Event Ideas

All Around The Houses: Enlist the help of church members & get them to prepare some food at their homes . . . without telling you what it is. It could be drinks, desserts, snacks . . . anything they want. Start at one of the homes and progress around to each house to eat whatever has been prepared. At the final location have all the 'hosts' gather for an evening of fun. This got our youth group and our older folk together and it was great fun. We had soup, garlic bread, yorkshire puddings, gravy, banana chips, African punch, sausage rolls, and the last house had a fantastic array of desserts. Added by Fiona Kelly Amateur Olympics: We rented out a local gymnastics club for the night. We didn't tell the students what we were doing but told them to wear "athletic clothing" because we would be doing something physical. We set the night up like an Olympic gymnastics meet. There were four events that the students rotated through: beam, vault, floor and trampoline. There were judges at each event who judged the students on creativity, style, fun factor, etc. They held up scores at the end of each event they did. They also kept track of all the scores for the event. Before we started, the students were divided into teams and had to create a team name and flag. Then they marched into the gym waving their flag. Event Details:

For the beam we used a low beam that was only a few inches off of the floor. The students had about a minute to do their best and most creative routine on the beam. For the floor we had a CD player and turned on random music that the kids had to create a routine to on the spot (this was the most fun!!). For the trampoline they got judged on how high they jumped, creativity, and style. For the vault they had two tries to get over, under or around it as creatively as possible.

After they had rotated through all the events we had an awards ceremony and gave out medals for each event. We gave away a gold, silver and bronze for each of the 4 events and then we gave an award to the team that had the highest total of points. Weve done this idea at 2 different churches that we have been in. It was a huge hit at both. Added by Stacy Goebel, Phoenix, AZ Amazing Race, The: This event is incredibly simple, has very minimal set-up cost and is a ton of fun for all from children to college aged students! Everyone seems to be a fan of the reality show The Amazing Race where contestants go around the world getting clues and

accomplishing tasks in order to be the first to finish and win the race. In this version of The Amazing Race there is only one task to accomplish at the end of the race and endless amounts of riddle solving during the race. Heres how it works:

1. You need to come up with a phrase that would be great for whatever season, date or event you are playing the race at. (In the example below, the phrase is Goodbye 8th Graders for a final middle school ministry event for 8th graders.) 2. Take that phrase and split it up into individual letters (into single letters is best, but you can do a couple together also.) 3. Third, create riddle-like clues about the location you intend to hide each letter around your church building or other facility (this works great in larger facilities, if your facility is small, remember to use the outdoors to your advantage!). There is an example at the end. 4. Now that you have your phrase and locations down, simply make enough copies of each letter so that every hiding place has the same amount of letters as teams. At each hiding place should be one sheet of paper per team that has the letter in a huge font that takes up most of the page and then a small strip of paper that has the clue to the next hiding spot. (i.e. 7 teams would need 7 copies of each clue/letter- paper at each hiding place). 5. Now go plant your clues (legal envelopes are great ways to place your clues in the hiding spots) and remember that your first clue will be handed to everyone at the beginning of the game. 6. Get your groups together; explain that the first group to find all the letters and solve the phrase that they make wins the race! Instruct teams that once they have solved all the clues and collected all the letters, they must return to a designated place and unscramble the phrase that the letters spell out. (Be prepared, this can take upwards near 15-20 minutes to do if your phrase is long.) 7. Hand them clue #1 to start with and let them run. First team to solve the phrase at the end WINS!

ATASCOCITA COMMUNITY CHURCH EXAMPLE:

1. CLUE #1 NO LETTER The sounds of adventure start here in this zone!

(Soundboard in Adventure Zone) ***This is the clue that you handout at the beginningthe students race to the location the clue #1 gives to find clue #2 and the letter G***

2. CLUE #2 G The things we dont want, the things we cant keep we put in
this thing to keep ACC neat. (Dumpster)

***The students race to the location the clue #2 gives to find clue #3 and the letter O and so on*** 3. CLUE #3 O In the days of castles, these were lowered to allow entry nowadays they keep people out. (Gate) 4. CLUE #4 O Rock, rock, who has the rock? (Rocks in front of building) 5. CLUE #5 D This portal allows one to see children 3-6 years old on Sundays (outside window of Zoofari) 6. CLUE #6 B Diapers, diapers everywhere, but not a toddler to make this stink. (changing table in Toddlers) 7. CLUE #7 Y Ping-pong the witch is dead??? (underneath ping pong table) 8. CLUE #8 E Its not the movies, but it is a big screen! (Auditorium screen) 9. CLUE #9 8 This is a backdrop for artists, especially master artists. (AZ backdrop) 10.CLUE #10 T Show me the money, and your family information card. (Offering box) 11.CLUE #11 H You might find a robot in this room, or at least something mechanical anyway. (Mechanical room) 12.CLUE #12 G 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, which John could it be in? (Boys and Girls bathroom) 13.CLUE #13 R Signs, signs, everywhere are signsthis is a big sign with service times. (ACC sign) 14.CLUE #14 A To heat something up quick, youd put it in this (Microwave Kitchen) 15.CLUE #15 D Oh, thats just PERFECT!!! (Perfect sign behind stage) 16.CLUE #16 E Getting tired yet? This is where babies sleep when their tired. (Nursery crib)

17. CLUE #17 R That old piece of junkI cant believe it still runs! (Jamies
car) ***Clue #17 leads only to the final letter*** 18.NO CLUE S

TIPS: You can scramble the order of the letters so that they dont get each letter in the exact order of the phrase, but I have found that the students dont pick up on it and it makes your life easier to keep it in order. Remember to remove the answers that are in parentheses in the clues when you

play the game. Although, you do want to have a master list for yourself that has the clues, answers and letters all together so that you can help students who may have accidentally missed a letter somewhere. Make sure the space to unscramble the phrase is big enough for your students to spread out all of their letters. Awake-A-Thon: Begin by printing out pledge sheets for youth. Have them collect pledges based either on hour pledges or flat rate pledges. Have students bring sleeping bags and pillows, etc., and arrange a large room to keep youth and chaperones in. Have plenty of snacks and games on hand. Schedule this for a Fri evening thru Saturday evening. Plan ahead with a variety of games (getting-to-know-you's, team building activities, and other mixers). Make it a rule that NO ONE goes home from beginning to end except in the case of medical emergencies, etc. If you have the equipment, take lots of pictures to show on a slide show set to preselected music every hour on a screen. Each participant raises money for their youth group (or missions project) by staying awake! Each hour they stay awake will be initialed by a chaperone. Have youth total hours and collect pledges the following week. This is a great way to raise money gather for great fellowship! Added by Melanie Guertin Back In The Day: This event was actually done by a Childrens Worker, but could be tweaked for teenagers. Have everyone including teachers/sponsors - come dressed as a Bible character, but not tell anyone who they represent. Decorate your room to resemble a banquet in Jesus' Day, with candles for lighting. Have volunteers fix a meal consisting of only foods from back in Jesus' Day (breads, deer, fruits, vegetables, spices...best of all the chance to taste vinegar!). After enjoying the meal each person has to describe him or her self while others try to guess who they were. Award prizes for best costume (most creative representation of a Bible character) and most thorough knowledge of that character and of Bible days. This is a great opportunity to educate your students on Jesus' lifestyle and minister to them through the characters they chose to come as. Idea from Tara Turner Backwards Halloween: Our congregation donates candy for several weeks - which is then split into about 100 bags. The week before Halloween, our youth group goes into the community, knocks on doors and gives them candy, along with information about our church. (We don't wear costumes.) Leads to a great lesson on how people accept a "free" gift - some appreciate it, others are apprehensive, and others reject it...just like with Jesus. Also good training for students and leaders in outreach and showing genuine care with no strings attached.

Also see Charge 'Em Up on Events page. Added by Cecile Kaiser Banana Night: Banana Overload event including additional banana games from our Games pages for camp, outreach, the love of bananas - you name it! Go bananas! Have everyone come dressed as a banana (or, at least wear yellow). Admission to the party is one banana per person and whatever monetary cost you determine, if any. Prizes for games could be Bic-bananas, among other banana-related things. Make and eat banana shakes or banana splits. You can have everyone go from event to event or have "stations" that teams can go to, one after the other. Ginormous Ice Cream Sundae Buy LOTS of bananas, banana split toppings, napkins, and spoons. Build a huge ice cream sundae in 80 feet of gutter (use cheap plastic). Try to build the massive sundae in waves and then when it is "official" they all take spoons and begin to eat. Banana Barf This game is played up front with a few people while the crowd watches. Have two or three volunteers put a whole banana in their mouth, instructing them not to eat it, just hold it in their mouth. Then put a pair of panty-hose over each volunteer's head. Have them squish the banana threw the tiny holes in the hose into a trash or grocery bag. Added by Elisabeth Banana Dress-up Each team or group is given a banana and a baggy of random items (felt, foil, beads, etc. - BE CREATIVE). They then are told to create a personality and appearance for their banana with the items they get. One volunteer from each group gets up and introduces their banana to the group. It's better if each group gets different items for variety. Added by Jessica Fletcher Banana Legs This game is played up front with a few people while the crowd watches. You can use as many contestants as desired but it's best with an audience cheering them on. The contestants place a knee-high over their head (like a bank robber) and are given a banana. They race to see who can eat the banana through the nylon first. Have a camera ready! Added by Trish Barnhart Banana Poke This game is played up front with a few people while the crowd watches. Bring 2 students up front. Tie their left hands together and give each a banana. They must peel the banana with one hand and poke the other in the face (not in eye).

