Fall Kickoff Ideas
Earlier I talked about how to plan a fall kickoff. I thought I’d come back to it and talk about some more specific ideas on what you can do for a kickoff. These are just a few possible ideas you can use. You can combine them, take bits and pieces, whatever. These are just some things I’ve done that will work great for a fun fall kickoff activity for your youth group.
Concert – Music is a good draw, especially for non-churched students. You can usually get local bands at a good rate.
Fruit Smash – This is great for Middle Schoolers (ok, for anyone, but especially MS). Grab a bat, some goggles, and a wide variety of fruit. Give students turns bashing the fruit into little bits. Sounds dumb, but its a lot of fun! The “Fall Smash!” is great.
Cookout – Tried and true, its a good easy way to kickoff the year. You can of course add anything you want, but sometimes the low key approach works best. Great for building relationships and just relaxing.
Guys/Girls Night Out – looking to split the genders up? Have the guys over for a big video game blowout. Have the girls dress up in prom dresses and go to McDonalds.
Lock-in – The standard of youth ministry, but it works. Its one last night of no sleep before school gets going.
Lock-out – A take-off of the lock in idea, here you take your students to different venues – bowling, laser tag, go carts, etc. Be creative, go to a variety of different places.
Getting to know you – Plan a bunch of different “getting to know you” games or activities that will mix your students up to get to know a wide variety of the group.
When we were young – Plan a bunch of different games that will remind your students of their by-gone youth. Some suggestions – kickball, red rover, tag, dodgeball
Glow in the dark night – Grab a bunch of glow sticks and play different games in the dark. You can play glow in the dark tag, football, capture the flag, etc. You can make most any games glow in the dark, just be creative.
Day at the Beach – Get away for a day, grab some jetskis or a boat, and have a bonfire on the beach. The day will create a ton of memories, and is a lot of fun.
Mud-athon – Hot summer? Nothing cools down like a bunch of mud! Mud king of the hill, football, mudslides, whatever. It will be messy, but a bunch of fun.
Messy Game Night – Making a mess is fun. Anything that will get your students covered in goo will work, and the pictures will be good for some humor down the road.
These are just a sampling of some of the great ideas you can try to kick your year off. Be creative and come up with a fun night of activities that will be a big draw to students in your group and their friends. Of course, be sure to offer food, maybe some prizes, and read how to plan a fall kickoff for some more planning ideas. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
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