptions of each other.

You’ll need to handle these differences with sensitivity. Only focus on what’s important to your event. Remember, you want to break some ice for your event, not uncover the whole iceberg! And as you move on to design and facilitate the event, it’s always best to focus on similarities (rather than differences), such as a shared interest in the event’s outcome.

A simple way to figure out what kind of “ice” you’re facing is to consider the following factors:

1. Size of the Crew

Some icebreakers work best in large groups of 20 or more, some are better for small groups of 5 or so. If you have too many people for the icebreaker, split into smaller groups of the right size and run the icebreakers concurrently.
Another often overlooked consideration is the size of the premises you will be conducting your activities. It’s always advisable to have twice as much free room as participants if there is to be any running or moving around.

2. Knowing Your Crew (Participants)

One obvious point to consider is the audience. You will want to consider:
A) Age (which affects the physical energy level and mental ability)
B) Backgrounds (Familiarity between participants, culture, personality types, etc.)

3. Plotting Your Course (Purpose)

The tone for the remainder of the event is set by the icebreaker. What are you doing after the ice breaker?

Are you brainstorming new ideas?
Discussing year end results?
Kicking off a new project?
Teaching an important lesson?
Team building?

Match the mood of the ice breaker to the mood for the meeting. The participants may immediately come to a conclusion about how the rest of the session will go based on the tone of the opening ice breaker.

Ask yourself: Is the icebreaker there to:

ease introductions
increase understanding of others
improve communication
build group cohesion
build trust
get mental juices flowing
just be downright silly
increase the energy level of the group in the MIDDLE of a meeting

In any case, the group members should be able to take something away from the activity that will be beneficial to the remainder of the session.

4. Preparing for the Journey (Preparation)

Try out your explanation of how to play in advance and carefully choose your words and instructions.
Run through it with other leaders and facilitators in advance.
Take note of any materials you might need before leading the icebreaker.
Consider the safety of participants. (Dangerous activities, furniture, etc)

5. ETA (Time)

Be realistic about the time you have for the meeting ice breaker and stick to it.

Choose a short punchy icebreaker to get energy levels up.
Choose longer icebreakers when more disclosure is desired.
Remember icebreakers always take a bit longer than we think they will take.

6. Full Speed Ahead (Take It to the Next Level)

An important part of choosing an icebreaker is deciding whether or not a serious message will be incorporated into the activity. One must remember that regardless of whether or not learning is a focus of the activity, icebreakers inherently contain hidden messages.

We always prefer to use icebreakers that contain significant learning points because they can create powerful teaching opportunities without appearing like we are lecturing the students.

7. Disembarking (Debrief)

When finished with an icebreaker, it is important to take a few minutes to help the participants find meaning in the activity. If the time is not taken to bring it all together, the participants may feel as if they were simply playing a game. Discuss the purpose of the activity, what was learned from it, and how it can be related to their lives. Be sure to make the discussion interactive. The participants will take more away from the debriefing if they are a part of it, rather than being lectured to.

A standard debrief that we use following our icebreakers or activities has this basic structure:

“What happened?”
What actually happened in the activity? What did you do?
“Why?”
What factors limited your success? What factors contributed to your success?
“What changed?”
What did you do it differently? What changes did you make in your strategy? What made it more successful the second time around?
“So what?”
How does this apply to us? What lessons can we learn from this?
“Now what?”
What is one thing you would change in your life because of this? What would you do differently as a result of this activity?

Be sure to give participants the opportunity to ask questions throughout the activity. Nothing promotes learning like dialog. We encourage participants to discuss among themselves what they have learned and what the activity means to them. You may be surprised at the level of depth and insight your participants will have!

A well chosen icebreaker is worth it’s weight in… ice!
Choose your icebreakers wisely and you can impact many lives.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Wacko

August 22, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Introduction
This Icebreaker is an excuse to have a little violence and learn the names of others in the group. There’s no application to it, but it is fun none-the-less.

Game Description
Sitting in a circle, names are called and the person in the center of the circle tries to “whack” them with a rolled up newspaper before they can call another name.

Game Materials
newspaper, tape

Game Preparation
Roll up the newspaper into a roll. The roll can be as hard or as soft as you like, but remember that people are gonna get “whacked” with it!

Game Play

1. Sit everyone in a circle
2. Choose one person to be “it” in the center of the circle. The person in the center of the circle gets the rolled up newspaper. Their objective is for the person in the middle to hit the person in the surrounding circle whose name has been called, before that person can call another name. (All hits must be on the legs only!)
3. There are three rules regarding the names:
  - You cannot call the same person who called you
  - You cannot call the name of the person in the center of the circle, and
  - the name of the person you call must be present in the circle.
4. Begin with introductions: Each person in the circle gives their name and possibly one interesting fact about themselves. You can give them a question to answer like “What is your favorite ice-cream?” or questions related to a lesson you plan to do.
5. After everyone has introduced themselves, explain the rules.
6. Then call out the name of a person… i.e. “Ken”. Ken must call the name of another person in the circle BEFORE the person in the middle “Whacks” him with the newspaper.
7. If the person called another name, that person must then call a name, continuing until someone gets “whacked” before they call a name or until someone breaks one of the rules or makes a mistake.
8. When someone is “whacked” or breaks a rule / makes a mistake they must move to the center of the circle.
9. The person who just came out of the circle begins the next round by calling a name.
10. We usually play it so that if you end up in the center of the circle three times, you must perform some kind of “forfeit”such as sing a song, do a dance, tell a joke, etc.
11. Continue until your time limit has been reached or the game starts to drag a little. Its always better to leave them wanting for more!

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Creative Teaching Ideas, Icebreakers

Did Jesus Use Icebreakers?

August 16, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

How can you “break the ice” with a youth who is a total stranger and guide the discussion from an awkward silence into a meaningful conversation?

Jesus often got people talking with his first question and then was able to guide the discussion so that it developed into a meaningful conversation about a life-changing topic!

He met people where they were–whether they were drawing water, fishing, collecting taxes, watching him from a treetop, or worshipping God in the Temple in Jerusalem.

But Jesus was never content to leave them where they were.
His objective was always a changed life!

Remember the Woman at the well…
A simple request for a drink led to a meaningful discussion on “living water” that transformed a village.

Zacheus was simply hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus but instead got to talk to him at his own dinner table in a conversation that not only changed his life, but reached out to the lives of many sinners!

Christ’s first words to Nicodemus, a religious scholar, were a conundrum, a puzzle that left him searching.
And that search seemingly reached its conclusion when Nicodemus took a bold step of faith, along with Joseph of Arimathea, and asked for the body of Christ after the Crucifixion.

The gospels are filled with the stories
of people who encountered Christ and then
their personal stories would be forever changed!

In encounter after encounter… Jesus not only broke the ice, but he left a lasting impact on the lives of the people he spoke with!

Sometimes Jesus used questions to break the ice. But on other occasions he use everyday objects, shared experiences, stories, and even crises to break the ice and open up the way to life changing spiritual discussions.

He asked people to share their opinions,
challenged their assumptions,
and asked them to find solutions.

He constantly invited others to join him in experiences
and used those common experiences
to bring out life changing spiritual truths.

Fresh experiences often served as living parables.

It’s easy to relate to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences when you have just experienced them.
Then it is only a short little jump to deeper truths and understanding.

The “here and now” becomes a springboard
to the distant future,
to choices and consequences.
A small controlled simulation
becomes a safe crucible
to test the consequences of real life decisions.

In the same way today, games, challenges, and contrived situations can generate discussions and expose the same deep set beliefs, attitudes, and values as real life situations and events.

How you play the game
is a reflection of who you are
and how you deal with life!

But in all things Jesus always had a purpose.
He broke the ice,
and later his own body would be broken,
so that broken lives could be mended.

Learn how you also can “break the ice”
and make a lasting impact in the lives of youth!

I’ve specially prepared 52 of my best icebreakers of all time!
(That’s a full year of icebreakers – one a week!)

And like Christ’s encounters with strangers they are icebreakers with a purpose.

Each one includes debriefs and meaningful discussion questions that engage youths to deal with real life issues.

Check out my new book: “Icebreaker’s Ahead: Take It to the Next Level”

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

Icebreakers

What is an Icebreaker?

August 13, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

The term “icebreaker” comes from the phrase “to break the ice”, which in turn comes from special ships called “icebreakers” that are designed to break up ice in the arctic regions. For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it needs to have the ability to propel itself onto the ice, break it, and successfully clear the frozen debris from its path to make it easier for other ships to travel.

In the same way, icebreakers are structured activities that are designed to relax learners, introduce them to each other, encourage conversation, energize them in what is normally an unduly formal atmosphere or situation, make them feel more comfortable, and lead them into a lesson or topic of discussion.

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Get Lost

May 24, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
This game provides an opportunity to mix the group up and for them to share information about themselves in a non-threatening way while having fun. In this elimination game, people are grouped into groups of three and then one person in every group which meets a certain characteristic is asked to “Get Lost.” Everyone who had to leave must quickly find another group and form groups of three again. The last group to form is eliminated.

Resources
None

Preparation
Prepare a list of criteria. You can choose from the list below or create your own:
• Name closest to letter “A”
• Name closest to letter “Z”
• Neither the youngest nor the oldest in a group.
• Oldest
• Youngest
• Has the most colorful socks
• Has the oldest living grandparent
• Has the most cousins
• Has the least number of pets
• Has the most pets
• Has the largest pet.
• Is the tallest
• Is the shortest
• Has the longest hair
• Has the shortest hair
• Has the shortest fingernails
• Has the biggest foot.
• Has the smallest foot.
• Has the longest finger
• Has the darkest skin tone.
• Has the smallest nose
• Lives farthest from this meeting place
• Lives on the highest floor
• Born the Farthest away
• Longest last name
• Biggest shoe size
• Lives the closest to this place
• has been on the most vacations in the past year
• Has the most siblings
• Birthday closest to today
• Shortest Person
• Youngest Baby brother/ sister
• Has the most traffic tickets
• Has been a member of this group for the longest time
• Newest member of this group
• Has been to the most foreign countries
• Longest fingernail
• Spent the most money today
• Has played on the most sports teams
• Can do the most one-armed push-ups
• Tallest Person
• Longest eyelashes
• Smallest belt
• Highest numbered Street Address
• Biggest Purse / or wallet
• Highest Serial Number on currency
• Most jewelry
• Least jewelry
• Longest earrings
• Wearing the most blue
• Oldest
• Neatest handwriting
• Messiest handwriting
• Loudest
• Most quiet
• Has darkest color notebook
• Most rings
• Biggest hands
• Has most books
• Whistles the loudest
• Longest Paper Airplane Throw

What to Do

Form groups of 3-7 people. It’s ok if groups are not equal as long as there is a minimum of three in each group and they are balanced as closely as possible.
Based upon different criteria, at a given signal, one person in each group will be told to “get lost”
Ask them to introduce themselves to each person in the group and then determine which person in their group meets the specified characteristic.
Allow time for the groups to introduce themselves and determine who best fits the given criteria. You might want to ask the groups to raise their hands when they have identified the person so that you know when everyone is ready.
Explain to the groups that on your signal the identified person must move to another group. You will say “One, Two Three!!!” and then all the groups will say “Get Lost!!”
Then every group must get ONE new member to replace the one they lost.
The last group to reform is eliminated.
Continue to play with new criteria for getting lost until only group survives. Then you tell this trio that for being so competitive that they must all “Get Lost!”

Variation
Give them an additional question to share while introducing themselves such as a favorite ice-cream, a discussion thought, etc.

Taking It to the Next Level
In each round of this game there were a lot of people who were rejected. Among them some were even eliminated. Whenever people form groups this will always be the case. There will also be those group members that are very popular and those that no one seems to want. There will always be selection and rejection when groups are formed. It’s part of life. It’s of great benefit to be around like minded people. It’s good to be surrounded by people that inspire you and challenge you to grow and become your best. Yet it is also good to have people who are different, people with a different perspective, people with skills and gifts you don’t possess. The question is what is the best way to handle the selection process?

Have you even seen someone get rejected from a group? On what basis were they rejected?
What are some of the reasons that people get rejected from a group?
Have you ever been told to “get lost”? Been rejected from a group?
Why? What was the basis for your rejection?
How did it make you feel? Did it seem fair? How did you respond?
Is it wrong to want to choose your friends? Why or why not?
Does bad company always corrupt good character?
If everyone were exactly like you, what would the world be like? Would there be anything missing in the world?
Are there ever legitimate reasons to be selective about a group? When? If so, how can you be selective yet also seek the best for everyone?
How can you find a balance of putting together the best group for a situation, task, or specific purpose, yet also making sure that no one is rejected? Can it be done? How should it be done?