Round Two: blindfolded Idea from Young Life Banana Split-N-Slide Everyone remembers their very first slip and slide out in the yard on a hot summer day. Here's a variation. Get approximately 50 feet of plastic tarp and items that would be found on a banana split (ice cream, strawberry syrup, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, banana pieces and maraschino cherries). Pile items on top of the tarp and spread it out. Add a little cooking oil for extra slip and slide. Have students line up and take off one at a time! We've done this with just Hershey Syrup (about 50 lbs. found in bulk at Sam's Warehouse). Had we not mixed a little oil and water with it, we wouldn't have been able to slide very well. Idea by Cristin Banana Splits in the Mouth This game is played up front with a few people while the crowd watches. Recruit four hungry volunteers. Two people stand up in chairs while two others lie on the floor at their feet. People in the chairs try to make a banana split in the other persons mouth by dropping ice-cream, syrup, banana, nuts, whipping cream and finally, a cherry into the person's mouth. Variations: Blindfold the people in the chairs. Alternate people in chairs with people on the floor. Payback time. Added by Tammy Straub Banana Stuff (aka Blind Banana Stuff) This game is played up front with a few people while the crowd watches. Bring three guys to the front to see who can eat the most bananas in five minutes while blindfolded. As soon as one banana is peeled and eaten, the contestant will be handed another. Blindfold all three. Instruct the crowd to cheer for their favorites Then have associates silently remove two of the blindfolds and let the guys rejoin the crowd. Start the "contest" and keep the one guy stuffing down bananas as long as possible. When his blindfold is removed and he realizes he was the only one, it's funny. Banana Surgery Have a team peel and cut up a banana into equal parts. (Dont tell them what comes next until they're done.) Then tell them they must put the banana back together using pins, needles, tape, or whatever. The team with the best, reconstructed banana wins. If you do this with a big group, use a video feed to a big screen and time the "surgery" so it doesn't drag. The point: Things taken apart (relationships, reputations, etc.) aren't as easily put back together.

Idea from Young Life Option: Adapt songs to have a "Banana-along" ato include favorites like: "My Old Kentucky Banana," "On Top of Old Banana," etc. See Bananarama, also on Events page. Bananarama: Have a scavenger hunt where each team is given a banana and a list of things to measure with in banana lengths: Sample items: The height of a stop sign a garage door the length of a Chevy Height of a Staff person width of a sidewalk someone's waist the banana area of a window (window banana length x window banana width) Bigger and Better Hunt aka Trade Up: This is a scavenger hunt where you send out each team with a coat hanger (or another small item if you wish) and you instruct each team to go door to door in the neighborhood asking people if they will trade for something bigger (strictly the size) or better (quality, value, etc.). The team that brings back the biggest or best item back is the winner. Teams must trade the items, not come back with a stockpile of items. Each team will come back with one item and judges will determine the winner. Rules: You must trade each item you receive for the next item. No money or anything else can be offered on the side. Your team must stay together. Idea by Christy Black Light Bash: For this black light event, buy any game supplies you need, a bunch of glow sticks and five to ten dark t-shirts for an object lesson. Play games under a "black light," like Hockey, Capture The Flag, Clean Up Your Own Backyard (like Dodge Ball, but trying to throw all the balls on the other side), or anything; it doesn't matter. It's just fun to play under the black light, especially if people wear white. Here are some of the specific black light games from our web site:

Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball (Click Here) Black Light Basketball (Click Here) Black Light Dodgeball (Click Here) Black Light Volleyball (Click Here).

After the games are done, bring everyone together. An Object Lesson: Ahead of time, break open a glow stick for each of your four or five dark t-shirts and write the name of a sin on the back of it (ex. drug abuse, disrespecting authority, stealing, swearing, lying, lust, premarital sex, gossip). Pre-select some student leaders up front to don the new "black light" wear. Have it so their backs are facing away from the audience and the audience doesn't see what's written on the back of the shirts. Say something like, "We just brought these models in from Norway to show you our fashionable new T-shirt line. The model agency says that these models are good people. I just had to take their word for it. I mean, it's not like we wear our sins on our shirts, right?" Have the students "model" them on a mock runway or stage, or just through the center of the room. Have them walk out through the center of the audience with the lights normal (you can see the writing a little bit), but then when the first model turns to go back to the stage, switch to your black lights so the kids can see the back of the shirts as they walk back toward the stage. Have the "models" stop and strike a pose when back on the stage, with their backs (and the writing) facing the audience. You'll have the black lights on now and everyone will see their "sin." (Note: this only works if you have the black lights hung and rigged pretty well and all lighting can be controlled from the back. You don't want someone following the kids around with a black light- it just sends a totally different message- like we're trying to expose their sins.) Have the models exit the stage (then you can have them change out of the shirts). Transition Statement: I don't know about you, but there have been some times in my life that I'm glad my sin wasn't written on my shirt for all to see. Wow. That's pretty embarrassing. But let's be honest, no matter how private our sin is, there's someone who always sees it. Let's break up into small groups, and then afterward well come back together for a final word.
CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups

using our small group formata great resource to equip your small group leaders. Small Group Questions:

1. AROUND THE CIRCLE: (a light opening question to warm up the group) Before we get started, let's go around the circle and everyone quickly share their favorite thing to do an the weekend. 2. ASK A FEW: We just saw a bizarre fashion show. What were some of the sins we saw written on people's backs. 3. ASK A FEW: What are sins? Sin is just a word for "when we do things our way instead of God's way. He's laid out a great plan for us, but we try to do things our own way. That's sin.

4. ASK A FEW: What are some of the "sins" that you think are common in the teenage world today? 5. ASK SOMEONE: Which of these sins does God NOT see? (The answer is none--He sees them all.) 6. ASK A FEW: So why do you think that people try to hide sins from God or pretend that He doesn't see them? Read the following two verses:

1 John 1:8-9 (NLT) If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

7. ASK SOMEONE: According to the verse, what are we doing if we "say we have no sin?" 8. ASK SOMEONE: (Remind students to look at what the verse says.) So how do we get rid of sin? 9. ASK A FEW: The verse says that He is "faithful and just" to forgive us. What does that mean? (He always will. He keeps His word.)

Small Group Wrap Up: Let's close in prayer. And as I pray, maybe there are some of us in this group that have something to confess or talk about more. I encourage you, if that's you, stick around and talk with me or one of the staff tonight. PRAY Idea by Brandon Swonger Black Light Bash: For this black light event, buy any game supplies you need, a bunch of glow sticks and five to ten dark t-shirts for an object lesson. Play games under a "black light," like Hockey, Capture The Flag, Clean Up Your Own Backyard (like Dodge Ball, but trying to throw all the balls on the other side), or anything; it doesn't matter. It's just fun to play under the black light, especially if people wear white. Here are some of the specific black light games from our web site:

Glow-in-the-Dark Dodgeball (Click Here) Black Light Basketball (Click Here) Black Light Dodgeball (Click Here) Black Light Volleyball (Click Here).

After the games are done, bring everyone together. An Object Lesson: Ahead of time, break open a glow stick for each of your four or five dark t-shirts and write the name of a sin on the back of it (ex. drug abuse, disrespecting authority, stealing, swearing, lying, lust, premarital sex, gossip). Pre-select some student leaders up front to don the new "black light" wear. Have it so their backs are facing away from the audience and the audience doesn't see what's written on the back of the shirts. Say something like, "We just brought these models in from Norway to show you our fashionable new T-shirt line. The model agency says that these models are good people. I just had to take their word for it. I mean, it's not like we wear our sins on our shirts, right?" Have the students "model" them on a mock runway or stage, or just through the center of the room. Have them walk out through the center of the audience with the lights normal (you can see the writing a little bit), but then when the first model turns to go back to the stage, switch to your black lights so the kids can see the back of the shirts as they walk back toward the stage. Have the "models" stop and strike a pose when back on the stage, with their backs (and the writing) facing the audience. You'll have the black lights on now and everyone will see their "sin." (Note: this only works if you have the black lights hung and rigged pretty well and all lighting can be controlled from the back. You don't want someone following the kids around with a black light- it just sends a totally different message- like we're trying to expose their sins.) Have the models exit the stage (then you can have them change out of the shirts). Transition Statement: I don't know about you, but there have been some times in my life that I'm glad my sin wasn't written on my shirt for all to see. Wow. That's pretty embarrassing. But let's be honest, no matter how private our sin is, there's someone who always sees it. Let's break up into small groups, and then afterward well come back together for a final word.
CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups

using our small group formata great resource to equip your small group leaders. Small Group Questions:

1. AROUND THE CIRCLE: (a light opening question to warm up the group) Before we get started, let's go around the circle and everyone quickly share their favorite thing to do an the weekend. 2. ASK A FEW: We just saw a bizarre fashion show. What were some of the sins we saw written on people's backs. 3. ASK A FEW: What are sins? Sin is just a word for "when we do things our way instead of God's way. He's laid out a great plan for us, but we try to do things our own way. That's sin.

4. ASK A FEW: What are some of the "sins" that you think are common in the teenage world today? 5. ASK SOMEONE: Which of these sins does God NOT see? (The answer is none--He sees them all.) 6. ASK A FEW: So why do you think that people try to hide sins from God or pretend that He doesn't see them? Read the following two verses:

1 John 1:8-9 (NLT) If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

7. ASK SOMEONE: According to the verse, what are we doing if we "say we have no sin?" 8. ASK SOMEONE: (Remind students to look at what the verse says.) So how do we get rid of sin? 9. ASK A FEW: The verse says that He is "faithful and just" to forgive us. What does that mean? (He always will. He keeps His word.)

