Hot topic of the week

im wondering. if you do something and you know you were not supposed to do it. like i know im not suppose to lie and other things, but say i did it anyway. does God still forgive you? even when you delibratly disobey him.

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Youth Leaders

Shake It Up

Get your youth group away from the ordinary with these off-beat ideas.

Capture the Flag--in the Dark. Add intrigue to the old-time favorite "Capture the flag" by playing at nighttime in a large, empty field (free of potholes, trees and shrubs, etc). Two equally numbered teams line up shoulder to shoulder and number off from one to whatever number ends the line. The "official" calls out a number and the person with that number from both sides runs to the middle to try to capture the flag by snagging it and getting across their own line before the person from the other team tags 'em. Keep score, add more numbers at any given time. Playing this at night makes it seem like you run very fast! (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Python Tag. Form teams of six to eight people each. You may have to adjust the size so that there are at least here teams. Have the team members stand behind each other and hang on the person's waist in front of them or on to their shoulders to form the python. At a signal, the team must move around the gym together. If they come apart, the team must go to one end of the gym, reconnect, and begin again. The person at the front of each python tries to tag the last person on another team. If the last person in line is tagged, they must join the end of the team that tagged them. The more people a team tags, the longer the python will grow. There should be a time limit of 10 to 15 minutes. When time is up, the team that has formed the longest python by tagging the most people wins. (From Cornerstone Youth Resources, 1st Quarter 2000, "Super Social Suggestions," p. 11, by Kim A. Johnson.)

Make Your Own Ice Cream. Baskin-Robbins 31 flavors can be beat by having your own "32 flavors." Youth can make their own flavor of ice cream from scratch or by taking vanilla ice cream and flavoring it to their own taste! Rules should be followed, such as you must have a complete half-gallon, it must be a new flavor, it must be edible, etc. Judge these and give prizes (gift certificates to Baskin-Robbins?). You can also sell ice cream at a church social with the money going for youth activities. (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Back to the Drive-In. You'll need a video projector, king sized white bed sheet, pop-corn and juice for this one. Secure an outdoor area for your youth group to use one night. Rent a video, put up the bed sheet, pop the corn and pour the juice. Tell your youth ahead of time to bring a blanket for the activity. When everyone is there, bring back the days of drive-in movies by showing your video onto the sheet with the youth sitting on blankets and enjoying your pop-corn, juice and fellowship. (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Mystery Sabbath. Conduct a "Mystery Sabbath" in which everything seems to be done differently. For example, when you do your praise and worship music, do it on a bus instead of in your youth room. Take the bus to the houses of people who haven't made it to your group. Go ahead and wake them up. You can also pick up large rocks at various stops and people can carry them as they go. Eventually you can lay your burden down and form an altar during an outdoor worship service. Consider you own environment, interests, and goals as you design your own "Mystery Sabbath." (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Tearing Down The Walls! Organize the youth into "welcoming" committees and take over the door duties at church one Sabbath. Equip your youth with tools (things to say, bulletins, etc.) along with a cool flyer telling church members what is going on in the youth ministry. A nice added touch is to buy a supply of small flowers to be handed out to all the ladies of your church as the youth greet them at the doors. Feel free to give the guys flowers, too, and let them give them to others at church. (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Go to the Beach. Spread beach towels on the floor. Serve chips, potato salad, sandwiches, and lemonade. Divide the group into teams, tape up a badminton net or stretch a piece of yarn across the room, and play balloon volleyball. (From Go Have Some Fun! By Sally Dillon, in CYR, 1st quarter 1997, pp. 10-11.)

Night of Nostalgia. Host a night of nostalgia by having a graduation party for parents. Pretend they are graduating from high school and have them reminisce about what they did years ago. Then have them share their wisdom to those still in high school. How have things changed? How are they still the same. Play 70s or 80s music. Do a little research to identify news items of those days, as well as obscure stories of interest--just check records of newspapers or news magazines from that time period. Close with a prayer of thanks that your parents survived and then have the parents pray for the teens for this school year. (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Praise Party. All you need for the party is food, music, gifts, and fun. For the praise, all you need is a Bible, a testimony, and a willingness to share your experiences about God. Here's what you do: Arrange to have your youth group, along with any visitors, meet at someone's house. Have on hand plenty of drinks and snacks to munch on. Start off by spending some time getting acquainted with the visitors. Then spend some time singing your favorite hymns, contemporary Christian songs, or gospel songs. You can even intersperse this with recorded music featuring your favorite CDs. Have people bring gifts (costing no more than $5) to exchange during the party. The idea of the gifts is to have the youth give something that reflects the good and noble qualities of the person receiving the gift. As the giver is giving the gift, he/she must say something positive or praiseworthy about the receiver. You can decide beforehand who buys whom a gift by having the youth pick names from a hat. If you have a number of visitors, you may want to have some extra gifts on hand so that everybody gets something. Finally, have the group share testimonies and words of thanks and praise to God. End with a Bible reading and prayer, then let the group continue to fellowship and feast. (From Cornerstone Youth Resources, 3rd Quarter 2000, pp. 8-9. Super Social Suggestions by Paul Goodridge.)

Pool Party. Create a giant game of billiards (pool) on a gym floor. Select balls of various sizes and densities. Make "pockets" out of strong boxes or plywood or make a soft touch necessary by making the "pocket" a taped area on the floor. Choose your "cue" ball and roll it to carom the other balls into their pockets. If you have extra people, set them in stationary positions as cue obstacles or helpers. (From Steve Case's Program Ideas)

Go Mexican. Serve corn chips and salsa, and spread a do-it-yourself burrito bar (with tortillas, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, and salsa). Have blindfolds and a pinata for teens to break. You can make your own pinata by gluing strips of paper around a balloon and painting it. Fill with candy and small party favors. Supply crepe paper, brown paper bags, yarn, markers, crayons, and scissors to each team. Give a time limit and award a prize to the team that makes the best pinata. (From Go Have Some Fun! By Sally Dillon, in CYR, 1st quarter 1997, pp. 10-11.)

Art Gallery. Why not set up an art gallery in your church showcasing your youth group's talents? You'll be surprised at how talented your people are and how unrecognized their talents have been in the past. Begin by having your youth produce artwork to be displayed. They can display drawings, paintings, computer-generated graphic art, photographs, sculptures, pottery, etc. There could even be a section in the "gallery" for written work, such as poetry, prose, and short stories. You can charge a nominal admission fee of, say, $2 for those patrons wishing to see the works on display. To add something different to the occasion, have the artists' works displayed anonymously so that the patrons have to guess to whom the particular pieces belong. If there are local artists in the area, you could also have a section of the "gallery" set aside to display their work. Be sure to have refreshments on hand afterward. (From Cornerstone Youth Resources, 3rd Quarter 2000, pp. 8-9. Super Social Suggestions by Paul Goodridge.)

Go Hollywood. Create your own short movie. In any large group you're bound to find some aspiring actors, writers, cinematographers, and even video editors. With today's technology it's easier than ever to create a polished production, and nothing requires "all hands on deck" like a video project (just watch the lengthy credits of the next movie you see). Brainstorm an idea, whether it's acting out a Bible story, a modern parable, or a documentary about your youth group latest activity. Put your heads together to write it, cast the roles, shoot it, and edit it. Then present it in church for all to enjoy.