Action Points

What is one way that you can become more accepting of others?
Identify several specific people that you need around you to help you to achieve your goals and dreams in life? What can you offer to them in return? Commit yourself to be that kind of person.
Find someone in the group whom you don’t know very well, but whom you would like to know and make an effort to reach out to them. You never know what undiscovered gifts you might find in others.
What is one way you can personally bring out the best in others, even when they may not be part of your chosen group?

Possible Applications / jump off points to spiritual discussions
Tell youth they are all “LOST” but in grace you are going to consider them all the victors and give each a prize. Grace is actually an “undeserved gift.” In the book of Romans we discover that all men are “lost” because of our sinful nature. Like some of the characteristics in the game, part of our sinful nature we have no control over… it was passed down as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall. But other aspects of our sinful nature are due to choices we made so that we are without excuse. But through Grace, God pardons our sin so that we are no longer lost, but saved! Instead of getting lost, let’s “get saved” through God’s grace. Let me tell you how…

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Living Statues

May 7, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Have you ever tried to change someone? To shape someone into your idea of a perfect husband, a perfect child, a perfect parent? Do our expectations of others in the group help them or hinder them?

Resources
Camera (Optional)

Preparation
Divide the group into pairs. One person is the “Sculptor” and one is the “Statue”

What to Do

If participants already know each other, then without talking, the “Sculptor” must position the “statue” into a pose that best illustrates how he or she sees the other person or to illustrate that person’s place or contribution to the group. If participants don’t know each other well, have them pose the “statue” into a role or characteristic that is important to the growth and well being of the group.
Have each pair work in front of the entire group. Take photos of each “Statue” when the sculptor is finished.
After the statue has been positioned and a photo has been taken, the “statue” must try to explain to the group, what quality he or she thinks the sculptor is trying to illustrate and explain what they think it means to the rest of the group. Verify with the sculptor what was intended.
If you have time, ask the pair to switch roles and do it again.

Taking it to the Next Level
We usually have specific expectations of other people. We have an image in our mind of how they should act, the things they should do, and the characteristics they possess. We may even try to shape them according to our expectations of what they should be. But most of the time it simply doesn’t work. Very soon they go back to their old self, leaving both frustrated.

Debrief

How did you feel when your partner was trying to change you?
When you were a sculptor, how did you feel when your statue changed position from what you intended?
Did you understand what the person was trying to change in you? Why or why not?
What were some of your frustrations – from both sides of the situation?
How could you have been more effective?

Discussion

What are some of the positions or roles that we have in our group? Make a list.
What should a person in each role or position do? What characteristics should they possess?
Do you ever feel like others are trying to change you? What are some of the things you think other people are trying to change about you? How does this make you feel?
Have you ever tried to change another person? What were the results?
Would the results be different if you modeled for them what you would like them to become? What if you tried to inspire them rather than force them? What is the most effective means by which we can bring about change in another person’s life? Is force sometimes necessary? If so, how do you know how much force to apply? How do you insure that the change is lasting?

Application
Pick one trait that you would like to see in others in the group and choose to model that in YOUR OWN LIFE! The only person you can truly change is yourself.

Possible Scripture References
Paul Instructed Timothy to “be an example to the believers…” – 1 Timothy 4:12. The word for “example” that Paul used comes from the Greek word “tupos” and is used in the sense of being a pattern, an example, for others to follow. Its like a mold that you can press the clay into so that it takes that same shape. Its like a loom that guides the threads for the weaving. Its like the painter’s masterpiece that his students are inspired to imitate. It’s a physical or visual reference so that you know how something should look when it is completed and that can be used to guide progress. Each of these illustrates, with varying degrees of pressure, the importance of a pattern or an example for others to shape their lives. Christ is that same example for all of us. By God’s grace, one day we might all be able to say as Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ!” “Follow me to the extent that I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Photo Freeze Frames!

May 3, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Can you imitate the people in the photo and be the first to complete all the images?

Description
Participants will try to copy the poses of people as contained in photos.

Resources
You need a variety of magazines, shopping catalogs, newspaper clippings, photographs or other images that show groups of people in action. For some great photo opportunities have a few cameras available!

Preparation

Since participants will be posing in the same positions as those in the selected images, you will need images that the participants can imitate. You will also need to consider the size of the teams you will use (i.e. couples, groups of three, four, or more).
Cut out the images and mount them on colored pieces of construction paper or notecards.
The crazier the images, the better. To make it more fun, you can have images from specific sports (basketball, football, baseball, golf, swimming, acrobatics, etc), from various professions (chefs, lumberjacks, firemen, construction workers, etc), or from the arts (orchestra musicians, ballet dancers, circus acts, etc). The possibilities and variations are endless.

What to Do
Divide the group into teams. You can play with this in a variety of ways:

Randomly draw from the images. Have all groups imitate the same image. The first group to get in the same pose as the chosen image gets a point. To make it more difficult, allow only one participant from each group to see the image and then they must go back and form their group into the correct pose.
Randomly deal the images to the groups face down so they cannot see them. Provide a judge for each group that will decide if the group is close enough to the original image before moving on to the next. The first group to complete all the images first wins.
Make it a relay race, where group members must run to the other side of the room, grab an image and then emulate it before the next person from the group can go. The first group to have all persons go wins!
Give each group a camera and make it a photo scavenger hunt. Give each group a collection of photos involving props, positions, and even locations that they must duplicate with the group. The first group to complete the assignment and return with the most correct photos wins!

Variations
Choose images containing props and make those the props available (i.e. baseball bat, ballerina skirt, fireman hat, etc). Teams must also include the props.

Taking it to the Next Level
For good and for bad, we often imitate others in life. Sometimes this can be a positive thing when others have qualities or traits that we wish to develop in our own lives. At other times it can be stifling as we try to fit into roles and expectations instead of being the person we were created to be.

- Are there people in your life you would like to imitate? Name some of your role models.
- Who are the people you aspire to be like?
- Is it important to have role models? Why or why not?
- How do you draw a balance between being the unique person you were created to be and expectations that society expects us to conform to?
- What are some of the qualities you would like to imitate from a role model? How can you develop these qualities?
- If you don’t have a mentor or role model, who is someone that has the qualities, skills or experience to help you in your personal development?
- Is there an area of your life where you have simply been conforming to what is expected rather then expressing your unique self? If you were not concerned about other people’s expectations and what other people think, what is something you would change about yourself?

Application

Choose a trait or quality you want to develop and find a role model or mentor to help you develop that in your own life.
Choose a trait or quality that you have stifled because of expectations that you can begin to develop and learn to express in a positive way.

Possible Scripture References
Psalm 139:14ff, Ephesians 2:10; Deuteronomy 18:9; 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 13:7; 3 John 1:11, 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; 2 Kings 14:3; John 13:15; Philippians 3:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:7; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Peter 2:22-24

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Are your Icebreakers a SNORE?

March 11, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

In group activities, icebreakers are those fun, energizing activities, which allow the participants in the group to get to know each other. They can also be used to introduce a topic, to facilitate teamwork, to get people engaged in a program, to loosen them up to start sharing feelings and ideas, or simply just for fun!

As the name suggests, an icebreaker session is designed to “break the ice” at an event or meeting.

What is the ice that needs to be broken?

They haven’t met each other before
They have never worked with you before as a leader, teacher, or trainer
They have never worked together on a project before
They come from different levels or have a different status in an organization (i.e. management, employees, teacher, students)
The group is not united and you need to break down inhibitions so they can bond together
The participants come from different backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, or have different perceptions of others in the group

Keys to Success

Simple
Non-threatening
Open ended
Relevent
Energizing

Simple
Your icebreaker needs to be simple enough for everyone to understand with a minimum of explanation. The simpler, the better. Many icebreakers fail because the instructions are too complicated and people have trouble understanding what they are supposed to do.
Is it easy for the participants to understand what they are supposed to do?

Non-threatening
Icebreakers should not make people feel uncomfortable. Most people aren’t willing to share their deepest feelings with strangers. That’s too personal. The best icebreakers, get the participants to engage each other at a simple level without revealing their life stories or things that are very personal.
Will the participants be comfortable with participating or contributing? How are the participants likely to react to the activity?

Open ended
There should be a variety of levels of response so that the uniqueness of individuals is allowed to be expressed. Through discovery they will often find that they are not so unique after all – that they do share something in common with others in the group.
Does it open up possibilities and establish a common playing field or does it stifle the group, close off the options, and reinforce the barriers?

Relevent
Choose an icebreaker that meets the needs of the group and contributes toward the purpose of the meeting. That purpose could be as simple as the introduction of strangers to each other or to get the participants to begin thinking about a specific topic.
Will participants feel that it is appropriate and worthwhile?

Energizing
Design your Icebreaker to energize. It should excite the group according to their level of activity. Highly physical activity might be appropriate for some groups while for other groups it may tire them out before you even start! Laughter, fun, creativity, and intellectual stimulation are almost always energizing!
Will they have fun and enjoy the activity?

With these keys, you can avoid the SNOREs of boredom in your next icebreaker!

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Game Ideas, Icebreakers

SuperBowl Teams

January 24, 2007 kensapp 1 Comment

There are 32 professional football teams. Identify the 31 listed below and then name the 32nd.

1. Army insect
2. Seven squared
3. Streakers are
4. A 747
5. Hostile attackers
6. Iron workers
7. Sun tanned bodies
8. I.O.U.
9. Helpers to relocate
10. Toy baby arms
11. Bird trained to kill
12. Cars
13. Six rulers
14. Opposite of ewe
15. Class of boy scouts
16. American gauchos
17. Fundamental rule
18. Credit card users
19. Indian leaders
20. King of beasts
21. Used to be a girl
22. A dollar for corn
23. Ocean going bird
24. Hot epidermis
25. Louis Armstrong’s favorite song
26. Rodeo horses
27. Ski shooters
28. Edgar Allen Poe’s
29. Lone Stars
30. Halloween cats
31. Jupiter’s Moons
32. Name the 32th

Answers
1. Giants, 2. 49’ers, 3. Bears, 4. Jets, 5. Raiders, 6. Steelers, 7. Browns, 8. Bills, 9. Packers, 10. Dolphins, 11. Falcons, 12. Jaguars, 13. Vikings, 14. Rams, 15. Eagles, 16. Cowboys, 17. Cardinals, 18. Chargers, 19. Chiefs, 20. Lions, 21. Bengals, 22. Buccaneers, 23. Seahawks, 24. Redskins, 25. Saints, 26. Broncos, 27. Colts, 28. Ravens, 29. Texans, 30. Panthers, 31. Titans, 32. Patriots

Variation
Use can also use this idea for a crowdbreaker or icebreaker. Simply write the description on one name tag and the corresponding football team name on another. Mix them up and give one to each guest when they arrive at your Superbowl. One everyone arrives have guests find their partners by matching the descriptions with the names of the football teams. Great fun for your next Superbowl Party or for an after game fellowship!

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Our “Destined to Win” series is a great follow up for youth who are new Christians or to emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum / Small Group Study has a sports theme and is great for athletes and works well as a tie in to what’s going on in the NBA and the current Linsanity.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Icebreakers

Connected

January 14, 2007 kensapp 3 Comments

This icebreaker game is often called “spider web” because at the end of the icebreaker, a large web of interconnected strong or yarn will be created. You can use this icebreaker to discuss interdependence on one another, picking up the slack for another person, uplifting others, and teamwork.

Description
Sitting in a circle, youth toss a ball of string to someone else in the circle. The person receiving the string must name a quality, item, or something else related to the topic or keyword.

Resources
Ball of string or yarn

Preparation
None

What to Do
In the classic variation of this icebreaker, students introduce their name and one characteristic about themselves before tossing it to another person in the circle. Here’s how it works:

Sit the group on the floor in a circle with everyone facing inward toward the center of the circle.
Tell everyone your name and one characteristics about yourself. You could also have everyone answer the same a common question like “What is your favorite ice-cream?”
Holding firmly to the end of the string, toss the ball of string to someone in the circle who has not yet received the string.
The person receiving the string gives his/her name and one characteristic.
Then, holding firmly onto the string, he or she tosses the ball on to another person.
The string should be held tightly and above the ground at all times.
Continue until everyone has received the string at least once and told the group their name and one characteristic.

Variations:

Use this icebreaker to discuss how the members all depend on each other.
The first person who receives the string introduces him/herself and role in the organization or group. Then before tossing the ball to another person, tells how he or she is dependent upon that person.

Taking it to the Next Level

Have someone in the group pull the string – What happens?
Have everyone pull the string tight then cut the string in the middle – What happens?
In what ways does this string represent various relationships in the group?

Our relationships are intertwined and connected.
If a single person pulls the string it affects everyone in the group to varying degrees, depending on how closely they are connected.
If one person’s string is cut – the relationship is broken, it affects all.
We need to support each other and not let others down

Action Point
What is one thing you will commit to do in order to support others in the group?

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Icebreakers

Acrostic Icebreaker (Enhanced)

January 13, 2007 kensapp Leave a comment

Youth introduce themselves to each other by creating acrostics of their own names.