Small Group Wrap Up: Let's close in prayer. And as I pray, maybe there are some of us in this group that have something to confess or talk about more. I encourage you, if that's you, stick around and talk with me or one of the staff tonight. PRAY Idea by Brandon Swonger Bring Your Own Utensil Dinner: That's what you advertise it as . . . "Bring Your Own Utensil," and you don't tell them anything else. When you're pumping the event, give suggestions of utensils they can bring: wooden spoons, spatulas, serving forks, egg beaters . . . whatever you want. Serve a spaghetti dinner for the event. The catch is... no silverware. Everyone has to use the utensil they brought with them. Take pictures with a digital camera (if you have the capability, show a slide presentation at the end of the night). Give prizes afterward for the following:

Most Creative Utensil Most Functional Utensil Sloppiest Eater Neatest Eater Largest Portion Consumed Smallest Portion Consumed

Enjoy! Broom Hockey: Reserve your nearby ice rink and go play hockey with mere tennis shoes on, using brooms as sticks, a huge insurance liability policy, and a small ball as a puck. Car Restoration Ghetto Flava: Got a big ol' hooptie or an ugly little junker that still runs? This isnt really a game, but a great activity for your group. This idea was submitted by Jake & Vicki Hookham: My 1986 Olds Delta 88 was white and crying out for some ghetto (it looks like a grandma car, and that's exactly who died right before it was donated to me). To pull in a couple of unchurched skaters, I invited them beforehand, got all the colors of house paint I could. We surprised the skaters and painted the car with it. I told them I needed their help to paint something big, had them all stand in the parking lot, told them to wait for me while I went to the car to get it, then brought the car. Everyone had lots of fun, and "things about God" and our church's address and slogan are plastered all over my car. The kids feel unified whenever they see it around town. Our variation: If you have more than one hooptie owner, you can break your group up in teams and have a contest for most original restoration job. Australian youth worker Chris Bowditch's variation: Same as above, only turn it into a two-week competition with two teams - one for each side of the car. Week One: Same "decorating" idea as above, even providing stencils for some of the students to decorate the car with. Week Two: Take the windows out and give kids turns smashing the car. Again give each team a side of the car and let them lay into it with sledgehammers and/or block splitters. This can last at least an hour! We then used this to talk about sacrifice (it was a weak link, but it was there). The main idea was to launch the new year, and to 'smash' the students expectations about what people who are involved in a church do. Smart youth worker tip: Just make sure you let the neighbors know what's going on (otherwise they may call the police)! Also see Car Stuff on Outdoor Games page.

Charge 'Em Up: Have your congregation donate new 9-volt batteries to your youth group for a few

weeks. Then, hand them out (or install them yourselves), in Jesus' name, in your neighborhood surrounding the church building. The batteries are for their smokedetectors...take along a clipboard, paper, and a pen to take down the neighbor's prayer request...plenty of ministry to be had by all!!! The reason this worked was because we didn't do the expected-try to convert people. We just met a need (batteries in smoke detectors) and offered to pray for them. The neighbors were shocked... (NO PUN INTENDED)...They really couldn't believe it. The youth were really charged...(I did it again...) to show GOD's love so practically! Also see Backwards Halloween on Events page. Idea by Marty A. Nichols Chicagopoly, Lincolnoply, Sacramentopoly: A Personalized Youth Event Those of you who are running a weekly program, whether for a youth group or an outreach, are always looking for fun events. Kevin Flick just added this great idea to Jonathan's Resources Event Page last week. Monopoly Night: This event gives you the opportunity to be creative and build a custom event for your own youth group, using recognizable streets and industries from your city. Call the event what you want- use the city or the youth group's name if you wish. Take really wide paper (we use paper that is used for covering tables) and construct a gigantic Monopoly board. Use construction paper for the different colors. The larger the board, the more exciting the teens will find it! (Or Just use butcher paper and roll out the frame of the board almost as big as the room!) Print huge Chance and Community Chest cards on colored paper. Also, title each space with street names that the teens live on. Mass reproduce the Monopoly money on matching colored paper, buy play money or go to http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/pl/page.treasurechest/dn/default.cfm and print off monopoly money (free). Print off one page then you can use your church's printer for the rest. Have the teens bring icons for their game pieces (Stuffed Animals, etc. We had one teen bring in a tire!). Use fuzzy dice if you can find them... Split the teens into small groups as teams and have them work together. Give the game a specific amount of time. Give away prizes for certain things: First team to own a Monopoly. First team to cross GO! First team in jail. etc. Use your creativity (or, have your student leaders use their creativity and own the event), the sky is the limit! At the end, count the money of each team and award the winners.

Check out more great events on Jonathan's "Events" Page: http://www.thesource4ym.com/events/index.html

Christmas Light Project: Similar to Video Scavenger Hunt on our Events page, teams go out with video camera to capture on video a list of Christmas Decorations. See below description for suggestions. Sometimes we list the items with descriptive words so they have to figure out what is needed on the list. This works at night. Have students bring flashlights. The unique part of the event is that the group must add a dramatic flair to the video, like a mini movie. Each group must create a documentary movie while getting the items on the list. The rule is that everyone on team must be captured on the video (in front of the item) to get "credit" for their team. We ask everyone with camcorders to bring the necessary equipment so we can watch the videos when we get back. Have a chaperone judge it, giving extra points for creativity. Suggested list:

house with all white lights a baby doll in a manger camels three wise-men Mr. and Mrs. Claus Snowman wooden nativity luminaries (candles, lights) group of live Christmas Carolers Extra points if you get a homeowner in the video with said object, person dressed as Santa, etc. Extra points for house with the most different colored lights Idea by Tara Spradley

Christmas Tree Scramble: This is a fun event where youll need transportation for each team (unless you are within walking distance). Give each team a given time to acquire decorations and decorate their tree. (60 minutes or so . . . enough time to judge the trees at the end, hang out and eat Christmas cookies. Each team receives:

1. A fake tree 2. $5 for supplies 3. Starter kit of decorations

Goal: Decorate your team's tree. Trees will be judged on Beauty, Economy (money efficiency), Creativity, and Pizzazz (over-the-top uniqueness). You may:

buy decorations with your teams money trade decorations with a stranger use only decorations that do not need to be returned to their previous owner make decorations out of recycled materials trade decorations with another group

You may not:

take decorations from your house or a friends house (everything must cost you something) use decorations that need to be returned sabotage another teams decorations spend your own money use pyrotechnics damage your tre

Idea by Scott Kobewka Click, Grab, and Get Hunt: Kind of like the Disposable Camera Rally on this Events page, this is a scavenger hunt where each team has a camera (disposable or not) and a vehicle to get around town in (with adult sponsor drivers) Give them a list of items, worth different points, to get a picture of, get, or do. You can develop the pictures at a one-hour place and see results that evening, or develop the pictures for a PowerPoint slide presentation (many places will develop pictures on CD) the next week. Winners can be served pizza and pop first by losers. For these points, take a picture of 20 a tree in bloom 20 a farm animal 20 a "House For Sale" Sign 30 a license plate from Ohio or Kentucky 30 a "CLOSED" sign on a business's door 30 a church van or bus (not LaBelle's) 30 a house with a car parked in the yard 40 a house with 3 cars parked in the driveway

40 any type of scoreboard 50 a house that still has Christmas decorations Put in your sackfor 25 points each Chop Sticks Wendy's Chili Cup Pack of McDonald's ketchup Subway wrapper Napkin with a logo Straw 1984 penny To-Go box Menu Dime wrapper Picture of someone in your groupfor 50 pts. holding an apple in their right hand, a pear in their left hand, and an orange under their chin holding a package of cat litter holding and feeding a baby doll doing a cartwheel wearing a (rival team) baseball cap on a swing for 75 pts. picking their nose on a toilet for 100 pts. wearing a restaurant employee's apron Things to dofor 150 pts. Sing "American the Beautiful" under Wal-Mart's American flag Get any stranger's autograph and ask them if anyone's ever told them they look like a famous person Ask a golfer, on the golf course, to tell you his best Tin Cup golf story Rub a bald man's head while singing "Jeannie in a Bottle" for 200 pts. Get a stranger to sing the theme song from "Gilligan's Island" Get an autograph of a Fireman and ask if he's ever seen "101 Dalmatians" Get a construction worker to let you wear his tool belt and you both sing "YMCA" Get a video store worker to perform with your group, his/her favorite movie sound track song At an Ice Cream Shop, get a worker to put sprinkles in his/her hair while singing "I Feel Pretty" for 250 pts. Get a policeman in uniform to sing the theme to COPS, "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do" Idea by Tammy Cox Commitment To Purity Ceremony: After a sermon series or small group discussions about sexual purity, organize a

Commitment to Purity ceremony, giving your students an opportunity to publicly commit themselves to sexual and relational purity until marriage. Allow the students to come up with a ring for the ceremony. Some parents bought their kids rings, some kids bought them themselves. Others used rings they already have, or rings that have been passed down in their families. Each student also brings a person of accountability with them to support them in this decision (A close friend, a parent, guardian, coach or teacher . . . usually not a boyfriend or girlfriend). The students pledge to stay a virgin until marriage. Young people are asked to remember that the ring is not nearly as important as the promise they are about to make to themselves, to God, and to their future spouse. Then the rings are placed on the ring finger of their right hand, only to be replaced someday with a wedding ring. Note: check out Lifeway.com for other ideas and resources. Also,click here for a link to our topical curriculum page, specifically the Growth page for topical agendas on purity, an agenda called The Wedding, and an agenda on Pre-Wedding Intelligence Gathering. Idea by Colleen O'Dowd Cookie Mission Impossible: Split group into teams. (Make sure first of all, that you have vehicles, and an oven for each team to use.) The team will be given a list with several items needed to make cookies. For example: flour sugar baking soda chocolate chips butter brown sugar salt cookie sheet bowl Each team must go door to door in your community, trying to collect ONE ingredient from each house. You can allow them to buy one and only ONE item from a store. Once the items are collected, the teams must go to the location where there oven is waiting. Without a recipe they must prepare their cookies, cook them, and bring them back to the facility. The first team to collect all items, bake the cookies, and arrive at the facility, wins. Enjoy eating the cookies when you're done (even though they might taste funky)! Idea by Jenessa Vande Griend Disposable Camera Rally: A crazy scavenger hunt where each team has a disposable camera and a vehicle to get around town in (I recommend adult drivers). Give them a list of items, worth different points, to get a picture of. You can develop the pictures at a one-hour place and see results that evening, or develop the pictures for a PowerPoint slide presentation (many places will develop pictures on CD) the next week. Options are

endless!!! Sample List:

Mandatory Category (Must have all of these to qualify for prize!) A PICTURE OF:
o o o o

A creative introduction picture for that particular team 3 team members being pushed in a shopping cart Someone in group chugging out of a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi Entire team hanging upside down

1000 point items A PICTURE OF:

o o o o o o o

Team member hugging a stranger Lady scolding child A guy coming out of the girl's bathroom A grocery clerk singing Two teenager's kissing (can't be team members) Someone ordering fast food Lady walking her dog.

