Turning Tarps

Number of People Who Can Play: 10-12

Time: 15-20 minutes

Game Goal:
● Team Building
● Spiritual Lesson: Even when the world turns upside down, stand firm with Jesus, and shoulder to
shoulder with other believers for strength and support.

Materials: 3-4 tarps/sheets/blankets, all decreasing in size.

Directions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49bdmIkzBOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbsdg7TGzUk
● Begin by having the entire group stand on top of the largest tarp. The goal is for the group to turn the
tarp completely over while the entire group remains standing on the tarp. No one can step off the tarp at
any time… if they do, restart the task.
● After the group masters the larger tarp, give them a smaller one, and then a smaller one. Challenge
them to develop a strategy and think outside the box.

Alternatives:
1. For more challenge, have groups complete the task without talking or without using their hands. Blind
fold half of the group members.

Spiritual Wrap Up:

In this game, things were literally turning upside down beneath your feet. Sometimes it seems like Christians
are defeated in their Christian lives because things just get too hard. Problems arise, frustrations fester, moral
is low, and lives just turn upside down!

However, Jesus promised to give us abundant life, but He also said that He was sending us out as sheep in
the midst of wolves. Jesus promised peace, but in the same breath He said that in this world we would have
problems? He assured us of His love, but He went on to say that the world would hate and persecute us? This
picture might not fit your idea of an abundant life!

It is important to remember that when you became a Christian, you were drafted into God’s army. Daily you are
in a battle with an unseen spiritual enemy that seeks to destroy you. The key here is that you are in an ARMY.
You are not a lone soldier out on the battlefield, you are part of a whole army of other Christians! God provides
us with these fellow soldiers that we can stand together with, lean on, and support...even when the battle is
tough… and even when our lives are turning upside down beneath us.

Together, you and the army of God, will stand firm, fight the enemy, and experience the abundant life God
promised for you!