Description
Youth use acrostics to introduce themselves. An acrostic is an arrangement of words in which certain letters in each line, when taken in order, spell out a word or motto

Resources
None

Preparation
None

What to Do

Give youth a few examples of acrostics:
GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
DIANE = Dynamic, Independent, Able, No-nonsense, Enthusiastic.
TODD = Tried and true, Oh boy, a boy!, Diamond in the rough, Destined for glory.
Give the youth a few minutes to think of an acrostic for their own name (or nickname) using words or phrases that describe themselves.
Once everyone has thought of something, ask the group members to introduce themselves to each other by using the acrostics

Variations

When creating the acrostic, have kids mix up the order of the letters in their names (Example: Ken = New Education King or NEK). Then have the rest of the group attempt to figure out each name.
Instead of an acrostic, ask youth to create actions for each syllable in their name… (Example: Diane might act as if she will “Die” and hold up her “hand” – Die-Hand = Diane)
If the group can be trusted to be encouraging and already knows each other to some degree, then you can ask the group to create acrostics for the names of each other.

Taking it to the Next Level

Was there any truth in the words and phrases you chose to represent your name in an acrostic?
If you didn’t have to use the letters in your name, what words and phrases might your friends use to describe you?
At the end of your LONG life, what words and phrases would you want people would use to describe you?

Action Point
What are some things you can start doing now to start building the type of reputation that you want?

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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Icebreakers

Action Bingo (Enhanced)

January 10, 2007 kensapp 1 Comment

Can you perform all the action on the list before someone else? It’s wacky and silly fun for everyone. Have a digital camera ready for some really crazy snapshots!

Description
Participants compete to be the first to perform all the actions on the list

Resources
Worksheet and pen or pencil for each participant

Preparation
Preprint the worksheet. Items can be arranged in a normal bingo grid or simply as a list for simplicity.

Some possible items are:

Tell a Joke
Pretend you are taking a bath or shower in the middle of the room!
Select someone else to sing a song with you.
Recite a nursery rhyme.
Imitate a comic strip character until someone guesses its identity.
Behave like a duck for 10 seconds
Say something nice about three different people in the room.
Shake hands with three other people in the room.
Pantomime a two year old child taking a bone away from a German shepherd dog.
Walk from one end of the room to the other with an object between you knees.
Act like an egg being cracked and fried.
Do an impression of a well known celebrity. Identify the person first.
Confer with another person and make a short poem about one of the leaders
Select a few people to aid you in selecting a scene from a popular Bible story and act it out.
Draw a picture of yourself and give it to someone in the room.
Find something in your pocket or purse to give to the person on your left.
Retell the story of Goldilocks and the three bears using the name of four other people in the room as the bears and Goldilocks.

ADD Your Own Crazy Actions!

What to Do

Each person must perform all the actions from a list of actions in front of someone and then those who participated or observed that action must sign beside the item.
Whoever gets all the items signed first, wins!

Taking it to the Next Level

Embarrassed?

What is the craziest thing you have ever done? The most embarrassing?
Have you ever done something silly that you later regretted?
If you could go back and change one thing you did in the past, what would you change? Why?
What is one thing you did that was seen by others as a little silly, but that you wished you could do again?
Has the possibility of being embarrassed ever stopped you from doing something that you should have done or wish you would have done?

One of our greatest fears is the fear of being embarrassed. We don’t want to lose the respect of others or to be the subject of ridicule. But anything worthwhile in life carries with it some risk. You usually have to go out on a limb to get the fruit. Everything worthwhile in life lies outside of your comfort zone. Some of the greatest achievements in history took place because men and women were not afraid to risk embarrassment and ridicule to reach for their dreams! It’s a good thing the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Christopher Columbus and others weren’t afraid of ridicule. Otherwise we wouldn’t have planes, light bulbs, vaccines, and many of the other technological marvels we enjoy today!

..so many centuries after the Creation it is unlikely that anyone could find hitherto unknown lands of any value. – Committee advising Ferdinand and Isabella regarding Columbus’ proposal, 1486
Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy. – Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.
Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction. – Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872
Such startling announcements as these should be deprecated as being unworthy of science and mischievous to to its true progress. – Sir William Siemens, 1880, on Edison’s announcement of a successful light bulb.
Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. – Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
The energy produced by the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine. – Ernst Rutherford, 1933

Application
Don’t be afraid to reach for your dreams! Write down at least one of your dreams and put them up someplace where you will see them everyday!

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Icebreakers

Draw Your Name

September 8, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description
This is a fun icebreaker activity for youth that do not know each other at all. Youth will try to reveal their name to a partner merely by drawing. No other communication is allowed.

Game Materials
Whiteboard, chalkboard, or simply paper

Game Preparation
None

Game Play
Youth attempt to reveal their name to someone they DO NOT KNOW by using only drawings. This can be done one at a time before the group or in pairs. For someone who’s name is sandy this might be as simple as drawing a beach with sand. For someone like Stephanie it may involve several words like step+hand+knee = Stephanie. Others may prove very difficult.

Optional Discussion

Whose name do you think was most difficult to communicate? Why?
Would you prefer to see a photograph or hear the story?
Do you find it easier to express yourself in words or through images?
Have you ever felt handicapped in trying to communicate your faith?
In what ways is this activity similar to sharing your faith?
What concepts in sharing your faith are most difficult to communicate?

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Icebreakers

Famous Friendships

July 26, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Use famous friendships to match couples in this icebreaker/crowdbreaker

Below is a list of famous / semi-famous friendships. While this certainly is not a complete list, it is a start. These can be used in several ways:

Who am i?: Place a tag/ sticker with each name on the back of people as they enter the meeting. Do not tell them that these are pairs of friends. Their task is to mingle around asking “yes” or “no” questions to discover the character on the tag. After a brief time of mingling have each person find his or her “friend” and share a quality they look for in a friend! (The three stooges are included in case you have an odd number of people.) If the group is small you might give out only one of each pair and then once everyone has discovered his/her identity have them name the friend associated with the person on the tag they have been given.
Name the Most Famous Friends: Have youth make a list of famous friends. Award the team or individual youth with the most. Award extra points if Jesus and John are mentioned. Do not count famous couples (i.e. husband and wife).
Double charades: Divide the group into 2 or more teams. Divide each team into pairs and have each pair attempt to get their team to guess the famous friends.

Famous Friends
Tom & Jerry
Jesus & John
Snoopy & Charlie
Abbott & Costello
Laurel & Hardy
Batman & Robin
Lone Ranger & Tonto
David & Jonathan
Fred & Barney
Snoopy & Woodstock
Bill & Ted
Thelma & Louise
Lucy & Ethyl
Chip & Dale
Pinky & Brain
Curly & Larry & Moe
Shaq & Hardoway
Betty & Veronica
Archie & Jughead
Luke Skywalker & Han Solo
Lois & Clark
Barnum & Bailey
Calvin & Hobbes
Laverne & Shirley
Beavis & Butt-head
Asterix & Obelix
Bert & Ernie
Chip & Dale
Frodo Baggins & Sam Gamgee
Gumby & Pokey
Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson
Kirk & Spock
Mutt & Jeff
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Tintin & Snowy
Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn

Be sure to add any famous friendships from recent television shows or youth culture.

Can be used with Active Listening With a Game for after the icebreaker to continue the theme of friendship. Then do a lesson on famous friendships in the Bible.

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Icebreakers

Personal Questions with a Twist

July 24, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Personal Questions:
Q: How do you usually spend your allowance?
Q: For a person you deeply loved, would you be willing to move to a distant country knowing that you would never see your family again?
Q: Would you rather be a member of a world championship sports team or be the champion of an individual sport?
Q: Would you accept $500,000 dollars to leave Singapore and never return?
Q: If you were able to live to 90 and retain either the body or the mind of a 30 year old for the last 60 years which would you choose?
Q: Would you prefer to be extremely successful in scholastics and have a tolerable yet unexciting social life, or have an extremely exciting social life, but only a mediocre scholastic achievement?
Q: If a drug was invented that, in one does, would allow you to live for 1000 years at any physical age you choose, but a side effect was it would make you extremely ugly, would you take it?
Q: For an all expense paid, one week vacation anywhere in the world, would you be willing to kill a butterfly by pulling off its wings?
Q: Would you be willing to kill an innocent person if it permanently ended world hunger?
Q: If God appeared to you in your dreams and told you leave everything behind and travel to the Red Sea and become a fisherman, would you?
Q: Would you be willing to give up EVERYTHING you have now for a pill that would permanently change you so that you only needed one hour of sleep each day to be fully refreshed?

Others can be found in the book “The Book of Questions” by Gregory Stck, PHD.

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Icebreakers

Profiles

June 25, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials

Pieces of white paper. (Almost any white paper will work: butcher paper, Mah Jong paper, posterboard, white tissue paper, even newsprint classified ads).
Charcoal or a dark crayon
Bright light.

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will try to guess the identity of other youth by looking at their profiles.

Preparation
Set up the bright light so that it shines against a wall where you can place the pieces of paper. You will also need someone who can use the crayon or charcoal to follow the edge of the shadow projected onto the paper. Someone with some artistic ability is useful but not necessary.

Icebreaker Activity

As each guest arrives he is taken into a room and asked to stand between a strong light and a smooth wall. Then the person drawing outlines the profile with a crayon or charcoal – outlining only the head.
Be careful to write the name of each subject on the back of the drawing.
When all guests have arrived the profiles are held up to see who can recognise the most people from the profiles.
Show the profiles 1 at a time. Youth can make a numbered list and put the suspected person’s name beside each number.

Optional Debrief

How were you able to recognise the profiles?
What were some of the distinguishing characteristics that helped?

Optional Conclusion
In Scripture we are told that Jesus was the image of the Father. He was fully God and fully man. When you looked at Him you saw God. When He acted, He acted as God the Father. Many did not recognise Him as God because they focused on his physical form. Yet even though his physical form was different there were many things that revealed who he was. We are also to reveal God/ Jesus in our lives. What are some ways we can do this?

Application

As Jesus revealed the father through his words, deeds, actions, heart, etc., do your actions reveal God as your father?
Do your actions, thoughts, words, deeds, and heart reveal Christ in you or your old self more clearly?
What is something you need to put off to more clearly reveal the image of Christ in your life this week?

Scripture

Colossians 1:15 – Jesus was the image of God
Colossians 3:10 – we are to put on the image of Christ
John 14:9-12 – Whoever has seen Christ has seen the Father

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Icebreakers

Everything I ever did

June 2, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will try to guess the key events in another person’s life.

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

Have youth pair up with someone they do not know very well.
In each pair, they will take turns guessing each other’s the most exciting and memorable experiences of another person’s life.
Allow plenty of freedom for creativity, but tell kids that they are to suggest only positive descriptions of experiences.
Partners must then explain to each other which guesses were accurate and which were incorrect.
Allow a few minutes for partners to describe some of the true events in their lives that were not guessed.
After partners have guessed and responded, have them take turns introducing each other to the entire group.

Optional Debrief

What were some of the key events that have shaped your life?
How did these events make you the person you are today?
What decisions have changed your life?

Conclusion
When Jesus met the woman at the well, he spoke to her. In the conversation he mentioned some key aspects of her life so that when she went back to the village, she told them to come meet the man “who told her everything she ever did.” Wow. Jesus just met her and he knew all about her. Jesus spoke to her with compassion and forgiveness. he answered her questions, but most importantly, his purpose was redemption, for her to begin a new life in Christ.

Application
What things might Jesus identify as key events in your life? Are you living in past mistakes or moving forward to a new future with Christ of forgiveness, grace, and redemption. This week, make it a point to tell at least one person about the difference Jesus has made in your life.

Scripture
John 4 – story of the Woman at the well “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.” (4:29)

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Icebreakers

True or False

May 31, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Index cards or pieces of paper and pens or pencils

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will try to separate the fact from the fiction as they share 3 true statements and one false statement about themselves.

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

Let each person write four statements about them selves on the index card. (They can be in any order, but three must be true, and one must be false.) People should be encouraged to make the false statement sound plausible to make it more fun. The false statement can also be something true about someone else in the group in order to mislead the group about the author’s identity.
The cards are then distributed randomly to the participants.
As each person receives a card they read the statements out to the group. The group tries to decide which statement is false and the identity of the person who wrote it.
Once they guess the correct person, the next person reads his or her card until all cards are completed.

Optional Debrief

What is truth?
Is there such a thing as absolute truths or are all truth relative?
How do you determine the truth of something?
How can you validate whether someone’s claims are true or false?

Conclusion
Jesus made many claims about who he was. The Holy Spirit testified to his identity at his baptism. He also asked his disciples who they thought he was. Many people claim different things but not all are telling the truth. While Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, his identity was also verified by those who knew him. His character reflected who he was. Ultimately, he proved he was the Son of God when he rose from the dead on the third day as promised.