1500 point items A PICTURE OF:

o o o o o o o

Person peeling out in a car (team vehicles not included) A fireman in uniform A team member rubbing a bald mans head Someone (other than a team member) buying "Depends" Little kid singing Someone giving a stranger a noogie Team member hugging a gas station attendant

3000 point items A PICTURE OF:

o o o o o o

A dog relieving himself on a fire hydrant A traffic accident Old lady on the ground yelling "I've fallen and I can't get up" A police car (other than the one at the traffic accident) with its lights on Someone crawling out of a manhole Entire team coming out of a VW bug

Dive-In Movie:

What better week than The Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK to pump an event like this. Use the church's video projection unit and project it onto a huge screen at the edge of the swimming pool. Have everyone bring their air mattresses. (I got a big raft from my friends at Rock'n Water, the best white water rafting camp in California - to check out their web site click here.) Everyone floats in the pool while you watch JAWS. All the lights are out except the pool lights. We barbequed threasher shark that night and advertised it as the event where "you eat the shark!" During the movie some of the guys swam around acting like sharks and scaring people. The sky's the limit with this one - enjoy! Duct Tape Fest: Be sure to encourage attendees to show up with some sort of duct tape accessory or outfit. Award prizes for most creative and most functional. Set up stations where students compete in the following: 3-Legged Friends: Loosely duct tape your leg to a friend's leg and walk around for 10 minutes, earning points for walking backward, hopping, or dancing. Crowning achievement: Place a roll of duct tape on your head like a crown and pass it through a line of people, placing the roll on each person's head, without using your hands or dropping the roll. Juggle: Juggle three rolls of duct tape. Pyramid Power: Make a pyramid of fifteen rolls of wrapped duct tape on their sides. Must stand in place for 15 seconds. Strong Arm: Hold a jumbo roll of duct tape with a straight arm at a 90 angle from your body for as long as you can (go for a record). Duct Tape Shuffleboard: Use wrapped duct tape rolls to slide to a target on a slippery floor. Three chances to hit target. Duct Tape Bowling: Roll rolls of duct tape toward a bowling pin(s) or other target. Two chances to hit target. Fishing with Duct Tape: Make a duct tape line and hook (ball of sticky-side out duct tape) and try to remove paper fish from a bucket. Head Stacker: With five rolls of duct tape, stacked on your head, walk 10 feet.

Duct Tape Challenge: teams of 3 tape the smallest to a wall to see who can be held up the longest. (See Duct Tape challenge on our Upfront page, CLICK HERE.) Added by Hallt Family Night: Each family is asked to bring a dish to share (Pot Luck). The students from the youth group introduce each family member and tell something special about each one (depending on the group size, this can be done in front of the whole group, or just around each table). The student then serves his/her family members. After dinner, each family member is given a questionnaire to fill out see below. Go around the table and share the results of the questionnaires. It is amazing how much families can learn about each other in 2 hours. The evening ends with a prayer service. SAMPLE Family Night Questionnaire (Feel free to customize your own):

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

What would your family say youre like first thing in the morning? Whats the weirdest thing you like to eat? Which family member spends the most time in the bathroom? What goofy or funny thing does your parent/son/daughter (respectively) do to make you laugh? After an argument, who in the family is most likely to apologize first if at all? What does your parent/son/daughter do for your home or family that helps you most? Name one of your favorite things about your parent/son/daughter. How have you seen your parent/son/daughter mature or grow in the past year? Share a time when your parent/son/daughter did something that made you proud?

Idea from Eileen Horan Fasting and Prayer Dinner: Get your group together and tell them only that you are going to have a progressive dinner with the theme of Prayer and Fasting. Prepare them for the evening, letting them know that they will be fasting and praying until the end. At each stop on the way (appetizer, first course, second course, dessert, drinks, etc.) the host (different families) shows the group the part of the meal that they have prepared. The kicker is that instead of eating it, the group sacrifices this meal portion to the Lord and prays for needs in that church family's home as well as others in the group. At each stop a different verse is read and adults give examples of how God has worked in their life. At the end of the dinner go back to the church for games and fun but when the group arrives the hosts have all backtracked and set up the meal at the church. The teens then get to eat together with the host families. It is an awesome time of sharing. This worked well to hammer the idea home of spiritual disciplines to our teens. Added by John

Fear Factor/Faith Factor: How about an evening where you host your own Fear Factor competition? With good marketing, this could bring out a ton of new kids! The sky is the limit for what events to actually use. But the best place to start would be to click on our GAMES page and then click on SICK AND TWISTED GAMES. Youll see a ton of great ideas, including a few games starting with the words Fear Factor in their title. This can be an outreach or Halloween event. Have students sign up ahead of time and warn them in advance to wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty. Before the event, film contestants telling everyone why they think they will win or what their strategy is going into it. After everyones cleaned up, have a speaker talk on "Fear vs. Faith". Make t-shirts for all the contestants and have a cool grand prize for the champion. If you don't have a budget for a good prize, talk to your local malls about donations. Round 1: Mustard Marshmallows Have contestants lay on their backs. Place a chair at the head of each contestant with volunteers from the audience standing on the chairs. The volunteers dip marshmallows in mustard, hold their arm straight out and drop them to the contestant's mouth below them. The top 8 to catch and eat the most mustard marshmallows move on to the next round. (The top however many depend on how many you have playing, of course.) Round 2: Clothespin Slime Fill two kiddie pools with slime (mix flour, water, and green food coloring). Drop in a ton of clothespins. Have contestants pull clothespins out with their feet and pin them somewhere on themselves. The top 6 with the most clothespins moved on to Round 3. Round 3: Worms & Pennies Contestants must place their hands in a bucket of live worms and find as many pennies (pre-placed) at the bottom as they can. The top 4 move on to Round 4. Round 4: Fear Factor Cuisine Fill a large bowl with your choice of sardines, pigs feet, or frog legs (purchased at most supermarkets). We recommend a certain amount like 10. Place another empty container at the other end of the room. The student has a designated amount of time to grab a sardine (or whatever you choose to use) in their mouth, run across the room and drop it into the empty container. They must transfer as many food items as possible in the amount of time given but can only transfer one at a time. The first 3 to transfer their 10 items across the room go on to Round 5. Round 5: Slimy Slip & Slide Take a Slip and Slide and pour buckets of slime over it (flour, water, and green food coloring). The students slide through the slime, grab a flag at the other side and bring it back to where they started. They can only grab one flag at a time and must get as many as they can within a designated amount of time. The fastest two times go to Round 6. Round 6: Board Walk

Use a stopwatch or watch with seconds hand for this competition. Secure a 2x4x16 board on top of a few cement blocks (not too high; you don't want a law suit!). Tie several football flags to the 2x4. Have the students walk across it, reach down and pull off as many flags as they can, while being sprayed from all sides with super soakers. If they fall off they are eliminated. The one to walk across the quickest and with the most flags wins the Fear Factor Event. Added by Renee Bendeck Fish Night (starring Sparky the Stunt Fish): This involves Sparky the Stunt Fish. Purchase a BIG, hardy fish (ask the meat guy at the grocery store), as Sparky will be performing several incredible stunts. Zip line of death: Insert string through fish gills and run him down the zip line! Ring of fire of death: Small hula hoop with matches taped to it. Throw Sparky through it! Bed of nails of death: Bed of nails, smash Sparky. For the finale, use the Blender of Death: Blend Sparky up. Its always good to talk to Sparky and encourage him, keep him in your pocket, feed him treats. Incorporate him when ever possible throughout this event. Five Buck Receipt Rush: This event requires little planning and is always very fun. Sometimes it requires a bit of a budget, depending on how many kids are on each team. I usually charge a dollar and end up in the red. If you charge two you could break even or even come out ahead. I advertise that the winning team gets pizza at our local cheap pizza joint. Have as many teams as you do vehicles. Each team is given $5 to spend as they wish. The contest however, is to get the most amount of receipts, each from a different store or restaurant. The total dollar amount of these receipts must be less than $5. The team that gets the most receipts and makes it to the meeting spot (the pizza place) by a certain time is the winner. I also have a rule that every receipt given must be witnessed by a staff member and signed by them. This keeps the team together and helps prevent them from whipping out a receipt they had from the day before. If I do have extra money I sometimes surprise them and by them all sodas. This will appease the losing teams a little more. Food Pantry Scavenger Hunt: Break your group into several teams. Depending on your neighborhood, teams can walk or be driven. Give them a list of non-perishable food items to find with point values assigned to each item (see below). Students collect items off the list. Obviously the team that has the most points wins. However, it is also a service event. All food collected is then donated to your local food pantry. It really is best to call your food pantry, or the place you are donating the food to. They often have specific items that are needed more than others. Also it's good to have them draft a letter saying that the food hunt is a legitimate activity. Have as many students as possible actually deliver the food to the pantry.

