Where’s Waldo Photo Scavenger Hunt

Materials
1. handheld camcorder / video camera for each team
or
2. Digital or traditional 35mm camera for each team

Scavenger Hunt Objective
This is merely a photo scavenger hunt with a special title and a couple of items related to the popular “Where’s Waldo” books. Another key factor is that the entire group must be seen in each picture. Teams are awarded bonuses for non-group members they are able to persuade to be in the pictures. When choosing your list be aware of the sensitivities of your youth and their adult sponsors. The intention is not to offend but to have fun. Don’t use all the suggestions in one outing. Save some for a future repeat as this ativity is sure to be a hit. You can use slide film and have a slide show at the end or use regular photos and have special bulletin boards. You can even make a little money if you decide to auction off the pictures or print reprints. For digital photos upload them to a website so everyone can access them.

The List
(Assign points to these based on the difficulty to accomplish each)
* Picture of your team drinking a coke out of one glass with straws
* Picture of your team with a Where’s Waldo Book!
* Picture of a crowd scene. Your team among a large crowd of people, but with everyone’s faces visible. The team with the largest crowd recieves an extra 5000 points.
* Picture of your team standing on their heads.
* Picture of your team holding cereal boxes.
* Picture of your team in front of a fire station.
* Picture of your team on an escalator.
* Picture of your team all licking the same ice-cream cone.
* Picture of your team with the guys on their knees, holding the hands of the girls in the team.
* Picture of your team with (local landmark) in the background.
* Picture of your team with a Police station in the background.
* Picture of your team behind bars (Hint: You don’t have to break the law to do this)
* Picture of your team’s funniest faces
* Picture of your team playing in a playground
* Picture of your team with the parent’s of someone on your team.
* Picture of your team in a mirror
* Picture of your team holding hands stretched across a residential street (be safe)
* Picture of your team with a guy on the team in a dress
* Picture of your team ALL on the same bench in a park
* Picture of your team on a bus
* Picture of your team with a boat in the background
* Picture of your team with a church staff member
* Picture of your team’s bare feet only
* Picture of your team with a museum in the background
* Picture of your team with the guys kissing the girls
* Picture of your team with panyhose over everyone’s heads. (NOT in a PUBLIC place or near a bank)
* Picture of your team with everyone wearing shaving cream beards.
* Picture of your team with one member dressed up like WALLY!
* Picture of your team all in a phone booth
* Picture of your team on a glass elevator
* Picture of your team in a bathtub
* Picture of your team illustrating the classical monkey statues of “I hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing” poses
* Picture of your team’s saddest faces
* Picture of your team with the girls holding frying pans, and rolling pins and threatening the guys with them
* Picture of your team with all the younger brothers/ sisters of someone on your team.
* Picture of your team with a church in the background
* Picture of your team all hugging each other
* Picture of your team all wearing sunglasses
* Picture of your team with everyone blowing bubbles
* Picture of your team with one of the guys wearing a wig
* Picture of your team eating popcorn
* Picture of your team with someone in curlers
* Picture of your team picking each other’s noses – (don’t eat it!)
* Picture of your entire team standing up in one tree. (Double points for each stranger)
* Picture of your team modeling bibs from a local dining establishment. Please ask manager first.
* Picture of your entire team standing on a fire engine. Thank the firemen.
* Picture of your team standing in front of a large public clock that reads exactly 7:15 PM.
* Picture of your of one of your team members kissing a mannequin in a clothes store while the rest of the team looks on. Get permission first!
* Picture of your entire team with their feet immersed in a body of water (creek, pool, etc.).
* Picture of your team with a live amphibian or reptile.
* Picture of your team standing with a pregnant woman
* Picture of your team in front of a school spelling out the letters of the school name using your bodies.
* Picture of your team in front of the church spelling out the letters of your church name using your bodies.
* Picture of your team forming a Christian symbol
* Picture of your team in front of cemetary

Variation
1. Use the standard rules, but add “For each non-group member in a picture, a bonus of 50 points is added.”
2. Print out invitations and have your youth invite every person they involve in their photos to your church.

Awards
In addition to awarding an overall winner, also award prizes for funniest, best dressed, most unlikely Bible character, etc.

See Conducting Scavenger Hunts for help, Hints, Safety Considerations, Rules, and other useful information to make your scavenger hunt a wild success!


scavenger_hunts_ebook_sm.jpgCreative Scavenger Hunts: Once Lost, Now Found

is a 160 page e-book that explains everything you need to know to easily plan your very own scavenger hunt: Item Lists, Rules, Riddles, Safety Tips, Guidelines, Scoring, Tips for Facilitators and MORE! There are more than 50 complete ideas (scavenger hunts, photo hunts, video hunts, amazing race, etc.) to use at home, around the neighborhood, at the mall, in the park, on the beach, at church, and around town!

=> Tell me more about the Creative Scavenger Hunts

The Doors of Hell

God does not condemn us to Hell; God wishes all humans to be saved. He will love us to all eternity, but there will exist the possibility that we do not accept the love and do not respond to it. And the refusal to accept love, the refusal to respond to it, that precisely is the meaning of Hell. Hell is not a place where God puts us; it’s a place where we put ourselves. The doors of Hell, insofar as they have locks, have locks on the inside.

