Student leaders and/or volunteers should be decked out in the team color they have been assigned and be hidden so the kids can’t seem them until the big reveal. The kids will really look up to their leaders so this is important.
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Ask someone from the group to open the event with a prayer.
The enhancer of joy for this session is community/diversity. Some youth will have their best friend come with them to youth group each week and some will not. All youth will be different whether it be in their grade, gender, race, sexual orientation, or social circles. They will not look and or act the same. The scripture from Corinthians reminds us of the call to the people of Corinth to gather together while embracing their differences instead of letting their differences separate them. We know what happens when divisions take center stage – silos and fear persist. So during this activity, and through the creation of teams, we celebrate community and our differences. All language around splitting the larger group into teams should be framed positively around the fact that small groups are where we can really get to know others better.
The inhibitor of joy is fear. Some youth will be timid and quiet within their teams initially because they fear the unknown. They fear exposing themselves to possible ridicule, especially with people they do not know. Yet, we know from Matthew 18:20 that God is present where two or more are gathered. Acknowledging that it might be challenging to break out of our typical friendships can be useful, so long as you explain why it is important that we push out of these comfort zones.
Duration: 60 minutes
Each team should spend time decorating their flag, which should include the following:
Set up: On pieces of paper have nouns (flower, trash can…etc) have an adult positioned at the back of one room with them. In a separate but nearby room you should have a white board or flip chart split into halves on both sides. One half for each team.
How to: One member from each team will run from one room to the back of the other and grab a word from the adult. They will run back and begin drawing the word. When the team gets the word right they get a point and they send another team member to get another word. The game is over when all words have been guessed and there are no more words to hand out. The team with the most points wins. You can also write parables on the pieces of paper to test the youth knowledge of their bible stories!
Note: Separate doors should be used for entering and exiting so kids don’t run into each other.
Duration: 10 minutes
Duration: 5 minutes