When doing the hunt, you need to rely on what people have in their cupboards. The challenge is really to accumulate the most points while collecting food for the shelter. Candy 1 pt per bag or bar

Sugary snacks 2 pts (cookies, chips, fruit flavored snacks, Little Debbie type snacks) Healthy snacks 5 pts (Real fruit snacks, graham crackers, granola bars, etc.) Box dinners 5 pts (including mac-n-cheese, Hamburger Helper, Rice-a-Roni) Oatmeal 5 pts

Pasta 5 pts (noodles, elbow macaroni, etc.) Dry cereal Crackers Spices 10 pts 10 pts 10 pts

Paper goods 10 pts (t.p., napkins, paper towels, paper plates, cups, etc.) Condiments 15 pts (mayonnaise, catsup, mustard, etc.) Small cans or jars 15 pts (tuna, Spam, peanut butter, jelly, jam, pickles, vegetables, fruits, etc.) Large cans or jars 20 pts (soups, vegetables, fruits, meats, olives, etc.) Cooking products 20 pts (cooking oil, spray, sugar, flour, etc.) Toiletries 20 pts (deodorant, soap, laundry and dish detergents, etc.) Baby products 20 pts (diapers, wipes, formula, and other unopened baby products) Idea by Trish Kapelke Formal Dinner: Hold a formal dinner, dance (okay . . . some of us can't do that!), or Ball for students. You can rent a facility or just fix up the youth room, teen center . . . wherever you normally meet! I recommend selling tickets ahead of time for promotion. Get staff or student leaders to be the DJ, waiters, etc. A fun twist is to

have everyone dress up and then just serve pizza or fish and chips (those of you in the UK). Can also be used as a fund-raiser or prom alternative ("Grad Nite"). Submitted by Sally Anderson Also see Prom A La Mode (Post-Prom Party) and Ten Dollar Prom, both on Events page. Girls: Project Esther - Spa Night: Project Esther: Spa Night's motto is, "Esther got a whole year, we get one night." We charge the girls $2 and a snack to share. It doesn't take much prepatory work and even if you don't charge the girls, how much you spend on spa products and things to do are dependent upon attendance. For a large group, plan on spending approximately $75. Look for sales! You may also opt to tell the girls to bring their own favorite products and a beauty secret to share. When you announce it give away free coupons to girls who wouldnt normally attend your youth ministry. You can make the focus outreach, requiring your plugged in girls to bring unchurched girlfriends. Or this could be a bridge-builder between two or more different youth groups, depending on the potential number of attendees. Either way, provide flyers for the girls to hand out. Find a host-home, where the atmosphere is relaxing and comfortable. Assure the host that whether they stay in their home during the event or not, you and any coleaders will leave their home as you found it. Be sure and follow-through by moving any furniture back, cleaning up any rooms used, etc. You can work the "spa" one of two ways: Buy spa products like masks, foot scrubs, nail polish, etc. at any retailer like Wal-Mart. Or you can recruit a Mary Kay or Avon consultant to donate discontinued items, samplers, or demo tubes of body and nail products. Brush up on basic massage techniques because on the scheduled Friday evening for 4 or 5 hours, the girls come over and receive massages by female youth staff. If youre going to offer scalp massages, have them wash their hair before they come or wash it at your host home. Decide ahead of time who will provide towels. Paint their nails and let them put cleansing masks on, etc. This is a great event to tie in anything from inner and outer beauty, self-image, and self-respect to servanthood (likening the youth staff pampering the girls to Jesus washing his disciple's feet). Ideas for having a different "beauty" focus on your Project Esther evening:

Sponsor Project Esther the night before high school prom focusing on pampering and last minute needs for the girls, not to mention quality girl-time before the big dates. Sponsor Project Esther for mom's and daughters or combining the women's ministry and the youth group girls' ministry. Bring in real beauticians/cosmetologists or skin care consultants who are willing to donate their time to give professional spa care and advice to the girls.

With your left over supplies, give out coupons to girls to schedule a time to get together where you give them free manicures or massages, facials, etc. When they turn in their coupon for the service, you get to build an even stronger relationship with them. Tips:

It is best to split the Jr. High and High School girls into two different rooms or on two different evenings; again, depending on how many attend. Maximize the one-on-one time you have while painting a girl's toe nails. This is a good low-pressure opportunity to invite college-aged girls and women you think would be great at mentoring girls.

Remember to be creative! Added by Kristin Welch, IL Great Mattress Run, The: This is a fun EVENT where teams have to carry a mattress a mile or two across town WITHOUT getting caught by STAFF HUNTERS. Let me explain. Arrange teams and drop each team off at separate designated points, each the exact same distance from the FINAL MEETING PLACE. Each group has one mattress each. Their job is to be the first team to get from their designated point to the FINAL MEETING PLACE while the STAFF HUNTERS travel around in their vehicles "hunting" them. The teams are only safe from the STAFF HUNTERS when the entire team is jumping up and down on the mattress. So the entire trek, they need to keep their eyes open for STAFF HUNTERS and immediately throw their mattress down and start jumping on it if they see them. Teams are only vulnerable to STAFF HUNTERS within one hundred yards- and the STAFF HUNTER is the judge of distance. If the STAFF HUNTERS catch the team within one hundred yards NOT jumping on their mattress, they can TRANQUELIZE the team by saying "gotcha!" Then the entire group MUST lie down on their mattress for 2 minutes, or until the STAFF HUNTER releases them. The first team to the FINAL MEETING PLACE wins. Icing on the cake: provide every STAFF HUNTER with a person in their passenger seat with a video camera. The footage makes a great video, edited and put to music the next week. Original idea by John Tempest Great Way to Advertise Your Event: Some stores take artwork and, for a charge, slaps it on water bottles. If you dont find a store that will do this or you dont want to pay that cost, you can take your event logo and main info, print it on labels and put it on the water bottles yourself. Make it a group/team effort. Then take the cases to middle or high school parking lots with coolers on hot days and hand out free water bottles. A lot friendlier than the old half sheet flyer. Idea from Paul Ikonen

Human Music Videos: Take familiar praise and worship songs and assign a song to each team and ask them to create and perform a music video. Assign a teacher to judge on creativity, energy, and humor. Idea by Yohsuke Miki Jello-O Wrestling: That's right, Jell-O wrestling. Here's how you do it: 1. Find a store near you that sells bulk foods and purchase large quantities of instant Jell-O, enough to make 80 gallons. You can make it in a bunch of large rubber/plastic garbage cans in a big walk-in fridge. OR . . . Some of you might be thinking, Okay, I dont have access to a walk in fridge or I dont have a connection with a local grocery store that will let us use their milk fridge. Well . . . youre in luck. To try this web site for some no chill jello CLICK HERE. 2. Once you make the Jell-O, scoop this stuff in baby pools and you're ready to go. We told the kids to wear clothes that could get messy, and we did the event outside for easy cleanup. (Note: Cleanup was anything but easy!) We had guys vs. guys and girls vs. girls. It was normal wrestling, but in Jell-O. Use your own judgement for safety. It is slick and it is wrestling, so use caution. We had no injuries, but we were very careful. An event like this could bring out a ton of new students. Karaoke Night: Find a friend with a laser disc player or a Karaoke machine and rent some Karaoke Discs (screen the songs beforehand- a lot of the videos are pretty raunchy). If you don't have a professional Karaoke machine, you can hook up a laser disc player to a sound system and a 19" TV that the person that's singing can see. Have the video input split so it is projected on a large screen behind the person. If you have the ability, send the music through a set of earphones (so the person singing can't hear themselves too well). If you use a video mixer and a camera, you can shoot the person singing and place them on the screen in a wipe mode or mixed in. Hilarious Method: Have the music play through the earphones only during a song or two so you only hear their voice out loud- always good for a laugh. Kickin' It: It's an all night party with plenty of activities and plenty of time to hang out, or just "kick it." You could almost market it as just that.

This event requires enough vehicles to haul your entire group around, enough drivers that can handle driving all night, and enough caffeine to help keep the drivers awake! Start at your normal facility with an open gym/facility or some fun organized games. After a couple of hours, switch to the next location. KICKIN' IT Calvary Youth's All Night Party Plenty of Stuff to do ... and Plenty of Time to Just Kick It! Then plan activities for all night, starting at your normal meeting place. Then go to different fun places where kids can participate, or simply "hang out." Possible locations/activities:

Movie- at someone's house where their basement or large room is set up like a movie theater Swim (at a person's house- a neighborhood pool, even a local hotel if you can pre-arrange) Bowling Lazer tag Roller-skating Costume parties (theme driven) Door prizes Prizes for who brings the most friends Movie- at someone's house where their basement or large room is set up like a movie theater Swim (at a person's house- a neighborhood pool, even a local hotel if you can pre-arrange) GOOD food (nachos, pizza, M&M's, Pepsi, Continental breakfast in the a.m.)