Kallistos Ware


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Bumper Stickers

* Cover me. I’m changing lanes.
* I brake for no apparent reason.
* Forget about World Peace…Visualize using your turn signal.
* He who laughs last thinks slowest.
* Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
* Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
* Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.
* I love cats…they taste just like chicken.
* Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
* Born free…Taxed to death.
* Laugh alone and the world thinks you’re an idiot.
* I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.
* Work is for people who don’t know how to fish.
* Montana — At least our cows are sane!
* I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.
* Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.
* Sorry, I don’t date outside my species.
* I took an IQ test and the results were negative.
* Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.
* OK, who stopped payment on my reality check?
* I don’t suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
* IRS: We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got.
* Time is the best teacher; Unfortunately it kills all its students.
* It’s lonely at the top, but you eat better.
* According to my calculations, the problem doesn’t exist.
* Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear.
* Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
* Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot.
* Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.
* Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes.
* Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.
* Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
* Be nice to your kids. They’ll choose your nursing home.
* There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count & those who can’t.
* Ever stop to think and forget to start again?

Get Icebreakers ebookIcebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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

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

Simple and Sincere

There are many people who are sincere without being simple: they are ever afraid of being seen for what they are not; they are always musing over their words and thoughts and thinking about what they have done, in fear of having done or said too much. These people are sincere, but they are not simple: they are not at ease with others, and other people are not at ease with them. There is nothing easy about them, nothing free, spontaneous or natural. People who are imperfect, less regular, less masters of themselves, are more lovable. This is how people find them, and it is the same with God.

François Fénelon

Bible Scene Scavenger Hunt

Materials
1. handheld camcorder / video camera for each team
or
2. Digital or traditional 35mm camera for each team

Scavenger Hunt Objective
Youth must go to church members homes and video tape those church members acting out Bible scenes on their front yards.

The List
Make a list of Bible scenes and allow them to do each scene at one home only. Photograph or videotape it.
Examples: Creation, Adam and Eve and the apple, Noah’s ark, David and Goliath, Samson, Jesus, Balaam, Moses parting the Red Sea, Conquering Jericho, Ezra rebuilding the temple, Daniel in the lion’s den, Jonah and the whale, Joseph cast in a well, The plagues of Egypt, Baptism of Christ, Healing the paralytic, healing the blind man, Miracles of Jesus, Scenes from a specific book of the Bible, The angel visits the shepherd, the birth of Christ, the Wisemen, The cross, the resurrection, Easter events, Christmas events, Paul and Silas in prison, Paul’s shipwreck, Scenes from Revelation, Jesus walking on water, Jesus calms the seas, Feeding the 5000, and so many more you can choose from…

Variation
For video, they may also choose to sing the praise and worship choruses with the family watching. Give them extra points if that can get the family to participate.

Awards
In addition to awarding an overall winner, also award prizes for funniest, best dressed, most unlikely Bible character, etc.

See Conducting Scavenger Hunts for help, Hints, Safety Considerations, Rules, and other useful information to make your scavenger hunt a wild success!


scavenger_hunts_ebook_sm.jpgCreative Scavenger Hunts: Once Lost, Now Found

is a 160 page e-book that explains everything you need to know to easily plan your very own scavenger hunt: Item Lists, Rules, Riddles, Safety Tips, Guidelines, Scoring, Tips for Facilitators and MORE! There are more than 50 complete ideas (scavenger hunts, photo hunts, video hunts, amazing race, etc.) to use at home, around the neighborhood, at the mall, in the park, on the beach, at church, and around town!

=> Tell me more about the Creative Scavenger Hunts

Conducting Scavenger Hunts

Purpose

The primary goal of a scavenger hunt is to send participants out with a list of things to find, obtain, photograph, videotape, audio record, etc. The hope is that while they are working together as a team, relationships will be developed.

Publicity Opportunity

Make invitations to your church, business, or organization and give them to everyone who participates or that interacts with the groups in some way. Or create a small thank you card with your contact information. Participants can give a thank you card to everyone who helps them. Even better, invite them to a party or slideshow where the results will be displayed.

Preparing Item Lists

Lists can be as creative and wild as you want them to be. Design your list around a theme or concept:
Ecological, Bible Objects, Occupations, Food, Canned Goods, Prices of items, Animal Tracks, footprints, Photos at History Locations, People, sounds, clothing, church members, Camp Supplies, Items for the needy, recycled materials, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, New Year, Halloween, Noah’s Ark Party, old family photos, fruits, vegetables, widgets, Posed Photos, Video, etc.

Protecting Participants

  1. Don’t let any youth drive – put adults in charge and don’t allow horseplay on the roads like “Chinese fire drills”. Make sure everyone wears seatbelts or take major points away if they are caught on film without them on. You could also conduct the scavenger hunt on foot. You don’t want a participant killed while speeding during your scavenger hunts.
  2. Participants must obey all laws and instructions from sponsors
  3. Limit the play area and place people at strategic locations if needed to insure the safety of participants.
  4. Make sure each group has a mobile phone and contact numbers for emergency.

