This one is a great team building activity for any size group, but especially large groups. It’s no set-up, no prep, and can be a great activity to do on the fly. Have the group circle up facing outward. You can have them link arms or touch shoulders, but it doesn’t matter, as long as…
Balanced
This game was born out of a fallen tree outside our retreat center several years ago. I am always looking for good team-building activities, and this panned out nicely. I had all of the teens stand on the log in a straight line. From that position, they had to reverse the order of themselves on…
New Car Wash Smell
Every summer, we strive for new and exciting service projects to help instill a servant’s heart in a group of teens that like keepin’ it fresh, too. One of the services we have such success with is a Police Car Wash. We usually do this as part of our VBS: After Hours, a program we…
Puff Suits
This activity is an amazing relay/team race activity that, with a little prep, can amp up your next overnight, retreat or party. My teens love it, and it usually fills 10-20 minutes, depending on the group size, number of rounds, enthusiasm, etc. Go to Walmart/K-Mart/Target/Costco/local retail venue? and purchase a few sets of the largest…
Dye It for Dinner
I did this for St. Patrick’s Day, but you can do it for any old occasion. A few drops of food coloring in the water when you make pasta will change the noodles in a very dramatic way! I used an Alfredo sauce with a few more drops, which really made the whole dish come…
Blind Geometry
This game is a great one for team-building, especially on retreats. Plus, it includes some shapes and letters, so it’s sort of like doing homework, right? Each youth needs a blindfold and you will need a rope that is long enough for everyone to be able to hold the rope and not be too close…
New Position Advice Pt. 5
Our final installment of New Position advice is one that I believe more youth ministers should take to heart. Stick Around. Depending on what figures you are looking at, the average youth minister is in their position for approx. 24 months. In my current position, I had a youth graduate last year that had had 5…
New Position Advice Pt. 4
Our 4th installment of New Position advice is perhaps the hardest of all. It’s also good advice for any youth minister at any point in their career, not just the beginning. Ask for help. It’s easy to think that we are supposed to be everything to everyone all the time. It’s easy to think we…
Build Up
On overnights, retreats, lock-ins, lock-ups, lock-downs, pretty much any type of lock-related events, I like to pull this little gem out for the youth. It’s a great team-building activity, a little out-of-the-box, easy and fun. Divide up the youth into groups of 2-4 and present the group with a box of graham crackers and frosting…
New Position Advice Pt. 3
Today we have our 3rd installment of our New Position advice series, and this might seem like a strange piece of advice, since you are just starting, but it’s just as important as our other posts. Build a ministry that can exist without you. Even though you are just stepping into a position, someday you…
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