Kidnapped Gnomes: Similarly named Roaming Gnomes has at least a 20 year history (Google roaming gnomes to find hilarious stories). The tradition is that a Lawn Ornament (e.g. gnome, rabbit, etc.) is kidnapped and taken on adventures that are recorded on pictures or video. At the end of the adventure, the LO returns home happy and content and has pictures to show its family of where it has been. Purchase (or have donated) 5 LO gnomes and put them at 5 pre-arranged houses, maybe even the houses of 5 adult volunteers. Announce: Your mission tonight is to kidnap a LO from the address specified and take it on adventures around the city that you will capture on video camera! Rule #1: The game is called Kidnapped, not Murder. Treat your LO well. Tell us if you damage it, so we can pay for hospital costs. Rule #2: Everyone in the group must appear in at least one scene with the LO, and

the more scenes that include lots of people, the better. Rule #3: Have fun, but dont get arrested. Keep it G-rated so we can give a copy of the video to the family of your LO. Video Tape your LO doing the following, and while youre at it, give the LO a name, voice and some personality: 50 Points Each Drinking coffee at a coffee shop Shopping for vegetables at a grocery store Playing on a swing set Going to school Dancing or playing an instrument Driving a car as if in a speed chase Trying to get in a store that has a Closed sign up 100 Points Caught in the act of trying to escape Eating with chopsticks Having a conversation with another LO about the experience Being interviewed by a reporter about his/her adventures so far 200 Points Asking a stranger for a date Posing with a community or emergency worker (paramedic, fire dept. personnel, police officer, etc.) Working behind the counter at a fast food joint Posing by a house with a For Sale sign & saying why they like this house LO doing a TV commercial for a product END THE VIDEO WITH A GROUP HUG AND FAREWELL STATEMENT FROM THE LO Prizes will be awarded for: Blockbuster Award: Most Points MTV Award: Single funniest scene Directors Award: Funniest overall video Youth Leaders: Drive around before the event and get the addresses of houses with LOs. Write the addresses on a slip of paper and have each team pick one from a hat. Added by Kristin Clark Lost: An All Day Event Theyll Never Forget Ever looking for another event besides the proverbial mini-golf? Well maybe your group would like LOST. Imagine dropping off your students at a far off unknown location in teams of eight, equipped with only a $100 bill per team, an envelope of crazy instructions, and a video cameraman recording the whole thing! Many of you have seen shows like LOST where they drop someone off in the middle of nowhere and make them find where they are and find their way home. This is the

same idea as Lost and The Great Race, but with your youth group, and for only $12 bucks a kid. Interested? Keep reading. This is an event you can do for pretty cheap. But it does take a lot of work. It takes a good staff ratio to ensure safety, and it takes a lot of pre-planning. WARNING: Do not cut corners on the planning of this event. You are entirely responsible for the safety of your youth group. You will want to note Dales safety precautions and evaluate your own. Use wisdom while planning this event- use these ideas at your own risk. Heres what Dale did: He divided his group into teams of eight. Each team of eight students had two staff members, each with cell phones. He divided teams by picking names out of two hats: a hat full of the guys names, and a hat full of the girls names. This mixed students up with other students they hadnt met of different ages and genders. The entire group took their church bus towards an unrecognizable destination, 30 minutes out, placing blindfolds on all the students. They dropped them all off in a town called Walnut Creek, CA. Each team got out and received a packet. The packet had several numbered envelopes in it and one $100 bill. The teams would score points by the following: 1. Who got to their final destination first 2. Who had the most money left 3. Who guessed the closest to the final destination Dales group started in Walnut Creek, riding BART (the subway) into San Francisco to Ghiradelli Square. On their journey they had to go through Chinatown and order a specific item in their packet that was written in Chinese, they had to ride a taxi, ride a cable car, buy chocolate in Ghiradelli, and a cookie in the San Francisco Shopping Center. Each team had a staff person video taping the entire day. Dale said, I couldnt have planned the discussions that happened after this day. Students couldnt stop talking about it. They got a glimpse of what it was like to feel lost! They had to call a cab, ride the subway, order Chinese food and try to break a $100 bill! We asked them questions like: What would you have done if you were dropped off alone? One student said, I have to be honest. I would have opened up all the envelopes at the beginning and cheated! I asked Dale how he kept this event safe. Each team had two staff people who each had cell phones. We kept a 1 in 4 staff ratio. When they booked the cab- they had to get a cab that fit six people, including the driver, because I wouldnt let them split up from their staff person. Then each team had to call three designated times throughout the day. There you have it. LOST. An event that can kick off discussion after discussion about how were lost or searching for the right path. LOST INSTRUCTIONS Here are the instructions that Dale included in each packet. These included original instructions and individual assignments in each envelope. (Note:

These are just to give you an idea. I dont know all the specifics so please dont email me and ask me how he did assignment # 4 and what the clue was. Youre on your own on that one! LOST 2002 INSTRUCTIONS Where are you? Where are you going? How are you going to get there? These are all questions you need to answer today. One of your leaders has an envelope with all the necessary information for your journey. You must complete each assignment before opening the next. You have been given enough money for the day, but you need to spend wisely. You must record all of your expenses. But first, do you know whom you are making this journey with? Your first assignment is to write down everyone's name What city are you in? Where do you think the finish line is? Be specific. (The team that is closest gets a fantastic prize. You cannot change your answer once its written.) Once this page has been completed you may open envelope # 1. LOST 2002 ENVELOPE #1 Your first assignment is to get to the Walnut Creek Bart Station. It is too far to walk, but how you get there is up to you. Your team must travel together. The map below might be a good way (925) 555-3950 (This was an actual number- I just changed all numbers for this article.) - Info. Line When you get to the Walnut Creek Bart Station, open envelope #2 LOST 2002 ENVELOPE #2 Congratulations, you made it to the Walnut Creek Bart Station. Your first assignment is to call Dale @ 408-555-3572 to check in. Secondly, buy tickets, board the Bart and get off at Powell Street in San Francisco! WC 11:17a 11:37a 11:57a 12:17p 12:37p Powell 11:54a 12:14p 12:34p 12:54p 1:14p

When you have arrived at the Powell Station, head towards the SAN FRANCISCO SHOPPING CENTER Once your team is off the train you may open envelope #3. LOST 2002

ENVELOPE #3 Go to the San Francisco Shopping Centre. Find a place that sells cookies. Purchase a cookie, have everyone on your team take a bite. LOST 2002 ENVELOPE #4 Go ride the Cable Car to Chinatown. LOST 2002 ENVELOPE #5 Get to Ghiradelli Square. You can get there any way you want options include Cable Car, walking or a Taxi! (Try the latter, it should be the quickest!) Buy a piece of candy from any store in Ghiradelli Square. Have someone eat it and then open envelope # 6. LOST 2002 ENVELOPE #6 The final leg of your journey!!!! The church bus is near pier 17. Get there any way that you can! Muni (the trolley) is a good option but it's up to you!!!! Call Dale (408) 555-3572 so he knows you are in the home stretch. Your entire team must touch the bus to finish. Congratulations! You made it! Love Your Neighbor Project - Outreach: Call up a local neighborhood ministry, store or facility and do a clean up day with your youth group. Our youth facility is right next door to the local Pregnancy Care Center. To help apply love your neighbor as yourself our youth group volunteered to clean their entire building for free. With fifteen teenagers it took less than two hours to sweep, mop, clean toilets, take out trash, vacuum, and even take some pictures in the process. Now its a tradition in our youth group. We do it once a semester and have become very close with their neighbor in the process. Even better, the idea has sparked interest in doing this for others as well. Who lives near your church or youth facility that you can be a good neighbor to? Give them a call and offer to do something for them (anything!) for free. Youll be amazed at relationship that could develop. Added by Dillon Burroughs Makin' Music Videos: Supplies Needed:

several video cameras (one for each team) blank tapes for each camera various costume props for each team to use(i.e. sunglasses, crazy shirts and dresses, etc.... all in the theme of looking like a rockstar--glamorous)

Event Description: Divide your Youth into groups of 5-8 people. Give each group a video camera and let them choose a song from a pile of CD's that you have collected. Each group will need

to act, sing or pretend to sing, and dance to the song they have chosen in their very own Music Video Clip. Give each group an hour to come up with their masterpiece then all meet together and watch each others'. They turn out very funny! You can even have some of your leaders act as judges. Have prizes for the winning team! Idea by Jared Strapp Mall Manhunt: Find as many people (20 or more) from your church as possible to go out to a certain mall (preferably a large one) a half an hour before the youth group comes. Upon arriving with your youth group, break them into teams of 4 or 5 and hand out a packet of sheets to each team with all of the faces of people who are hiding in the mall photocopied onto each sheet. Within a certain time frame (an hour is best) the teams must track down as many people as possible and have them sign under their picture. The winning team is the one who arrives back at the meeting point on time with the most signatures. There should be a penalty for teams that are late (they lose one signature a minute). It's great because it allows the youth to see the adults in their church in a different light and know them on a more personal basis. For more fun, have your volunteers dress up in costumes. We had a gentleman, usually sharp dressed, dress up as a skater, etc.! It was a hoot! We've also written "crimes committed" by each individual (stole candy from a baby, etc.) just to add more fun. Added by Scott MacDougall Man Hunt: This is a great event to market your group and try to increase group size. This works best if your group has already been meeting for a few weeks and has built a little bit of momentum. Advertise a Man Hunt, but don't tell anyone what it is. Have enough transportation available for twice the amount of students that you normally have. Divide everyone into teams and give them instructions. Let them know that this is a contest to go get as many of their friends as possible back to the meeting place by a given time (usually a little over an hour). Give each team a list. The list could look something like this:

