Youth Ministry Conversations

If you have a youth room, you likely have a ping pong table. Why not put that table to good use this week by playing this fun and crazy version of ping pong!

What you need

Ping Pong Equipment

Two VERY LARGE shirts per table 

This can be either an upfront game, or an awesome tournament. Its pretty simple. Divide into teams of two. Each team will be given two paddles and a Tshirt. They will be required to put the tshirt on the both of them, with each player having one arm out of the arm holes of the shirt and both heads sticking out the head hole. 

You then begin with the craziness. With both players now securely bonded to each other via the Tshirt, they are to play against the other similarly dressed team in a match of wild doubles ping pong. Play according to official doubles ping pong rules (or whichever rules you want to make it most interesting!) Each player should alternate hits of the ball. Play to any number of points you want. 

This is an amazingly fun twist on an old favorite, and will help to liven up your next youth group meeting or retreat. If you play it, let me know how it went!

HT to my friend Jason Frisch for this great idea!

Games are great for youth ministry, but if you have a few of the super-athletic types (such as myself) they can end up dominating and making the game not-so-much-fun for everyone else. To make things more interesting, try this variation on an old world favorite. Soccer is fun. Football is fun. But playing soccer with a football? Yeah, thats pure awesomeness. 

The rules are simple. Set up an area big enough for your group to play. Divide your group up into two teams. This can work with any size groups, but an ideal size is between 6-10 per team. Once they are divided into teams, the rules are standard soccer rules. The only difference? Use a football. 

The non-spherical shape of the football means you have goofy and crazy bounces that neutralizes much of the athletic ability of the super athletes. Also, its just so much fun because you have very little control on the trajectory of the ball. This makes a great outdoor game that requires little prep. 

If you do it, let me know how it went in the comments!

Everyone loves a good race. And every youth minister loves to put a twist on things. Enter the "Amoeba Race."

To prepare, mark out a predetermined obstacle course. Make it challenging – climbing over things, crawling under things, etc but be aware not to put students into any physical danger. Clearly mark out the directions so people won’t get lost.

When the students arrive, divide them of teams. If possible, try to have each team have 4 or more members. The bigger the team, the more interesting the game! Tie a rope around their waist so that the students are close together.

Then let them run the course. Depending on how you designed the course, it can be a timed run or teams can compete against each other. The point is not in winning the race but on how the teams work together. Can be just a fun game or a team building exercise.

Hace you ever played this game? I would love to hear how it went!

Tags: games, race, team, obstacle

Everyone remembers the kids game "Candy Land." This version takes to it to an extreme level! This works best for smaller groups, but large groups can work as well. It also takes about an hour, so this is great for a lock-in when everyone is at that "I’m-so-tired-I’m-crazy" stage.

Set aside a large portion of your building (either one room, like a gym, or traveling all through the building into different rooms) to set up your "board." You’ll need lots of colored construction paper for this stage. Set up the floor like the candyland board with alternating colors, and set up stations to match the ones on the board – Ginger bread plum tree, Candy Cane Forest, Gumdrop mountain, licorice castle, Peanut brittle house,  lollipop forest, the ice cream sea, the chocolate swamp, and then you are at Candy castle.

Once you’re set up, get everyone lined up at the start. People move around the board by way of drawing colored cards and going to the next one available. We had a Candy Land and used their cards, but you can make your own if you want. Once they reach each station, they get candy that matches with each station. The winner is the first one to reach the end.

It’s a simple game, and the students get lots of sugar (again why its perfect for a lock-in). Every time I’ve played it, the teens have loved it. It helps to keep it fast paced (keep them moving!) and have lots of candy for them. If you play it, I’d love to hear how it went.

Tags: game, youth group, lockin, lock-in, candy land

This game was introduced to me by some students a while back, and for some reason they love this game. Get your students into a circle (try to limit circle size to 10). The circle should be tight (only a foot or two between teens).

Count down from 3, and each student will strike a ninja/karate pose. Once they are in the pose, they do not move until their turn. When it reaches their turn, they “attack” by trying to slap at the hands of either person on their right or left. When a person attacks, the other person is able to move out of the way, only to free again. They get one swing per turn. If they miss, they have to freeze as well. If a person’s hand gets slapped, they’re out.

The attack travels around the circle counter-clockwise. The attacks go until there is only one person standing. As people get out, move the circle closer together. Also, the attacks should go relatively quickly (this is a fast paced game). Its a great game that is fun, and requires little in the way of prep or supplies.

Have you played this game before? I’d love to hear how it goes!

Tags: game, youth ministry, ninja