Points

  1. Set a specific point value for each item on the list.
  2. Have a point penalty for each minute late to the final destination or to report back with the items.
  3. For Video or photo scavenger hunts, give extra points to groups for having a company, organization, or church logo in every picture. You could also require a Bible, a mascot, or some other object in each picture. Some groups have even been known to have to carry a large teddy bear or other object ( a couch) around to be in each picture.
  4. Award extra points for having everyone in the group as part of the photo or video.

Planning the Scavenger Hunt – 10 Steps

  1. PURPOSE: What is the purpose of your scavenger hunt.
    (Is it an icebreaker? For team building? Just for fun?)
  2. TYPE: What type of scavenger hunt is it?
    (Is it to collect objects? a photo scavenger hunt? A video scavenger hunt? A sound scavenger hunt? Others?)
  3. THEME: What is the theme?
    (Is it a Pirate’s Treasure Hunt? a Superhero Hunt? Aladin’s Magic Carpet Hunt? Others?)
  4. LOCATION: Where will the hunt take place? What are the boundaries?
    (Is it limited to a school or church building? The downtown area? Walking distance? Reconnoiter the location to determine potential problems. Get permission in advance from affected businesses and individuals.)
  5. ITEM LIST: What items do participants need to collect?
    (Based on your purpose, type of hunt, and theme, make a list of items that can be found in the specified boundaries. Are subsitutions allowed?)
  6. SCORING: How will points be allocated?
    (Are some items worth more than others? Are there points for creativity and quality?)
  7. INVITATIONS: Who will be invited to the join in the Scavenger Hunt?
    (What do they need to bring? What do they need to wear? Tailor the invitations to your theme.)
  8. TEAMS: How will participants be divided into teams?
  9. RULES: What are the rules?
    (Take into consideration the safety of participants as well as minimizing potential problems.)
  10. AWARDS: Determine the location and the time for the awards party.
    (How will teams present their items to the judges?)

Hints

  1. For a photo or video scavenger hunt, do it early enough in the day so you can see the videotape or photos on the screen (if you don’t all you’ll see is a dark screen and hear them)
  2. Give points to the most creative group per category with a prize at the end
  3. Give youth enough time to go out and do these things. You can get great footage if they have enough time and aren’t rushed and you could make an end of the year video with some of the shots.
  4. Have fun and reward all of the participants at the end.


scavenger_hunts_ebook_sm.jpgCreative Scavenger Hunts: Once Lost, Now Found

is a 160 page e-book that explains everything you need to know to easily plan your very own scavenger hunt: Item Lists, Rules, Riddles, Safety Tips, Guidelines, Scoring, Tips for Facilitators and MORE! There are more than 50 complete ideas (scavenger hunts, photo hunts, video hunts, amazing race, etc.) to use at home, around the neighborhood, at the mall, in the park, on the beach, at church, and around town!

=> Tell me more about the Creative Scavenger Hunts

Divine Selection

Admonished for his lack of familiarity with modern science, the Indian mystic Sundar Singh asked, “What is science?”

“Natural selection, you know, and the survival of the fittest”, he was told.

“Ah”, Sundar Singh replied, “but I am more interested in divine selection, and the survival of the unfit.”

Following the Way

Materials
You’ll need three or four blindfolds and several objects to set up a small obstacle course.

Preparation
Ask one or two adult assistants to help you set up the course. Alternatively, blindfold everyone and lead them about the church. As you begin your message, have your assistants set up an obstacle course in front of the area where the children sit.

Activity
1. Has anyone here ever gone through an obstacle course? Let children respond. We’ve set up a little obstacle course here today. Describe the course you’ve set up.
2. Could I have three or four volunteers to try my obstacle course? Choose three or four children. Let them begin the course and then stop them.
3. Oh, I forgot to tell you. You have to do this obstacle course blindfolded. But don’t worry, I’ll lead you.
4. Have the volunteers hold hands. Then lead them through the obstacle course.
5. Other children may call out directions or encouragement.
6. When children have completed the course, remove their blindfolds and have them sit down.
7. Congratulations! Lead children in applause for volunteers.

Discussion
1. What would have happened if the blindfolded volunteers had to go through the obstacle course without a leader?
2. Without a leader, they might have stumbled and fallen.
3. The Bible says Jesus is the way. He shows us and guides us to God. He is the only way to reach God. Without him we are lost forever, stumbling in the dark.

Scripture Text
John 14:5-14


Get "Creative Sermon Ideas" eBook

Get Help on Your Youth Sermons

Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

Sacrifice

Sacrifice yourself for once for God’s will. It will not be in vain. Sacrifice yourself for truth, for justice. Sacrifice yourself for once against all human sense for something that is truly good. Sacrifice yourself for Christ in all things, and seek the kingdom of God. There is great strength in this- Stand for something: then your joy will be unbroken and lasting.

C. F. Blumhardt

Creative Youth ideas: 1700+ Resources for youth leaders, pastors, ministers to help plan camps, retreats, and meetings using games, illustrations, Children's Worship, Bible Studies, object lessons, sermons, creative ideas,creative activities