Find who who who

a high school student . . . has red hair has a 4.0 is on the football team

Teams go out in the transportation provided (half empty cars and vans), get these people and bring them back at the designated time. Have fun games and activities when everyone gets back, along with a small promotion of what your group is like, inviting everyone back. Give the winning team, guests and all, a prize. Option: Seniors and freshmen team up to bring as many kids as they can from their classes. Juniors team with sophomores. Do class competitive minutes. Have an award or a trophy for winning classes. Mystery Supper (Missions Emphasis Meal): This dinner could be just for fun and fellowship for in conjunction with your missions emphasis month or one night to simply kick off a specific missions focus. Choose what kind of food you will serve (Chinese, Italian, Ukrainian, etc.); then get someone to write out the menu in that language. List 12 things including fork, knife, spoon, water, juice, etc. Have people fill out an order form with three courses of four things. They get those four things, and after a certain time take it all away and bring the next course. You might get only cutlery or all food and no cutlery. After it's over let everyone get seconds so they end up getting a full meal. Added by Noelle Bonk Variation: You could use this idea on any random night, and use nonsense words instead of other languages. Napolean Dynamite Night: Even those who haven't seen this movie know that "Napoleon Dynamite" took America by storm in 2004. This low budget film was released in June 04, and it paid for itself every single weekend since. Teenagers went to the theatres to see it-some up to 20 times. For lack of a better description, Napoleon Dynamite is the story of a geeky kid named Napoleon who decides to help his new friend Pedro win the class presidency in their small town high school. His family life consists of an even geekier brother, Kip, who "chats online with babes all day" and his Uncle Rico who wishes he could go back to high school and play football again. CLICK HERE for our more detailed review of the film. This event is a fun night where everything evolves around the theme of Napoleon Dynamite. So plan a Napoleon Dynamite Night or, if you've already done one of these nights, have a Napoleon Dynamite Reunion Night. Use the tips from the article referenced above to make it an event at which your students will have a killer time! Before you plan for this night you may want to CLICK HERE so you can prepare by reading Jonathans 5 Tips to Make Your "MOVIE NIGHT" Flop! You could also use this event as an excuse to put a "student event-planning team" together to help you plan the event. They'll come up with better ideas than we could. Use some of these ideas to jumpstart their thoughts:

Give prizes for the best Napoleon Dynamite costume

Serve "tater tots" Have the Napoleon Dynamite dance contest Show the extra features on the DVD: deleted scenes, the making of, etc.

The event could be a great outreach event to bring out some new kids. Use this event to "just have fun" and invite kids back to your youth group. Oscars Night (aka "See You at the Oscars!"): Outreach event Hold a formal night (tuxes, gowns, etc.). Book (or form) a youth band and provide desserts. Go to your local trophy store and by 12 cheap "Oscar" trophies to do a whole Oscar night. The key is plugging this months ahead of time so students can make videos to submit for the evening. You'll want to list some guidelines about content, length, etc. Have the videos due at least 2 weeks before the event so you can screen them and prepare the awards, etc. We tried to reach out to students outside the group by talking to some local schools with film classes or drama classes. We let them in on the competition. We had one teacher give extra marks if the kids did it. The Sky is the limit with this. Added by Marcel Kurtz Parent Appreciation Dinner: To know the parents of my students, and hopefully get them into the gathering on Sundays, at Easter we advertise a meal for them, with their own kids waiting on them. We cook something simple that the girls help prepare before hand. The boys, in shirt, trousers, and tie wait on their parents. We have had good success with getting to know parents, They hear the word preached, songs by the kids and testimonies from older men and women from the church. Idea from Lee Jones, UK Also see Parents' Night Live! on Topical Curriculum GROWTH page. Parent Night Live: These are ideas for a Parent-Student meeting. Provide refreshments and have greeters who will take coats and welcome parents into the room or guide them to the registration table (if you use one). Thank parents for coming and tell them the focus for the evening is to, meet one another, give you a glimpse into (name of your youth ministry), let you know how you may get involved, and to have fun with your teenager. Share about a recent event or service that went particularly well or at which God did something significant in a students life. Have one or two students briefly share their appreciation for: something God has done in their life, the youth ministry, their parents, or a combination of these. Just For Fun Mummy Wrap:

Supply each family team with two rolls of toilet paper. Have everyone in the family wrap the mommy I mean, mummy (either parent or guardian is fine). At the signal students mummify a parent as quickly as possible, using the entire two rolls of toilet paper as a bandage. The first team done wins. If theres a tie, you can have the audience vote by applause for the most creative or thoroughly wrapped mummy. Award the winner with an economy pack of toilet paper. Announcements Heres your opportunity to do one of the things parents crave youth workers to do most: communicate.

Tell them about upcoming events, locations, dates, times, and costs. Provide flyers and use sign-up sheets. Let them know if you need drivers or chaperones for any of these events. Share upcoming opportunities to support upcoming fundraisers.

Games The Parent Game This game is to be played like the old Newlywed Game. Four parent/student teams will compete by answering a series of questions. The parents go to a sound proof room while their kids answer questions. Write the answers on cards held face down in their laps. Bring the parents back and score each one. Next, the students leave and the parents answer questions. Award gift certificates (TCBY, local coffee shop, movie tickets, etc.) to winners. Sample Questions Student Questions:

1. How did your parents meet? (5 points) 2. If your parents could look like any movie star, who would it be? (10 points) 3. Which relative does your parent look forward to visiting at Christmas? (10 points) 4. Which parent is the most frugal with money? (15 points)

Parent questions:

1. Who in your family (not just immediate) does your son/daughter resemble most? (5 points) 2. Which house rule does your son/daughter most dislike? (10 points) 3. Who is your son/daughters favorite teacher? (10 points) 4. Where does your son/daughter enjoy shopping for clothes the most? (15 points) Bonus: When was the last time your son/daughter was embarrassed by something you did? (25 points)

Fathers Revenge Choose three fathers and students willing to get messy. Players should face one another in chairs about six feet apart. The dads will be fed. Supply each father/student team with a large jar of baby food, a plastic bib, and a flexible plastic spoon. You can add a few optional props, such as baby music, rattles, and baby bottles. Put the bibs on the fathers. Put down plastic or newspapers to catch the mess. Tell the audience, If you have ever tried to feed a baby you will appreciate this game. Babies usually throw, spit, spill, or drool most of their food all over dear old dad. Thats why we present to you tonight, Fathers Revenge! At the signal, the student takes a spoonful of food and attempts to feed their baby. The goal is not necessarily to get all of their food in the babys mouth, but at least onto their face. Reward all contestants with an appropriate prize. Wrap-Up Here are some suggested closing comments. Tweak to make them fit your personality and communication style. Thanks again for coming tonight and for allowing your son or daughter to be involved here at (name of your youth ministry). We have an awesome year planned. Throughout the year we will have (name a few planned activities). Students can count on fun and friendship with adults who are somewhere between their peers and their parents! (Name of your ministry) has a serious side, too. Each week we (will) talk about subjects teenagers feel are important or problem areas. For example, peer pressure, family, divorce, purity, decision-making, etc. (If you break up into small groups or host small groups on a separate evening, refer to that.) (If unchurched parents are present, these remarks are intended to clarify any questions about the spiritual instruction youre giving their kids.) We are interested in your student being a whole person mentally, physically, and socially. However, we try to focus on one area that is neglected at times: the spiritual. We will be talking about God and how He fits into our every day lives. Your teens will NOT be coerced or beaten over the head with religion, but asked to think about their relationship with God. Thanks for coming to Parent Night! Also see Parent Appreciation Dinner on EVENTS page. Puzzle Find Service Project: This is a service project for your student leaders or a small group . . . with a creative twist. Arrange a service project for your groupyou could volunteer to clean someones home or even something like cleaning a supply closet in your church. I decided my office, storage room and tables needed a major clean-up. So, why not put the group

to work by having a clean-up (we called it "Service Night"). However, the trick added was that at each clean-up area, a puzzle piece was hidden. The kids had to collect all the pieces to form a puzzle. Mine spelled out, "Free food in my office." We worked first, then enjoyed good grub afterwards! Added by Bethany Searle Rake and Run!!!: Each year, we get a list of elderly people from our parish, divide up into groups of 68 and then run from house to house raking up their leaves to be picked up by the dept. of public works in our city. If you don't have a list- who cares? Pick a neighborhood in need and go to work! It is so much fun. And, from time to time, the kids will rake all the leaves together and just start diving into them for fun! (Is your liability policy up to date?) It is a great service project as well as some fun for the teens. Over the years the kids and elderly have become more relaxed around each other and often the elderly will bring candy or drinks out for the kids. added by Jerry Smith Side note: Walt from Illinois says that they do the same thing, but start by picking an elderly person in their congregation, rake their yard AND their whole neighborhood. Walt writes: "This way we have helped a couple in need, had an opportunity to witness through our service to the neighborhood (many times the people we are serving come out and talk and/or offer money which we refuse and tell them we do this for Jesus not for money, and we leave an ideal opportunity for the couple in the neighborhood to talk to their neighbors about Christ after weve left the neighborhood! It works great and is a lot of fun!" NOTE FROM JONATHAN: I think one of the best ways we can point to Christ is through acts of service. Im not talking about handing out tracks or door knocking Im talking about good ol fashion helping people in need. And if people ask why, we simply answer, Because thats what Jesus would have done, and were pretty excited about Jesus. Regressive Dinner: Basically this is a night of eating and fellowship. It's like the age old "progressive dinner" where you go from location to location, usually large houses, eating different courses of a meal. The "progressive" dinner does each course in order: one house for appetizers, one house for salad, one house for the main course, one house for drinks, one house for dessert. The "REGRESSIVE" dinner switches the order of the courses. You may start with dessert, then go to main course, then salad, then appetizers, etc. If you have a group of up to about 30 or 40, you can get away with going to all these locations together. Each house needs to be able to fit this amount of people (we've emptied out living room furniture and brought in tables for the main course, etc.). If you have even larger groups, you can divide the group and go to different courses at different times and save the last course, maybe appetizers, for a big location where you can fit everyone.