Application
If people were to examine your life, would they find enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? What evidence would they find? How can you a more Christlike life this week?

Scripture
Matthew 16:13-18; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20

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Icebreakers

Biggest Smile

May 29, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Cloth measuring tape

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will make the biggest smile they can.

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

As everyone arrives, inform them you are having a “smiling contest”.
Each person puts on the broadest grin he possibly can.
Using a cloth measuring tape, since it will have to be measured around the curve of the mouth, measure each person’s smile, deciding where the smile begins and where it ends.
Give an award for the biggest smile on a guy and a girl

Optional Debrief

Do you smile a lot or rarely?
What are some of the things that make you smile?
Is it possible to smile when things are going badly? Why or why not?
Have you ever forced a smile? Why?
Do we only smile when things are going well or when something is funny?

Conclusion
A smile can mean a lot of things. It can be an encouragement, or a greeting. You can smile when something is funny, or when you are amused. A smile can be a gift. Smiles are contagious.

Application
Give a gift of a smile this week.Try smiling at everyone you meet this week. Some might think you a re a little crazy, but you will find others smiling back. You might even make a new friend. Someone who is depressed may find a little encouragement.

Scripture
1 Thes 5:11

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Icebreakers

Family Tree

May 26, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will refer to each other by famous personalities in their fictional family trees

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

Form pairs of group members not related to each other.
Then have each pair create a fictional family tree that shows how the partners really are long-lost relatives descended from a famous ancestor (real or fictional).
Youth must explain to the entire group about their famous ancestors.
During the rest of the meeting, have kids refer to each other by their famous ancestors’ names. For example, if a pair claims to have descended from Solomon, call them “the children of Solomon” or if from David, the “Mighty Men of David”.

Optional Debrief

Who are some of the people in your family tree?
Who are some of the people you wish you had in your family tree?
Have you ever done a genealogical study on your family tree? What interesting things did you discover?
Why is our family ancestry important?

Conclusion
Sometimes we think our lives are governed by our parents, by our ancestry, or by those in our family tree. But we each make our own choices. Our past does not have to determine our future. In Christ we are a new creation. We have a heavenly Father and we are his children. We can choose to live as children of God or we can choose to allow other things to take his place in our lives. We can choose to live as a child of God or live according to the flesh. Our ancestry is determines not by our blood, but by our relationship with the heavenly Father as children of God.

Application
What are some ways you can live as a child of God this week?
What are some areas of your past you need to overcome and choose to live as a child of God?

Scripture
Galatians 3:29, Ephesians 3:6, Romans 8:12-17
Genealogy of Jesus: Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38

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Icebreakers

One Word

May 18, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will communicate things about themselves using single words..

Preparation
Prepare a list of questions or topics for discussion. Some examples:

a favorite food
a favorite sports team
a favorite song
a dream
a goal
a fear
a dream
a recent accomplishment
a recently solved problem
a strength
a weakness

ETC.

Icebreaker Activity

Form pairs.
Have pairs sit on the floor and talk to each other by speaking one-word messages back and forth.
Suggest one of the above topics for their one-word-at-a-time discussions.
Optional: Change pairs and repeat the process.

Optional Debrief

What does this activity tell you about communication?
How did you communicate without words?
Read John 1:1-9. How did God communicate to us through Jesus Christ?

Conclusion
A single work can communicate a lot. A lifestyle can communicate even more. Jesus is the Word become flesh. God communicates to us through the scriptures, but Christ is God with us, the living word.

Application
What words might people use to describe your life?
What can you do this week to become more like Christ, to reveal God to the world more clearly?

Scripture
John 1:1-9

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Icebreakers

Name my City

May 17, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Get enough chairs to have one for each participant then remove one chair.

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will learn the names of others in the group.

Preparation
Arrange the chairs in a circle.

Icebreaker Activity

One person starts by introducing themselves by their first name and then naming a city with the same first letter as their name (Hi, I’m Bob and I’m from Boston).
The next person in the group starts by repeating the name and city of the first person in the group and then introducing themselves and a city that has the same first letter as their name (This is Bob from Boston, and I’m Pete from Pittsburg).
This continues around the circle with each person repeating the names and cities of the previous youth in the circle, working successively around the circle and then giving their own name and a city.

Optional Debrief

If you could choose to be from a Biblical City, which city would you choose? Why?

Conclusion
Many people in the Bible have their birth place mentioned. But it is not so much where we are from that determines who we are. Cain and Abel were from the same place but their lives were very different. Abraham and Lot settled in the same place, but because of Abraham’s Faithfulness and the blessings of God, their lives were very different. It was said of Jesus, “How can anything good come from Nazareth. This place is not our home. Heaven is the home that God has prepared for us. We are of God’s household. Regardless of where we are from, it is our choices that determine who we are. Let’s make choices that show our heavenly citizenship.

Application
What choices can you make this week to show yourself as a citizen of heaven?

Scripture
Ephesians 2:19-22

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Icebreakers

Shadrach Meshach Abednego

May 16, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Get enough chairs to have one for each participant then remove one chair.

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will learn the names of others in the group.

Preparation
Arrange the chairs in a circle.

Icebreaker Activity

Each participant is called Shadrach. The one sitting on his right is Meshach. The one sitting on his left is Abed-nego. Someone who is “It” stands in the center.
There are three possible scenarios:
- If “It” calls, “Meshach!”, before everyone can count to ten (vary time for faster groups) you must give the real name of the person on your left.
- If “It” calls, “Abednego!”, before everyone can count to ten (vary time for faster groups) you must give the real name of the person on your left.
- Now and then the person in the center may try to fool participants by calling out “Shadrach”. When he points to you and calls “Shadrach” you must give your OWN NAME.
Any mistakes or failure to call out the correct name in the indicated time and you forfeit your seat to the person in the center and you become “it.”

Optional Debrief

Who were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?
What are some of the things society today asks you to bow down to?
What are some of the fiery trials you have needed to face in life?
How would you describe your life at this time: a spring breeze, Warm, Hot, or Fiery?

Conclusion
Shadrach, Mechach, and Abednego were three Jewish friends of Daniel that were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. It was a difficult time. If you dared to say what you really believed or to stand up for what you thought to be true, it might literally be the last time you ever stood or the last words you ever spoke. But they were not afraid to stand for God. They refused to bow to anyone or anything else, even when their life was on the line.

Application
In what situation is it most difficult for you to take a stand for what you believe? What will you do the next time you are faced with this situation?

Scripture
Daniel 3

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Icebreakers

Rhyme Time

May 12, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will ask and answer questions in rhyme

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

Seat the youth in a circle.
Ask someone to ask the person on his/her right a question. He might ask, for example, ‘What color is my shoe”
The youth questioned must answer with a response that rhymes with the question. He might say, for example, “It’s any color but blue.”
He/she then turns to the person to his/her right and asks a question which must again be answered in rhyme.
Do this until every person in the circle has answered.

Optional Debrief
Has it ever seemed that your questions in life go unanswered or that the answers don’t really make sense?
What are some of the questions you would like to ask God?

Conclusion
Everyone has questions and doubts. Doubts alone are not a cause for concern. Its what we do with our doubts that makes a difference. Even though we may not understand the reasons for things, we must take our doubts to God and place them in his hands. Thomas had doubts about the resurrection of Christ, but Jesus did not condemn him for them. In fact he gave Thomas the evidence he needed to remove his doubts and live by faith.

Application
What are some of your doubts that you need to place in God’s hands?

Scripture
John 20:24-29

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Icebreakers

Scruples Shuffle

May 11, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will answer questions of scruples in this group icebreaker.

Preparation
Create a list of questions that test the integrity of a person but do not have easy black and white answers?

A fellow student offers to sell you the answers to last years test for $20. You know the test is different each year. Do you buy them?
Is it OK for a Christian man to wear earrings?
Is it OK to have devotions in the evening instead of the morning?
Is it OK to hunt for sport?
Is it OK to screen my telephone calls and not answer, even though I’m really home?
You e-mail your picture to a gorgeous person you met on the Internet. Do you mention you gained 30 pounds since the picture was taken?
You know your best friend and fellow employee is stealing from the cash drawer. After a year the owner makes you a manager. Do you fire your friend?
You made personal Christmas Cards on the company copier. Do you pay for the copies even though no one knows?
You work in a store and catch a fifteen-year-old shoplifter. He says it’s his first time. Do you give him a chance or prosecute?
You work in a video store. You’re out of stock on a particular item. Do you send your customer to your competitor?
Someone drops a $20 bill on the floor. Do you try to find the owner or do you keep the $20?
Your friend helped get you a job at a music store. After three months you find out that he’s been stealing CDs. Do you report him?
You’re a waiter in a restaurant. You see the cook drop a steak on the floor. He cooked it well over a fire. Do you serve it to the customer?

Click on the word “comments” in the box below this idea to share your own great questions!

Icebreaker Activity

Have youth form two circles, one within the other. The students should be facing one another.
The inner circle of students move counter-clockwise while the outer circle moves clockwise.
When you call “Stop!” each youth should face a new partner.
Ask a question and the youth should discuss the answer with the partner they face.
Go from easy questions like “What’s the best ice cream” to hard ones that involve scruples.
Keep rotating and asking new questions for discussion.

Optional Debrief
What was the most interesting answer you heard during the icebreaker?

Conclusion
Scruples are personal principles about practices that are essentially neutral in themselves, and are not shown to be morally wrong or black-and-white in Scripture. Sometimes there may be conflicting principles at work. For example, “smuggling Bibles” into a country where Bibles are illegal is seen as wrong by some believers, based on the clear Scriptures that deal with deception and lying. Other Christians see Bible-smuggling as morally right, fulfilling the Great Commission, and obeying the clear teaching of Scripture that “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Romans 14 gives us some principles for dealing with such situations.

Application
A morally neutral practice can become morally wrong for us if we disregard the teachings of Romans 14 and fail to “act in love” towards others! So let’s show love and patience with each other as we seek to sort out lifestyle and behavior matters in the light of Scripture. Let’s make sure we apply the principles of Romans 14 when it comes to scruples!

Scripture
Romans 14:1-3

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Icebreakers

Orchestra

May 10, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
In the icebreaker, youth will mime particular instruments and learn a little about the musical tastes of others.

Preparation
No preparation is needed for this icebreaker. You may need to suggest some instruments for those that need help:

Common Instruments: Accordion, Bagpipes, Banjo, Bass drum, Bass guitar, Bassoon, Bell, Bongo drum, Bugle, Castanets, Cello, Chimes, Clarinets, Cornet, Cowbell, Cymbals, Didgeridoo, Fiddle, Flute, Gong, Guitars, Handbells, Harmonica, Harp, Harpsichord, Lyre, Mandolin, Maracas, Marimba, Oboe, Organ, Pan pipes, Piano, Piccolo, Recorder, Saxophone, Snare, Synthesizer, Tambourine, Timpani, Triangle, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Ukulele, Viola, Violin, Xylophone, Zither

Icebreaker Activity

Everyone is part of the orchestra.
Each youth must choose an instrument with the exception of a violin. They should announce their instrument and the demonstrate the action of playing the instrument to the group.
Choose one person to be “It”. Whoever is “it” plays the violin.
They must mime playing their instruments while roaming about the room.
At any time, the person playing the violin may change from playing the violin to that of another instrument in the orchestra. When he/she does, the one playing that instrument must immediately change to playing the violin.
If the person does not change to the violin before the leader counts to 5, then that person becomes “it” and now plays the violin. The one who was previously “it” takes over the instrument and joins the orchestra. Whenever a person becomes it they should give their name and a favorite song and who sings it.

Optional Debrief

- - What are some of your favorite instruments?
  - What are some of your favorite bands?
  - How often do you listen to music?
  - How is the body of Christ, like instruments in an orchestra?

Conclusion
Just as there are many instruments in an orchestra, there are many gifts in the body of Christ. When we are united and work together we can make a beautiful sound. When this is discord and lack of harmony we can be an unpleasant noise to the world. Different instruments make different contributions to the melody. No one is more important than another. In fact, at times, one instruments may carry the melody while others support. At other times another instrument will carry the melody. Its the variety that makes it pleasant to the ears. In the same way the Body of Christ is made up of many members, united in harmony, to bring God’s love and grace to the world.

Application

- - What are some of your uniques contributions to the harmony of the church?
  - What can you do this week to be more in harmony and unity this week?
  - How can you use your gifts to create harmony rather than discord?

Scripture
I Corinthians 12:4-28

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Icebreakers

Love Your Neighbor

May 9, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Get enough chairs to have one for each participant then remove one chair.

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will discover some common characteristics of others in the group.

Preparation
Arrange the chairs in a circle.

Icebreaker Activity

Sit the group in a circle.
Stand in the center of the circle, and ask one person in the group “Do you love your neighbor.”
The person you ask can give either of two possible responses: 1) “Yes” and then the youth on his/her right and left must switch seats. OR 2) They can say “no but I love everyone who…” has brown hair, is wearing blue, has been water skiing, name starts with K…
Everyone who meets the characteristic has to get up and change seats to a new seat.
While people are changing seats the person in the center of the circle tries to grab one of the empty chairs.
Whoever is left without a seat get to repeat the process of asking someone in the circle “Do You Love Your Neighbor?”

Optional Debrief

What types of people do you find it easy to love? Difficult to love?
What are some ways that people show their love toward others?

Conclusion
Scriptures tell us that others will know that we are Christians by our love. We are told to love not only those people we can get along with, but to also love our enemies.

Application
Commit to one way to show love for your neighbor this week.

Scripture
Matthew 5:43-46

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Icebreakers

Find the Leader

May 8, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Optional: Chairs for each participant arranged in a circle. (Participants may also simply sit on the ground.)

Icebreaker Description
Participants try to discover the leader who is initiating actions for the group.

Preparation
No preparation is needed.

Icebreaker Activity

Have the youth sit in a circle.
Chose someone to be “It” who must identify “the leader” who is initiating actions for the group.
Send the person you have chosen out of the room or have the person closes his eyes.
Silently point to the leader so that everyone else knows who the leader is.
The leader will initiate actions and change body positions.
Everyone must copy the body position and actions of the leader.
The person you have chosen as “it” stands in the center of the circle and tries to discover the identity of the leader.
When the leader is identified, choose a new leader and someone new to be “it” and repeat the game.

Optional Debrief

How do you recognise a leader in real life?
Name some of the leaders you know?
What leaders do you admire? Why?
What are the qualities of a good leader?

Alternative: Have you ever done anything in secret and hoped you would not get caught?

Conclusion
One of the most important qualities of an effective leader is that he sets an example for others to follow. A true leader doesn’t just tell others what to do, but also leads the way. A leader is only a leader to the extent that he/she inspires others to follow him/her.

Application
What are some of the areas of your life where you need to set an example for others to follow?

Scripture
1 Corinthians 11:1

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Icebreakers

Opossum

May 6, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker, team members must run around a person who is playing dead on the floor then join them playing opossum.

Preparation
No preparation is needed, but a clean floor or carpet helps. This can also be played outside in a grassy field.

Introduction
Opossum’s like to “play dead” when threatened. In this game you are to do your best imitation of a dead opossum.

Icebreaker Activity

Form two teams of equal number and line them up single file in a line.
The 1st person in line runs into the middle of your playing area and lies down and does his/her best imitation of a opossum playing dead.
The next person must then run into the middle of the area…run around the person who is already lying down 2 times and then lies down next to previous person and plays opossum.
This continues for each person in the team, each running around the opossums two times and then lying next to them.
The first team to have everyone lying down wins!

Variation
When the last person runs around the team, the entire team jumps up and runs back across a predefined goal line. The first team across the final goal line wins.

Optional Debrief

What is your usual response when you feel threatened? Is it to run away, get help, freeze, or play dead to the situation?
When was the last time you felt threatened? Why?

Conclusion
“Playing Opossum.” In scripture we are told to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. Of course this doesn’t mean we are really dead but we act as if we are dead. Dead men don’t need to steal. Dead men don’t lust. Dead men do no wrong. Dead men are not attracted by the desires of the world. To be dead to sin is to consider ourselves unaffected by the desires of the flesh. But there is more. We must be alive to Christ! We must live the things of Christ. We must live for Christ. Christ must be our life, our breath, our reason for living. Everything we do must be actions of life and the words we speak must be words of life. We must reckon ourselves dead to sin and a live to Christ!

What are some of the areas of your life where you need to play opossum?
What are some areas of your live where you need to be more christlike?

Other Potential Application Points

Opossums like to play dead, but they are only faking it to avoid danger. Jesus did NOT play opossum. He was in fact dead in a tomb for three days. But he was resurrected!
Christians will face an afterlife. That life can be one of joy in the presence of God or a second death.

Scripture
Romans 6:1-11

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Icebreakers

I Never

May 4, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Enough sturdy chairs for all participants to sit in a circle

Icebreaker Description
In this high energy icebreaker, youth learn a lot of fun facts about each other pertaining to the things that they have never done.

Preparation
Place enough chairs in a circle to have one chair for each person then remove one chair.

Icebreaker Activity

Choose one person to be “it” and stand in the center of the circle.
The person in the middle of the circle names something they have never done. (e.g. “I have never… been water skiing.”)
Then, anyone who has done the thing that was mentioned has to get out of his/her chair and find another empty chair to sit in. They may NOT sit in the same seat. Whoever is “It” tries to grab one of the empty chairs during the chaos.
Whoever is left without a chair become “it” and must stand in the middle of the circle. They then state something they have never done and try to get a chair.
If a person has been in the center of the circle at least 3 times and can’t think of anything they’ve never done, they can “holler train wreck.” EVERYONE has to move on this one. Don’t let them call this out too many times or you loose all the fun of it.

Variation
If a person ends up in the center of the circle three times, they must perform a forfeit for the group. This forfeit could be to dance, to sing, to tell a clean joke, etc.

Caution
Be careful to not allow youth to name things that might be an embarrassment to others.

Optional Debrief

What are some of the things that Christians should do, but most never do? Why?
What are some things that you fail to do in your own Christian walk even though you know you should do them?
Have you ever found yourself doing something that you promised yourself you would never do?

Conclusion
Traditionally there are two types of sin: Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission. Sins of commission are the things that we do that are wrong. Whenever we break one of the commandments or do anything that the Bible forbids it is a sin of commission. Sins of Omission are those things we know we should do, but fail to do. Scripture puts it this way: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17).

Application Point
What is something you haven’t been doing in your Christian walk, that you will commit to start doing this week?

Scripture
James 4:17

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Icebreakers

Buzz

May 1, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Optional: Enough chairs for all participants to sit in a circle

Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker, youth must avoid saying the number seven as part of any number or any multiple of the number 7

Preparation
Seat everyone in a circle- either on the ground or in chairs.

Icebreaker Activity
1. Begin counting. When the number seven or any multiple of seven appears, instead of saying the number, the one whose turn has come is to say, “Buzz.” For example, one, two, three, four, five, six, buzz, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, buzz, fifteen, sixteen, buzz and so forth.
2. Try to have the guests count as rapidly as possible and eliminate from the ring all those who make a mistake.

Debrief

What makes this game difficult?
In this game you had to replace a number with the word “buzz.” What are some of the things that we must replace when we become Christians? How can we replace them?
Why is forming new habits so difficult?

Conclusion
This game is difficult because it deviates from what is normal for us. We are accustomed to using the number 7, and to replace it with the word “buzz” is awkward for us. It requires extra concentration and is against what is natural for us. Many things in the Christian walk are also awkward at first. We have to develop new habits that go against the natural man. At first it requires considerable concentration, but as we grow in Christ and allow the power of Christ to work in our lives, we will become accustomed to new habits and new ways of thinking. Forming new ways of thinking is the key to forming new actions and habits. We must set our minds on the things above.

Scripture
Colossians 3:1-15

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Icebreakers

Bang-Bang Your Dead!

April 28, 2006 kensapp 1 Comment

Group Size: Groups of any size.

Time: 10 minutes

Applications: Learning Names

Materials
None

Objective
For the group to learn each others names. As people are eliminated they will have to learn the names of different persons on their left or right until only two participants remain for the final duel.

INSTRUCTIONS

Circle up: All participants stand in a circle facing each other.

Introduce: Go around the circle having everyone introduce themselves by name.

Ready-Aim: Everyone makes a gun with their hands by interlocking the fingers together and pointing out their two index fingers.

BANG BANG: The game begins by the facilitator calling out the name of someone in the group. That person must quickly duck (squat down). The two people on either side of the person whose name was called fire their guns at him by pointing their guns in his or her direction and saying “Bang-Bang! Your’e Dead”.

Eliminate: If the named participant does not duck in time then he is the one shot dead and is eliminated. If he ducks in time, the participant on either his left or right who gets shot first is eliminated. Whoever is shot must dramatically die and then sits down in the centre of the circle and calls the next name. The game continues until only two participants remain.

Last Duel: When there are only two people left, they should stand back to back in the center of an open space. The facilitator then begins slowly counting from 1. With each number, the participants take one step forward. As soon as the facilitator skips a number, the two participants must turn around and shoot each other– “Bang-Bang You’re dead.” Whoever shoots first is the overall winner.

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Icebreakers

Dream Vacation

April 26, 2006 kensapp 1 Comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will share a little about themselves as they choose a dream vacation that reflects their life goals.

Icebreaker Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity

“You’ve just won a dream vacation for two. You can travel to any destination in the world and stay there for two weeks, and all your expenses will be covered. Where would you go?”
“What if you there was an additional condition in the rules for your free vacation: You must choose a destination that will help you to achieve your goals in life? Would your destination change? What does your newly chosen dream vacation reflect about your goals, dreams, purpose in life, direction for your life?”

Discussion

Allow pairs time to discuss their new vacation choices and why they’d chosen them with their partners.
Then have kids announce their choices to the entire group.
Allow time for teenagers to ask each other why they chose their vacation destinations and what they reflect about their goals and dreams for the future.

Debrief
When we think of vacations we think of fun and excitement. But when we think of our goals in life we often are fearful and less than optimistic about what the future holds for us. If we realise that God is in charge and we can trust him with our future, the future becomes so much less scary. They say that if you enjoy what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life. Every day will be like a vacation. When we find God’s purpose for our lives we will find meaning and joy in everything we do because we are living the life God intended.

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Icebreakers

Just for Laughs

April 25, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will learn a little about each other as they share experiences that have caused them to laugh.

Icebreaker Preparation
No preparation is required if you do this crowdbreaker activity in pairs. If you want to divide people into groups as a crowdbreaker, you can put the following phrases representing the sounds of laughter on pieces of paper as needed for the size of your group. Randomly hand one slip of paper to each youth as they enter the room. Some of these sounds are more easily distinguished than others.

Sounds of Laughter: giggle, hah-hah, hee-hee, ho-ho, har-har, maniac laughter, snicker

Icebreaker Activity

If you are using the sounds of laughter to separate into groups, have participants laugh according to the slip of paper they have given and try to find others in their group. They may not show anyone the slip of paper and may only communicate using the sound of laughter they have been given.
Once the youth have found everyone in their groups, they should use a couple of the questions listed below to share with each other as an icebreaker.

Possible Questions

My most embarrassing moment was…
The funniest television commercial I’ve seen is…
The funniest thing anyone ever said to me was….
The best (clean) joke I’ve heard recently is…
The funniest person I’ve ever met is…
The funniest face I’ve ever seen someone make is… (Have youth attempt to create the face for their group.)
The best practical joke I’ve ever heard is…
The hardest I ever laughed was when…
The funniest cartoon strip I have ever seen was…

Debrief
Life is full of funny moments. Yet sometimes, we tend to focus more on the pains than the laughter. In the case of an embarrassing moment, the pain of embarrassment can later be recalled with laughter. Scripture uses a strange statement: “Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds. ” (James 1) While laughter, joy, and happiness are related, they are not the same things. Sometimes they come together, sometimes they don’t. Happiness comes with positive circumstances, but joy can be present even in difficult circumstances. Happiness is external, but joy is internal. Laughter is momentary, but joy is long lasting. Joy ultimately comes from our assurance that God is in charge of our lives and will work all things for our benefit.

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Icebreakers

Weather Report

April 25, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will describe various types of weather they have experienced as an icebreaker / crowdbreaker. This is a good crowdbreaker to use at events or meetings that have been forced inside by inclement weather

Preparation
None

Icebreaker Activity
Give youth a question related to the weather. They must mingle and share the answers to the question with one another. On a periodic basis, change the question.

Possible Questions

the hottest temperature they’ve experienced
the coldest temperature they’ve experienced
the deepest snowfall they’ve seen
the worst windstorm they’ve experienced
the closest they’ve been to a tornado or hurricane
the densest fog they’ve witnessed
the most beautiful sunset they’ve seen
the strangest weather they’ve experienced.

Debrief
If you had to describe your life at this moment in terms of the weather, how would you explain it?
Examples: Partly Cloudy, thunderstorm, dry season, flooded, sunny, clowdy, lightning, hot, hurricane, tornado. pleasant breeze, windy, clear, sunny, overcast, warm, cold, freezing, hail, ice, fog, smog, mist, frost, drizzling, raining, afternoon showers, blizzard, snow, scattered showers, windy, gusty, squall, gale, stormy, pleasant, dusty

Conclusion
Sometimes life seems stormy, at other times it is a pleasant afternoon. Sometimes the world can be a cold place and other times is can be warm and sunny. There are times when we are in a fog and other times it is clear. The nice thing about weather is that it changes all the time. The same is true for life. Life is always changing. Next time live sends you rain, don’t worry… the sun will shine again!