Fun event of just "hanging out" and getting to know each other. Added by John Scavenger Trash Hunt: Here is a good way to clean up your church and have fun. Divide into teams or pairs. You can almost always find these items around the church's parking lots or even in empty lots or parks near the church. Set a time limit so teams can win without all of the items. Make sure you use gloves and safety precautions. How to play: All items must be trash, but cannot come from a trash can. You will have ten minutes. Come back as soon as you have all items or when the whistle blows. You can go to either end of the church property or empty lots. Wear rubber gloves and DO NOT PICK UP ANY BROKEN GLASS, DEAD ANIMALS, DIAPERS, or ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE CONTAMINATED. 1. A piece of paper. 2. A bottle or can. 3. A weed. 4. A stick or dead branch. 5. Food wrapper. 6. Material or piece of clothing. 7. Cardboard, wood, or construction material (small). 8. Newspaper, magazine, or book. 9. A Rock, brick, or stone. 10. Plastic item, toy, or a plastic or paper bag. Note: Be sure to have a huge trash recepticle, whether that be a trash bag or garbage can, for all of the trash collected. Added by Charlie Wallis Survivor Party: For this event/game students are broken up into tribes. Each tribe makes up a name and picks out a certain colored bandana. Then each team competes in different games for points. We played play dough charades, Bible math, Unscramble Bible Verses, then Water Sponge Relay, Grab Bag relay with baby bottle slurp, Bubble Blowing contest, Slurping baby food through a straw, Toilet Paper races, and finally ended with an obstacle course through the park carrying an egg in a spoon. (if you dont know any of these games, feel free to pop on our GAMES page and choose your own.) Idea from Candace Miller Survivor - More Than A Survivor Weekend: This idea, submitted by Jamie Vaughan, is intended for a weekend retreat that starts in the late afternoon or early evening. Supplies should be dispersed at various points on your camp grounds. Scavenger Hunt: Gather Supplies Teams have 5 minutes to elect a tribal leader and tie members of their tribe together at the waist. Challenge: All items needed for challenges are located at various points in the (name of) camp area. Tribes are required to stay together and will be tied together at the waist. You will need to find each item listed below. The first tribe to gather

ALL items and return to the (name of main meeting area/lodge) wins this challenge. Winners get to pick tribal bandanna and tribe name first.

Ziplock bag of leather gloves Ziplock bag with 3 matches Ziplock bag with 2 garbage bags Ziplock bag of rope Water bucket Coffee Can with holes for fires Tent Propane Stove Ziplock bag w/challenge instructions Ziplock bag with length of leather Ziplock bag with 2 dice Ziplock bag with 20 lengths of yarn Ziplock bag with material for flag Zipclok bag with compass Ziplock bag with net Ziplock bag with 12 balls Popcorn container Ziplock bag with 2 plastic cups Bag of Popcorn Dunk Bag Ziplock bag with Paper Plate Tribal Torch (candle holder w/ candle) Saran Wrap Cooking pot Measuring cup Plastic 5 gallon bucket Spoon 2 bowls Duct tape Cutting board

Pup Tent Relay Race Teams have 10 minutes to elect a tribal leader, plan a strategy and review tent set up. They may take their tent out and practice set up with their tribe. Challenge: Place your tent at the tent set up area, about 50 feet from tribes. Tribes line up in a straight row. Members in each tribe are partnered in twos. At the leaders whistle signal, the first group of 2 from each tribe runs to the bag, takes out and sets up the tent. They go inside the tent, zip it closed. They unzip the flap, climb out of the tent, and take down the tent. Roll up the tent. Run to the line and tag the next group of two from their tribe. When tagged the next 2 run to the tent and do the same as above. The first team to complete, sits down in a straight row, grabs hands and yells as loud as they can. Note that some may have to run twice to make sure that the teams are equal in number.

Supper (or dinner, depending on the region your in.) After Supper: Build a Fire Teams have 10 minutes to plan strategy, gather wood and required safety items, plus elect a tribal leader. Give each team only one match. Supplies Needed: Gather all items required for SAFE fire building. Challenge: Build a fire large enough to burn through the string that has been tied to a stake at your fire site. Gather all of your items and take to your tribal table. At the whistle the troop leaders will inspect all equipment and will approve or disapprove your advance to your fire site. Say, "You have been given 1 match for your fire. If your match blows out you may send 1 person to the leader to get 1 match." The first tribe to burn through the string wins. Find the Survivor (Words) You have 2 minutes to elect a tribal leader and plan your strategy. Challenge: Be the first tribe to find all of the words on the attached word search. (Note to Staff: Provide a word search of your choice for tribal members.) Note: every member of the tribe does not have to find all of the words, the tribe as a group has to find all of the words. If no tribe finds all of the words after 10 minutes the game ends and the tribe with the most words wins. Devotions Around Campfire Saturday Morning 7:30---Breakfast 8:00---Morning Devotions 8:30---Challenges Resume 8:35---Fresh Water Challenge Teams have 15 minutes to elect a tribal leader and complete this challenge. Supplies Needed: Saran wrap, rocks, cup with tribe name on it and a stick to dig with. Challenge: How to survive without fresh water? Make your own little cloud! Dig a hole in moist ground deep enough to put a cup in. Place cup in hole. On surface of the ground stretch a piece of plastic wrap across hole and secure it with rocks. In the center of the saran place a small stone to weigh it down so you are

creating a run off over the cup. Leave it sit in the sun all day. The heat from the sun will cause the moisture to evaporate from the soil and collect as condensation on the saran. It will drip into the cup. 8:50----Would You Eat It? You have 5 minutes to elect a tribal leader and plan your strategy. Challenge: Listed on pieces of paper in a bowl are various African delicacies, frog eyes (olives), spiders (chocolate candy), cricket legs (pretzels), cow brains (plain yogurt), beets, onions, muenster cheese, prunes, carrots, salami, lima beans and peas. One by one each tribe picks an opposing tribe and draws a paper. At least one member of the opposing tribe must eat the food listed or that tribe is out. When it is down to 2 tribes: if an opposing tribe refuses to eat a food the challenging tribe must eat the same food or it is considered a tie. 9:30---Cats Tails Hang long strands of yarn all over the camp grounds. You have 5 minutes to elect a tribal leader, plan your strategy and review the type of knot that has been selected for your tribe members to use. (Note to Staff: Some groups required their teams to use only the overhand knot. You would need to give your group directions on whatever type of knot you use.) Challenge: Make the longest tail. Each tribe has a different color of yarn. The yarn has been hung in the camping area. Your tribe yarn color is: _____________ One person from each tribe is chosen at the cat. The cat from each tribe stands in the center of area. At the leaders whistle signal, all other members search for the pieces of yarn for their tribes color. The first person to find a matching color piece of yarn runs back to the cat and ties it, using an specified knot, to the cat's belt loop. Each time an additional piece of matching color yarn is found, the member ties it to the first piece of yarn, then the second piece of yarn, etc. Each person may bring only one piece of yarn to tie to the cat at a time. The winner is the team with the longest tail after 5 minutes. 9:45---Don't Fence Me In You have 5 minutes to elect a tribal leader and plan your strategy. Supplies Needed: Baggie with pieces of yarn. Challenge: The playing field consists of posts in rows. Tribes take turns tying a piece of yarn of one post to another post in order to eventually make a square. The tribe "owns" each square they are able to close off during their turn. The Tribe who "owns" the most squares wins.

10:15---Build a Shelter Elect a tribal leader. You have 30 minutes to complete this challenge. Supplies Needed: 2 trash bags, assortment of rope, compass, and any other items you can find in nature or in your tribal supplies. Challenge: Build a lean-to that will protect 2 people from a storm that is coming in from the South. We will test the construction by placing 2 tribal members in the structure and throw a bucket of water on it. Who ever comes out driest wins. If the weather is cold you may substitute 2 pieces of paper instead of the 2 tribal members. 10:50-----Can You Catch It? You have 5 minutes to elect a tribal leader, plan your strategy and gather supplies. Supplies needed: 12 balls, bucket and tribal bandanna for blindfolding Challenge: Each tribe is given 12 balls. One member stands 15 feet away with a bucket. Each person in the tribe takes their turn tossing the ball at the bucket. The member holding the bucket tries to catch the ball in the bucket while blindfolded. Tribal members may shout directions to help her catch it. Tribal members will line up relay style. On leader's whistle the first person in each tribe will toss their ball while their partner tries to catch it. Leader will yell, "1-2-3!" and give the whistle signal for the next set of team members to toss, etc. This will be a very fast paced game and tribes must keep up. The tribe that catches the most balls wins. 11:15---Lunch 12:00----Blindfold Obstacle Course You have 5 minutes to plan your strategy and elect a tribal leader. Supplies Needed: Net, tribal bandannas, rope Challenge: Pick one leader to give directions and guide tribe members through an obstacle course. Tribal leaders may not touch any member any time during the competition; they must give verbal directions only. The tribe members will be blindfolded, tied together and covered with netting. If your netting falls off the entire tribe must stop and put it back on. The tribal leader may not help put the netting back in place but they can give verbal instructions. In this challenge, a tribe is only as fast as its slowest member and as good as their eyes (tribal leader). The first tribe to successfully complete the course with all of its members across the finish line wins. Play appropriate music (think movie scores, Olympic/sports, dramatic, Survivor theme) through the P.A. system, if possible.

Idea submitted by Jamie Vaughan