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Icebreakers

Build a Burger

April 24, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Paper slips with various parts of a hamburger written on them.

Icebreaker Description
Youth will divide into groups of various sizes to introduce themselves to each other.

Preparation
Cut up several slips of paper so that there is enough for everyone. On each slip of paper write a part of a hamburger: MAIN: Bun, Meat ADDITIONAL: Tomato, Cheese, Onion, Ketchup, Pickle, Mustard, Mayonnaise, BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Lettuce, Salt, Pepper, Mushrooms. The higher the number of expected participants, the more ingredients you can include. There should be more buns and meat than other ingredients.

Icebreaker Activity

As people arrive, hand a slip of paper to everyone with some part of a burger on it.
Have everyone mingle and then yell out “BUILD A BURGER!”
Everyone should get together with enough people to build a burger from everything on it to plain meat and buns. Each burger must consist of a minimum of 2 buns and a meat patty.
In their burger groups get youth to introduce themselves to each other, tell their favorite fast food place etc.
After few minutes, call out “Build a Burger” again.
Everyone must form new groups and then share again.

Debrief

We sometimes hear that “we are what we eat.” What are some of your favorite foods? Do they reveal anything about your personality?
Scripture tells us that it is not food that makes us unclean, but the words that come out of our mouths. These words come from our heart. (Matthew 15:17-19) What do your words say about you?

Conclusion
Instead of “Build a Burger” take a few moments to “Build Others Up.” Tell the people in your group something that you admire about them, a word of encouragement, or a mention a gift / talent they have.

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Icebreakers

Bob

April 22, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
One chair for each person in the group.

Icebreaker Description
Use this icebreaker to allow youth to quickly learn each others names.

Preparation
Arrange the chairs in a circle.

Icebreaker Activity

Pick one person to be the leader-that person becomes “Bob.” Everyone else keeps their own name. Before you begin the game, have everyone tell the group thier name.
Start a rhythm by slowly slapping your hands on your knees twice and then clapping twice. Keep repeating until everyone is in rhythm. Begin slowly. Later as the game is familiar you can speed up the rhythm.
“Bob” then begins by saying “Bob” during the knee slaps, and anyone else’s name in the group during the handclaps.
The person “Bob” names must respond immediately by saying their name during the next knee slaps, and anyone else’s during the hand claps (exception: you can never call the name of the person who just called you).
The person called must do the same thing, calling out their own name and then someone else’s name. (Example: Bob, Sally. Sally, Fred. Fred, Sarah. Sarah, Steve. . .)
This keeps going until somebody makes a mistake or fails to shout a name in time.
At that point, the person who made a mistake moves to the spot to the right of Bob. Everybody moves one spot to the right to fill the hole left by the person who lost.
Here’s the catch: Each person’s name remains with their chair! They become the name of the person who was ahead of them. Throughout the game, the name will always stay with the spot, and the person becomes that name as they move into that spot.
The ultimate goal is to unseat “Bob” and take his place.

It’s hysterical to see kids’ brains freeze up as they forget who they are. Eventually each person will have been almost everybody else, so names are learned very quickly.

Debrief

Have you ever wished you were someone else? Why or Why not?
Have you ever been confused about your own identity?
Have you ever tried to fit in by being like others in a group?
Have you ever felt pressured to be a certain way that is really nothing like the way you really are?

Possible Applications / jump off points to spiritual discussions

Use this as an introduction to our identity in Christ
Use this as an introduction about peer pressure.
Use this as an introduction to a discussion about making mistakes. We can start again and keep trying!
Just use this is a fun way to learn names!

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Icebreakers

Animal Kingdom

April 21, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Icebreaker Description
Youth will identify themselves with an animal the most reflects some aspect of their personality. It’s a great way for kids to get to know a little about each other. It also functions somewhat as a crowdbreaker by dividing them into groups, but you may need to do some adjustment as the groups are likely to be of different sizes.

Preparation
Choose 3-5 animals, one animal for each group you want to have. Choose animals that are vastly different from each other. Some options are:

Aardvark, Albatross, Anteater, Armadillo, Badger, Bat, Bear, Camel, Cat, Chicken, Chinchilla, Cow, Crab, Crane, Crayfish, Cuckoo, Deer, Dog, Dolphin, Dove, Duck, Dugong, Eagle, Elephant, Emu, Ferret, Flamingo, Flying fox, Frog,
Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hamster, Hawk, Hedgehogs, Hippo, Horses, Hummingbird, Iguana, Kangaroo, Koala, Lemur, Lion, Lizards, Llamas, Loon, Mammoth, Monkey, Mouse, Octopus, Ostrich, Otter, Owl, Panda, Parrot, Pelican, Penguin, Pig, Pigeon, Porcupine, Rabbit, Rat, Raven/crow, Rhinoceros, Seal, Sheep, sloths, Snake, Sparrow, Stork, Swan, Tapir, Toad, Tortoise, Turtle, Unicorn, Weasel, Whale, Wolf, Wombat, Zebra

Icebreaker Activity
1. Ask kids to introduce themselves by giving their name and then choosing which of the selected animals they most identify with.
2. Then have kids group themselves according to the animals they chose. (Combine the two smallest groups if either has fewer than three members.)

Debrief
Direct kids to answer one of the following questions in their small groups.

Are you more commonly the predator or the prey?
Nocturnal or diurnal?
What do think the choice of a this animal says about a person?
What does the chosen animal reflect about you?
What are some of the characteristics of this animal that are like you?
What lessons could we learn from this animal?
If you could choose to be any animal, what would you choose and why?

Conclusion
Have groups brainstorm the benefits of being similar to this animal and then share it with the rest of the groups.

Possible Applications / jump off points to spiritual discussions

Lesson on Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6)
Lesson on Creation (Genesis 1)
Lesson on us being Sheep
“Ask the animals and they will teach you” – Job 12:7 Many refections of the Creator can be found in his Creation.
As God takes care of birds, even more so will he take care of us. (Matthew 6:24-34, Luke 12:24-27)

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Icebreakers

Story of Your Name

April 20, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
Everyone has stories, often fascinating ones, based around their names. Use this icebreaker to learn about the names of people in your group. This could also be used as a children’s sermon.

Activity
Divide participants into groups of 3-5 people and have each person take a turn telling the story of his/her name.

“Where does your name come from?”
“Do you like your name? Why or why not?”
“Do you know the meaning of your name?” Explain
“How did you get your name?”
“Why did your parents give you your first name or middle name?”
“Do you have any pet names / cute names your family or friends call you?”
“What nicknames have people given to you?”
” What’s the story of your last name/ family name?”
“Where did it come from?”
“What do you know about your family name?”
“How far can you trace back your family tree?”
“What were some interesting people and events in your family history?”

People can share as much or as little information as they like.

Discussion
Ask each group to share the most interesting story they heard.

Application
Throughout the Bible God called people by name. Sometimes he even changed the name of people in the Bible to reflect their character and reinforce the decisions they made in following him. God knew Moses by name (Exodus 33:17). He called Jacob by name (Isaiah 43:1-3). God called Jeremiah before he was even born. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Psalms 139:14-18 tels us that God not only knows us by name, but our whole personal history was written before even one day came to pass. Jesus calls us each by name and guides us (John 10:3). Whatever your name, always remember God knows you by name and loves you. He has a plan for your life and your future if you will trust Him.

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Icebreakers

Easter Sign-up

April 11, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A list of characteristics related to the group and Easter

Game objective
Be the first to get someone to sign your list for each of the characteristics, or to have the most names before the time is up.

Game Play
1. Give each person a copy of the Easter Sign-Up
2. Find someone to sign his or her name for each item on a list. To sign the list, the characteristic must be true of the person who signs it.
3. You can ask a person only one question at a time on the list. If the answer is no, you must go to someone else before returning to this person with another question.
4. If the answer is yes, have the person sign your list next to the item.
5. A person may only sign the list once.

How to win
The first person to complete the list wins or after 10 minutes, the person with the most names is declared the winner. Check all answers to the winning list by calling the person’s name and the characteristic and verifying that it is true of the person.

Choose from the following sample characterictics or create your own
* Has spent Easter in another country
* Is wearing a cross
* Ate an egg today
* Hunted Easter eggs this year
* Went to the sunrise service
* Attended the Good Friday Service
* Has 30 silver coins in his/ her pocket
* Has ridden on a donkey
* Has heard a live rooster crow
* Was baptized at Easter
* Eats the ears first from chocolate easter Bunnies
* Ate a Hot Cross Bun this year
* Is wearing new clothes
* Read the Easter Story in his/ her Bible today
* Gave someone an Easter Card
* Has eaten Jelly Beans today
* Can Quote John 3:16
* Dyed or decorated Easter eggs this year
* Has a plastic Easter Egg
* Can sing the song “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” in its entirety
* Can name the first two people who went to the tomb on Easter Morning.
* Has an Easter basket at home
* Is a Christian
* Favorite Easter food is Marshmellow peeps
* Does not like chocolate
* Favorite Jelly Beans are the black ones
* Took a family photo for Easter

Variation
Place the items in a 5×5 Bingo Grid. First person to get a bingo (5 in a row) wins then the first person to cover all also wins.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Easter Hoax

April 9, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Game Play
1. Each person in the group writes answers to four Easter questions. Three of the answers are to be true and one is to be a hoax. Questions should center around Easter.

For example, select from the following suggested questions for Easter or create your own:
* What is the most unusual Easter you have ever experienced?
* What is the most meaningful thing that happened to you during Easter?
* What is your favorite Easter food?
* What is your favorite Easter tradition or symbol?
* What is your favorite part of the Easter story?
* What is your favorite thing to do during Easter?
* What is the ideal Easter celebration for you?
* What is the most meaningful thing you do as a family at easter?
ETC

2. Each individual reads his or her answers to the group. The other youth guess which answer is a hoax. After all have given their guess, the person tells which answer was the hoax.

Variation
Toss all the answers in a bowl and have people read the responses, guess the person and guess the answer which is a hoax.

Application
For many people the Easter story is a hoax. For the early disciples the idea that Christ would rise again seemed impossible. The feared someone had stolen the body. But Jesus appeared to many after the resurrection. It was no hoax. He is alive.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Easter “Who am I?”

April 1, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Hollow Plastic Easter Eggs, paper, pencils.

Game Objective
Match the fun fact with the person

Game Play
1. Pass out an Easter Egg to each person.
2. Each participant writes one fun fact about themselves e.g. “My favorite color is red”, “My favorite movie is.”, etc. on a piece of paper and insert it into the Easter Egg.
3. Put all the Easter eggs in a bowl.
4. A leader pulls one egg out, reads out the answer, then participants try and guess who’s egg you have.
5. The participant that guesses correctly gets the egg. The person with the most eggs wins.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Easter Egg Teams

March 29, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials

1. Enough Easter Eggs for all participants to have 1 egg
2. Easter Basket or a bag

Game Objective
Use Easter Eggs to separate your group into teams.

Game Preparation

Determine before your event how many teams you want to have and how many people you want on each team.
Choose one color of egg for each team.
Make sure the remaining eggs are of equal numbers for each color.
Place all the eggs you have selected into a bag and mix them up.

Game Play

When participants walk into the party, allow them to reach into the bag or Easter Basket and grab one color of Egg to hold onto–not to eat!
When everyone has arrived and you are ready to form teams, tell everyone to shout out their color until they find everyone else in their team.

Variations

Combine this with Jelly Bean Salvation for a fun Easter Gospel presentation.
Instead of real easter eggs, use hollow plastic easter eggs and combine this with Easter Egg Hunt for a meaningful lesson on the events surrounding Easter. You can also write the verses on the eggs with wax before you dye the real eggs.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Easter Forward and Backwards

March 28, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
List of actions, Chairs in a circle, one chair per person.

Game Play
1. Sit everyone in a chair and then give instructions for participants to follow. Instructions should be related to Easter.

2. If someone is in the chair you move to, just sit on his or her lap. You can stack people three or four high.

3. The first person to make it all the way around the circle wins. Have youth to take note of the chair they start in before you begin calling out situations.
Sample Phrases
“If you have on a cross, move forward 1 chair”
“If you ate an egg today move back 3 chairs”
“If you have been on an Easter Egg Hunt, move forward 2 chairs”
“If you have been to a sunrise service move forward 2 chairs.”
“If you have 30 silver coins in your pocket, move back 3 chairs.”
“If you have ridden a donkey move forward 1 chair.”
“if you have heard a live rooster crow move backward 3 chairs.”
“If you are wearing perfume move forward 1 chair.”
“If you are wearing purple move forward 1 chair.”
“If you have accepted Christ move forward 1 chair.”
“If you are wearing a pastel color move backward 1 chair.”
“If you eat the ears first from chocolate easter Bunnies move backward 1 chair.”
“If you have eaten a Hot Cross Bun move forward 1 chair.”
“If you are wearing new clothes move foreward 1 chair.”
“If you have read the Easter Story in your Bible today move forward 2 chairs.”
“If you gave someone here an Easter Card move forward 1 chair.”
“If you attended a Good Friday Service move forward 1 chair.”
“If you are wearing ribbons move backward 1 chair.”
“If you have eaten Jelly Beans today move forward 1 chair.”
“If you have thanked God today for his sacrifice on the Cross move forward 1 chair.”
ADD your own…

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Easter Card Puzzler

March 22, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Easter Cards

Game Objective
Youth match their pieces to the card design to find their groups in this Easter crowdbreaker.

Game Preparation
1. Select the front panels of several Easter Cards with different pictures. Use 2 identical cards for each group. Each group must have different card.
2. Cut one card of the 2 cards into pieces. The other card remains intact. The number of pieces is determined by the number of people you want to have on each team.
3. Write a question on the back of each piece. You can repeat questions. Questions should be along the lines of:

What is the true meaning of Easter for you?
What do you find most confusing about the Easter account?
What do you find most fascinating about the Easter account?
Which person in the Easter account are you most like?
Which person in the Easter would you most like to be?
How do you think you would have reacted to Christ’s arrest compared to the disciples?
What was your most memorable Easter? Why?
What is your favorite part of the easter story?

ETC..
4. Place the remaining uncut card on the wall or at each table.
5. One good idea is the keep the peices separate until needed. Once everyone has arrived, place the necessary number of peices in a bag and mix them up.
6. When each person enters the room they are given a piece of the cards that have been cut into jigsaw puzzles, with the question at the back of each.
7. Participants must ask people the question found on the puzzle piece and find the rest of the people whose pieces combine to form 1 card.
8. You may only reveal your puzzle peice after you have answered the question of each other.
9. Only once the puzzle is solved, are participants allowed to find out their respective table or location to group together by matching the picture of the puzzle with the uncut version.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Jelly Bean Teams

March 21, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Bag of Jelly Beans

Game Objective
Use Jelly Beans to separate your group into teams.

Game Preparation

Determine before your event how many teams you want to have and how many people you want on each team.
Choose one color of Jelly Beans for each team and remove the unwanted colors.
Make sure the remaining jelly beans are of equal numbers for each color.
Place all the Jelly Beans you have selected into a bag and mix them up.

If you want to prevent stained hands, wrap the jelly beans with a small piece of plastic wrap before you play.

Game Play

When participants walk into the party, allow them to reach into the bag and grab one color of Jelly Bean to hold onto–not to eat!
When everyone has arrived and you are ready to form teams, tell everyone to shout out their color until they find everyone else in their team.

Variations

Make everyone hold the Jelly Bean in their mouth to compare colors and find their team.
Make everyone Hold the Jelly Bean in their teeth to compare colors and find their team.

Combine this with Jelly Bean Salvation for a fun Easter Gospel presentation.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Icebreakers

Barnyard

March 2, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A list of animals that are easily characterised by their sounds.

Crowdbreaker Description
Youth make the sounds of animals and follow the sounds to find the rest of their teammates

Preparation
Make a list of animals that are easily characterised by their sounds. Some Possibilities are:
Cows or Bulls, Tigers or Lions, Pigs, Chickens or Roosters, Donkeys, Sheep, Dogs or Wolves, Turkeys, Owls, Ducks, Snakes, Dolphins, Seals, Monkeys or Gorillas or Apes, Frogs or Toads, Elephants

Crowdbreaker Activity
Assign an animal to every person in the room making sure that the animals assigned are scattered around the room. Then shut out the lights (or have participants close their eyes) and have the participants make the animal sound assigned to them. They must then mingle around the room (in the dark) listening for the other animals of their kind and group together.

Variation
Number people off as they enter the room. Later assign animals to the numbers. Great for splitting up participants into random groups.

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Icebreakers

Matching Emotions

February 13, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Pieces of paper or notecards with emotions written on them.

Some suggested emotions are:
anger, fear, happy, nervous, bored, bitter, overwhlemed, depressed, at peace, embarassed, loved, proud, detached, shocked, hate, and finally, love.

Game Objective
Display the given emotion until you find the other members of your group.

Game Preparation
There should be at least two people that have each emotion and the total number will depend on how many people you want to have in each team.

Game Play
1. Display the emotion until you find the other members of your group.
2. When you think you have found all your partners/group have a seat.
3. Continue until all groups are seated.
4. Finally have each group strike a pose of their emotion for other teams to guess.

Application / Debrief
* What does love look like?
* What actions show love?
* How did you find your group?
* How do we find love?
* What do our emotions reveal about us?
* Are negative emotions a sin?
* Is it easier to control positive or negative emotions?
* Which emotions are the easiest to show? The most difficult?

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Icebreakers

Valentine’s Day “Who Am I?”

February 12, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Cut out hearts, pencils.

Game Objective
Match the fun fact with the youth

Game Play
1. Pass out a heart to each youth.
2. Have each youth write their favorite color, movie, book, food, animal, etc. and name on one side of the heart.
3. Put all the hearts in a bowl.
4. A leader pulls one heart out, reads out the answers, then the youths try to guess who’s heart it is.
5. The youth that guesses correctly gets the heart. The youth with the most hearts wins.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Valentine Candy Teams

February 9, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Valentine candy conversation hearts (BE MINE, COOL KID, LOVER BOY, KISS ME, MY GAL, etc.)

Game Objective
Use valentine Candy Hearts to separate your group into teams.

Game Preparation
Determine before your event how many teams you want to have and how many people you want on each team. Choose one of the phrases for each team and collect the peices of candy with that phrase according to the number of people you desire to have on each team. Place all the peices you have selected into a bag and mix them up.

Game Play
1. When participants walk into the party, give them each one heart to hold onto–not to eat!
2. When everyone has arrived and you are ready to form teams, tell everyone to shout out their phrase until they find everyone else in their team. You can change the team divisions by using the colors of the valentine heart candy instead of the phrases, but you will need to check and make sure you have an equal number of each color before the game begins.

Variation
Obtain or print some Cheap valentine cards and use identical cards instead of Valentine Hearts.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Valentine Candy Bingo

February 9, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
1. Valentine candy conversation hearts (BE MINE, COOL KID, LOVER BOY, KISS ME, MY GAL, etc.) Buy enough candy hearts for all players to fill up all their bingo cards.

Game Preparation
Make up a variety of bingo cards–but instead of putting numbers in the squares, fill the squares with phrases from the valentine candy hearts.

Game Objective
Can you cover all the squares in your Bingo Board with the candy conversation hearts?

Game Play
1. Give players equal quantities of randomly selected candy hearts.
2. Players don’t wait for a caller, but on your signal, immediately try to cover their KISS ME squares with KISS ME candy hearts, their BE MINE squares with BE MINE hearts, etc. If they have a surplus of one kind of candy heart, they can trade with other players for hearts with phrases they need in order to cover every square on their card (or achieve a “bingo”– You decide!)
3. Players can eat the candy when the game is over.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Valentine Card Puzzler

February 8, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Valentine Cards

Game Objective
Youth match their pieces to the card design to find their groups in this Valentine’s Day crowdbreaker.

Game Preparation
1. Select the front panels of several Valentine’s Cards with different pictures. Use 2 identical cards for each group. Each group must have different card.
2. Cut one card of the 2 cards into pieces. The other card remains intact. The number of pieces is determined by the number of people you want to have on each team.
3. Write a question on the back of each piece. Questions should be along the lines of:
* What is your idea of “True Love”?
* What is one characteristics of your ideal mate?
* What was the most romantic date you ever had?
* What was the most special gift you ever gave to someone you love?
* What is the most romantic movie you have seen?
ETC..
4. Place the remaining uncut card on the wall or at each table.
5. One good idea is the keep the peices separate until needed. Once everyone has arrived, place the necessary number of peices in a bag and mix them up.
6. When each person enters the room they are given a piece of the cards that have been cut into jigsaw puzzles, with the question at the back of each.
7. Participants must ask people the question found on the puzzle piece and find the rest of the people whose pieces combine to form 1 card. 8. You may only reveal your puzzle peice after you have answered the question of each other.
9. Only once the puzzle is solved, are participants allowed to find out their respective table or location to group together by matching the picture of the puzzle with the uncut version.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Everything in Common

January 30, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Paper and something to write with for each team.

Game Objective
In this icebreaker, teams race to create lists of things that all the team members have in common.

Game Play
1. Form equal-sized teams of at least 3 persons.
2. Give each team a sheet of paper and something to write with.
3. Tell teams to list everything they can think of that all team members have in common. (e.g. like the same band, play the same sports, etc)
4. Let teams have three to five minutes to create their lists.
5. When time is up, ask the team with the longest list to read the similarities they listed.
6. Ask teams who had similarities not already shared to mention them.

Application
* Why is it important to understand the ways we are alike?
* How can the ways we are alike be a bond between us?
* How can similarities benefit the body of Christ?

Variation
Instead of listing similarities, have groups list their differences.
* How can our differences sometimes cause division?
* How are the differences beneficial?
* Why didn’t God create us all the same?

Game extension
Have the entire group list the similarities/ differences they have.

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Icebreakers

squirt

January 29, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. One water gun. Vary the type of water gun depending on the occasion, whether it is indoor or outdoor, if people are in a mood to get wet or not.
2. Source of water for refills

Game Objective
Participants must name items that fit into a particular category without repeating or taking too long too long to think.

Game Play
1. Sit the group in a circle.
2. Designate one person as the “squirter” for the 1st round and give him/her the filled-water gun.
3. This student calls out a topic, such as “sports cars” and everyone in the game secretly thinks of one or more items in that category.
4. The youth leader calls out the name of a person in the circle to get started.
5. The person whose name has been called must yell out an item that fits the category and another name before the squirter can shoot him/her with the water gun.
6. If you get squirted before you can call out the item, you then become the “squirter” and must select a new category. If the item is a repeat of what someone else has already said, the Squirter can also squirt you and you become the squirter.
7. The previous squirter gets things rolling by calling out the next name!

Variations
1. Choose categories related to your event, a holiday, or a Bible Study Topic and write them on pieces of paper and place them in a bowl. Have the squirters randomly draw the category from among the slips of paper.
2. Add the rule that a person cannot call the person who just called them to make sure the game rotates around the circle.

Warning: Squirters have been known to turn this into an all out water fight against everyone in the circle!

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Icebreakers

Showing True Colors

January 29, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. sticky tape
2. pieces of paper of different colors
Note: To make it easier, add small pieces of double sided tape to each piece of paper so that youth only need to peel off the covering strip to reveal the adhesive.

Game Objective
Youth walk around the room introducing themselves to each other and taping colored paper pieces to people who remind them of that color in some way.

Game Play
1. Give youth several different-color pieces of construction paper and tape.
2. Have kids each walk around the room and introduce themselves to each other. They must share their name and something unique about themselves.
3. As youth are mingling, they must tape each of their construction paper pieces to people who remind them of that color. As they do so, they must tell the recipient why they chose that color for the person. For example, someone may pick Pink for a girl who’s always cheerful, blue for a guy who’s caring and warm, or brown from someone who is “down to earth.”. Comments must be positive in nature.

Note: Leaders should participate and be proactive to ensure all kids are receiving positive comments. If one or more of the youths seems to be getting little attention, personally provide a positive comment for them.

Application
A rainbow is made of many colors. Its the play of various colors that give it its beauty. A rainbow is also the symbol of promise, or hope. God created us all special and we each hold great promise to bring our gifts and talents to brighten up the lives of others and make life more colorful!

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Icebreakers

Alter Ego

January 28, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
None

Game Objective
Kids are to introduce themselves and tell the group who they would most like to be other than themselves. They may name fictional characters or actual people, either living or dead. For example, kids could name Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Meryl Streep, Michael Jordan, or Joan of Arc. Kids should not explain their choices. Allow kids to enjoy the mystery of the “why” behind each other’s choices.

Variation
Have kids introduce themselves as the characters or persons they’d like to be and tell their real names later in the meeting or event.

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Icebreakers

Action Bingo

January 27, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Materials
Print the list of items on a sheet of paper for each person.

Game Objective
Each person must perform the action in front of someone and then those who participated or observed must sign beside the item. Items can be arranged in a normal bingo grid or simply as a list for simplicity. Whoever gets all the items signed first, wins! Wacky and silly fun for everyone. Have a digital camera ready for some really crazy snapshots!

Some possible items are:
* Tell a Joke
* Pretend you are taking a bath or shower in the middle of the room!
* Select someone else to sing a song with you.
* Recite a nursery rhyme.
* Imitate a comic strip character until someone guesses it’s identity.
* Behave like a duck for 10 seconds
* Say something nice about three different people in the room.
* Shake hands with three other people in the room.
* Pantomime a two year old child taking a bone away from a german shepherd dog.
* Walk from one end of the room to the other with an object between you knees.
* Act like an egg being cracked and fried.
* Do an impression of a well known celebrity. Identify the person first.
* Confer with another person and make a short poem about one of the leaders
* Select a few people to aid you in selecting a scene from a popular Bible story and act it out.
* Draw a picture of yourself and give it to someone in the room.
* Find something in your pocket or purse to give to the person on your left.
* Retell the story of Goldilocks and the three bears using the name of four other people in the room as the bears and Goldilocks.
ETC. ADD Your Own Crazy Actions!

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Icebreakers

Acrostic

January 20, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

An acrostic is an arrangement of words in which certain letters in each line, when taken in order, spell out a word or motto. Ask group members to introduce themselves to each other by using words or phrases that describe them to create acrostics of their own names (or nicknames).

For example:
DIANE: Dynamic, Independent, Able, No-nonsense, Enthusiastic.
TODD: Tried and true, Oh boy, a boy!, Diamond in the rough, Destined for glory.

Variation
Have kids mix up the order of the letters in their names. Then have the rest of the group attempt to figure out each name.

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Icebreakers

A Little About Yourself

January 12, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Choose one of the following questions or statements, then have kids introduce themselves by stating their names and responses to the question or statement.

* What is the loudest noise you’ve ever heard?
* What is your earliest memory?
* What is one thing you hope will happen in this group?
* Name all of the places you have lived.
* What is the funniest movie scene you’ve seen?
* Tell about a nickname you had as a child.
* Describe the most extreme weather condition you’ve been in.
* Name one good thing that has happened in another group you have been in.
* Where is your favorite place in nature?
* What is your middle name, or what do you think it should have been?
* Describe the best meal you’ve ever eaten.
* What’s your favorite song? (To add some risk, ask kids to sing a few bars.)
* Describe the most unusual thing that’s happened to you.
* What’s the best thing a friend ever told you?
* What’s the worse chore you’ve ever had?

Select a new question or statement each time you meet with kids.

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Icebreakers

Card Sharks

January 6, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Deck of normal playing cards. Additional decks can be added for larger groups.

Icebreaker Activity
Ask students to pick cards from the deck that represent something about themselves. These repesentations can be as shallow or deep as the students’ imaginations. Have youth mingle and share with one another their names and the cards they have chosen and why. One might choose a two because they have “2 parents” or “two feet” etc. Another student might choose an ace because they strive to “be an ‘ace’ at everything they do… The opportunities are limitless.

Variation
Force specific combinations of youth by telling them to group themselves in groups in which the face value their cards add up to a count of “20.” Choose another sum to rearrange the youth. (Count facecards as 10 or as the corresponding numerical value up to 13) You may also designate groups of 5 and specific poker hands to form…. (e.g. flush, straight, 2 pair-with one extra person to make 5 cards, 3 of a kind, four of a kind, etc.)

Variation
Get the youth to randomly split into two teams and play “go fish” using the remaining cards. The largest team at the end wins. You can also play your favorite game of cards with a little creativity.

Variation
Before the activity, write a question on each card to be shared when the youth are mixing together. (e.g. what is your favorite icecream, most embarassing moment, favorite musicial, favorite scripture, etc.)

Variation
Use the mixer as a game of elimination. When you call out specific groupings of cards, if groups do not meet the specified criteria or are the last group to form meeting the criteria, they are eliminated from the game. Last remaining group is the winner.

Variation
Remove 10s and all facecards. Have students choose a partner who card added to theirs will result in a sum of 10… the combinations are numerous (1-9, 2-8, 3-7, 4-6, 5-5)

Variation
Ask the youth to split into two teams and build the highest house of cards.

Variation
Play a variation of “stratego” between two teams. Remove cards from the deck so that there is 1-ace, 2-two, 3 three’s, etc. Designate jokers as bombs. Leave only one king. The king can be captured by any card. Use the jack with the sword to his head as the spy. Play the game just as you would “stratego”, but have teams send representatives to a person on the opposing team to do battle. Do not reveal the card numbers to teams, but merely who is the victor of the battle. Those who lose battle cannot reveal the victors total to their teams and are removed to a graveyard area. First team to kill the king wins.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Forward and Backward

December 15, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
List of actions, Chairs in a circle, one chair per person.

Game Play
1. Sit everyone in a chair and then give instructions for participants to follow. Instructions should be related to Christmas.

For example,
“If you have on green, move forward one chair”
“If you are wearing red move back three chairs”
“If you haven’t finished Christmas shopping, move back one chair.”
ADD your own…

2. If someone is in the chair you move to, just sit on his or her lap. You can stack people three or four high.

3. The first person to make it all the way around the circle wins.

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Hoax

December 10, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Game Play
Each person in the group writes answers to four Christmas questions. Three of the answers are to be true and one is to be a hoax. Questions should center around Christmas.

For example, the following are suggested questions for Christmas:
1. What is the most unusual Christmas gift you ever received?
2. What is the most meaningful thing that happened to you during a Christmas Holiday?
3. What is your favorite Christmas food?
4. What is your favorite Christmas tradition or symbol?
ETC

Each individual reads his or her answers to the group. The others guess which one is a hoax. After all have guessed, the person tells which answer was the hoax.

Variation
Toss all the answers in a bowl and have people read the responses, guess the person and guess the answer which is a hoax.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Sign-Up

December 8, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
List of items for each person

Find someone to sign his or her name for each item on a list. You can ask a person only one question. If the answer is no, you must go to someone else before returning to this person with another question. If the answer is yes, have the person sign your list next to the item. After 10 minutes, the person with the most names is declared the winner.

Examples:
I have more fun giving than receiving gifts at Christmas
I love candy canes
I’d rather have ham than turkey at Christmas
I placed the star on our Christmas Tree
I sent someone a Christmas card
I sat on Santa’s lap as a kid
I have a Christmas stocking
I like snow
I have an artificial Christmas tree in my home
I don’t mind getting clothes as Christmas gifts
I like to go Christmas caroling
I can recite the first two lines of “the Night before Christmas”
ETC. ADD YOUR OWN

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Carol Sing-a-long

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A list of Christmas Carols written in groups of two or more on slips of paper.
(see Christmas Carol Pictionary for a list of some common Christmas Carols and songs.

Activity
1. Write the names of the Christmas songs on individual slips of paper (There should be at least 2 slips for each song or more–More is good for larger groups and more difficult).
2. Then put as many slips of songs as you have people in a bag and mix them up really good.
3. Let each person draw a slip of paper out. They are not allowed to show it to anyone.
4. They must begin humming the song on their slip of paper when you say “go”.

The objective of the game is to locate the other person(s) humming the same song that you are humming. When the partners find everyone in their group they hold hands and begin to sing the words to their song!

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Christmas Card Puzzler

December 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Christmas Cards (2 copies of each card)

Activity
Use this as an icebreaker / crowdbreaker to divide your youth into teams at a Christmas Party:
1. Select the front panels of several Christmas with different pictures and cut them into pieces. Use 2 identical Christmas cards for each group. Each group will have a different card.
2. Cut one of the 2 identical cards into pieces. The number of pieces is determined by the number of people you want to have on each team.
3. Write a question on the back of each piece. Questions should be along the lines of: “What is your favorite part of the Christmas Story?”, “What is the most meaningful Christmas Gift you ever received?”, etc.
4. The other uncut card is placed on the wall or at each table so that youth will be able to find their group later by comparing their pieces with the visible cards.
5. One good idea is the keep the peices of each individual card separate until needed. Once everyone has arrived, place the necessary number of cards based on the number of people in a bag and mix them up.
6. When each person enters the room they are given a piece of the cards that have been cut into jigsaw puzzles, with the question at the back of each. The objective of the game is to ask people the question found on the puzzle piece and find the rest of the people whose pieces combine to form 1 card.
7. Youth may only reveal their puzzle peice after they have answered the questions. They then test to see if the peices fit together. If they do then they stay together and find other people to ask questions and check. Once the puzzle is completely solved, only then are participants allowed to find out their respective table or location to group together by matching the picture of the puzzle with the uncut version.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Icebreakers

Candy Teams

November 1, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Several types of candy so that youth can be divided into equal teams according to the candy they recieve. If you want 5 teams then have 5 different times of candy.

Activity
When your students arrive give them each just one peice of candy from among your selections. To divide them into teams, announce “Team Green M&M” in the fron right corner” Team marshmellows in another corner.. etc.

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Icebreakers

Incredible Word Puzzles

October 29, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

I love these creative puzzles. They are so much fun for youth and adults alike. They make wonderful icebreakers and fillers for youth meetings. Here is one example of hundreds of such puzzles which you can find on the site below.

Can you guess the answer?

Of course the answer is: Sermon ON the Mount.

Click Here for more incredible puzzles.

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Creative Teaching Ideas, Icebreakers

We Doubt It

October 18, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Form two teams to play

Activity
1. Each person one a team is given a chance to tell the opposing team something about his / herself. They may choose to say something that is true or something that is false. For example, someone could say, “My favorite food is my mom’s fried chicken” or “I went to the school swimming meet on Friday night.”
2. The other team will try to guess if the person is telling the truth. If they think he/she is lying, they’ll say, “We doubt it.” If they think he / she is telling the truth, they’ll say, “We believe you.”
3. If the person sharing the info fools the opposing team, his/her team gets a point. If the other team guesses correctly, it gets a point.
4. Alternate teams until each person has had a chance to tell something about themselves.
5. Tally the score, and declare a winner.

Debrief
* What was it like to try to guess if someone was telling the truth?
* How is this similar to real life situations?

Read the story John 20:24-31 then ask:
* How is this game like trying to decide whether to believe what Jesus says? How is it different?
* What are some things that you have doubted in the Bible? About God?
* What are some of your doubts?
* Are doubts good or bad?

Application
Doubting Thomas exemplifies an honest seeker that asks for solid evidence before belief. Jesus did not reject his questioning, instead He met his questions head-on and provided the evidence Thomas needed to believe. We see in scripture that God does not reject honest and sincere seeking after the truth. If some obstruction occurs in our trust and relationship with God that impedes progress, then God does give us room to ask questions. The issue that remains is how do we go about seeking after the truth.

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Creative Teaching Ideas, Icebreakers

Running the Race?

October 17, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Description
This activity can be used as an icebreaker or discussion starter on living the Christian life. In the Bible, Paul frequently illustrated the Christian lifestyle as being similar to running in a race. It’s ties in nicely to an Olympics theme as well a general sports related theme.

Materials
None

Activity
Give youth / kids different sports below to pantomime. Let the rest of the group guess the sports.

Baseball	Basketball	Bobsledding
Bowling	Boxing	Canoeing
Chess	Cross-country Skiing	Darts
Diving	Downhill	Skiing
Football	Figure Skating	Golf
Gymnastics	Horseshoes	Ice Hockey
Kayaking	Luge	Ping-pong
Rapelling	River Rafting	Rock Climbing
Horseshoes	Rugby	Ski Jump
Slalom	Soccer	Speedskating
Swimming	Tennis	Track & Field
Volleyball	Waterpolo	Wrestling
Others?

Discussion
Ask each youth what sport best describes his/her spiritual life and why.

Application
Paul compared his life to that of a race. He leaves everything behind and presses toward the goal, the finish line. (Phil 3:12 – 16 )

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Our “Destined to Win” series is a great follow up for youth who are new Christians or to emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum / Small Group Study has a sports theme and is great for athletes and works well as a tie in to the Olympics.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

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Icebreakers

Balloon Pop

October 9, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1 balloon for each expected participant.

Activity
Everyone must write one piece of information about themselves on a small strip of paper and place it in a balloon. They then blow up the balloon and throw the balloon in the center of the circle of participants. One by one, participants select a balloon, pop it, and try to guess which participant matches the piece of information.

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Creative Teaching Ideas, Icebreakers

Who Am I?

September 1, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
One slip of paper for each child containing a name of a famous cartoon character, movie star or character from a movie, Bible character, or historical figure; adhesive tape

Activity
As children/ youth enter the room, tape one of the nametags on their back. By asking “yes” or “no” questions youth must discover their identity as indicated by the slip of paper. You may restrict the number of questions they can ask a single person in order to encourage them to mingle more.

Variation
If you use an equal number of cartoon characters, movie personalities, etc. you can use these categories to divide the participants into groups.

Teaching Point
We learn the identity of God as we take our questions to him. The admonition of the preacher in Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 is that as children of God we need not have all the answers to life in order to live. Because we have a God who is a soveriegn Lord, we can trust him completely for our future. We can live our lives one day at a time, facing the perplexities as they come without falling into dispair. We can ask our questions of God as he is not threatened by them.

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Creative Holiday Ideas Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Creative Holiday Ideas
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.