“OLYMPIC TRAINING”

For The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

By Sally Ulrey

Key verses: 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the
prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last,
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do
not fight like a boxer beating the air.

Objective: Using the Olympics as an analogy for living the Christian life (as Paul did in his
letter to the Corinthians), inspire youth to be disciples (“disciplined followers”) who train
daily in their relationship with God.
The Set up: Moderate

The Plan:
 Hook: Youth Group Olympics (30 mins)
o In teams, youth compete in various events (like human curling, and figure skating)
 Book: Training for the Crown—1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (10 mins)
o Look at inspiring stories of the Olympics, and the verses about training for the Olympics, and
use them as an illustration for the discipline of a disciple who is running toward Jesus.
 Look: Training Discussion (10 mins)
o Discuss the ways we train, and come up with a “training plan”
 Took: Figure Skating Videos (5 mins)
o Show the videos of the teams figure skating
o Close by using that as an example of how we live and work and move in our walks with God:
“train together”
The Supplies:
 Copy of lesson
 Something that rolls and can hold a person (flat furniture dolly, skateboard, or even a desk chair)
 Broom
 Tape or a sticker
 Measuring Tape
 Music selections (suggestions in the “Hook” part of the lesson)
 Video camera (one on your phone will work)
 Way to show your videos to the group (download to a laptop and project, etc)
 AV Equipment
 Bibles
 Something to be a gold medal, enough for one team (you can buy them at a party supply store, or make your
own out of paper and ribbon)
 Optional: If doing more Olympic events than curling and figure skating, you will need more supplies (see
suggestions in “Hook” section)

“Olympic Training” by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
1
Youth Group Olympics (Hook, 30 mins)
In this section, youth will compete in teams in a couple of silly Olympic events, like Human Curling and Figure
Skating. Whatever the events, the point is to compete in teams for the “gold”. We’ll use this as an analogy
later to talk about how training for the Olympic crown (remember, back in the day—Paul’s day—they
competed for a laurel crown in Greece) is like living the Christian life…going toward the crown of life in heaven
(see Rev 2:10). And how if our goal is to pursue Jesus, then we should do it the same way Olympic athletes
relentlessly pursue their goals.
 LEADER TIP: If you want to add more events, see suggestions here: https://www.playpartyplan.com/winter-olympic-
themed-party-games/ . If you do add events, you will need to remember to make a list of additional supplies
you need for the ones you choose!
Instructions:
 Put the youth into teams of 4-6.
 Allow them to (quickly) pick their team name and/or country they are representing.
 If you have lots of teams, you will want to add events (see link above) OR have more than one station
where the events are going on (maybe you’ll need two places where they can play curling, and two
places where they can choreograph figure skating routines).
 Recruit leaders to lead and “referee” each event.

Event 1: Human Curling

One person on the team will push another person from the “start line” until the “release line”. Another
person can sweep (optional) for fun. Measure how close each “stone” lands to the target, and record.
 Mark a start line and a line where they have to release the “stone”
 With a sticker, mark the target that they’re aiming for
 Have a leader “referee” and also measure how far the “stones” land from the sticker
 Recruit someone to sweep, but explain that this actually has no purpose other than being fun, because
they’re not allowed to touch the stone with the broom.
 Give each team 6 throws (rotate who’s the stone, who’s pushing, who’s sweeping, so everyone gets a turn)
 Note the closest throw from all the teams AND the lowest team average.

Event 2: Figure Skating

You will video tape “figure skating routines” to the music selections given, and later will show these videos to
the whole group.
 Give each team a different music selection and about 10-15 mins to choreograph a routine, which is
about 60-90 seconds long. They really can probably do this by themselves without leader help, but if
they need suggestions, have everyone think of one move they think would be good, and incorporate all
the moves together.
 At the end of 10-15 mins of practice, video their routine on a cell phone (you’ll need a way to project
the videos for the larger group, so think about how to do that in advance).
 Music selection suggestions (a different one for every team):
o “Circle of Life” from the Lion King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4efZIHtiQQ
o “My Heart will Go On” by Celine Dion from Titanic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFPXrM9ZW3M
o “Radioactive” [radio edit] by Imagine Dragons, “YMCA”, “Twist and Shout”, etc.
 LEADER TIP: you may want to start the Lion King around the minute mark and go to
about 2 or 2.5 mins, so you get the chorus in their minute and a half of choreography. “Olympic Training” by Sally Ulrey
For “My Heart Will Go On,” you may want to start at about the 2 or even 3 min mark for the Diocese of Atlanta
and go for 90 seconds. 2
Transition: You all only had a few minutes to try to perfect your techniques in these Olympic games, but
Olympic athletes spend their entire lives preparing for the games….down to what they eat, when they sleep,
when and how they train… their entire lives revolve completely around competing well in the Olympics! And
so many of their stories are so inspiring in the ways that they persevered, overcame, and didn’t give up!

Training for the Crown (Book, 10 mins)

In this section, we take a look at how Paul used the Olympics in his day to encourage Christians in their walk
with Christ. The main point is that being a Christian takes work and perseverance. We just gotta keep at it.
And the rewards are out of this world!

 Ask youth to (quickly) share some of the stories of Olympic athletes that were inspiring to them.
o Answers will probably include stories about those who were underdogs or faced obstacles, but
persevered and did not give up
 Optional: you can also show this quick inspiring ad for the paraolympics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sefscV3GvWM
 Read the passage (below for your reference).
 Remind them that when Paul lived, they had the Olympics then, too, in Greece, and Olympians
competed for the laurel wreath crown (when the games were held in Greece a few years ago, they
gave medalist a laurel crown as well).
 After reading the passage, ask them
o What does the Olympics have to do with being a Christian? Why do they think Paul referencing
the Olympics here?
 Summary: After allowing them to answer, help them understand that the main idea is that being a
Christian is a life-long pursuit that affects every area of their lives, that “training for heaven” is the
point of being a Christian, and living out the Christian life means that EVERY aspect of their lives
points toward that goal. This is not to say that we earn salvation by doing lots of good things, but it
is to say that being a Christian and living into Christ’s calling to love does take discipline and work
and perseverance sometimes, and that walking with Christ affects every area of life…it is what
everything else revolves around, just like how athletes’ lives revolve around training.

1 Corinthains 9:24-26 (NIV)

24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get
the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not
last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I
do not fight like a boxer beating the air.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Transition: If living out our faith sometimes takes work and perseverance and discipline, like athletes in
training, we’re going to talk about what kind of “training plans” we might need to grow into being better
Christians.

“Olympic Training” by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
3
Training Discussion (Look, 10 mins)
In this part, they will discuss what a training plan would look like to be the best Christian they can be, so that
they are living with purpose in following Jesus and not “running aimlessly”.

Discussion Questions (5 mins)

(These can either be done with the entire group while you facilitate, or the questions can be printed up ahead
of time as handouts or projected, and they can do this in small groups)

1. Why do you think living the Christian life takes discipline? Why isn’t it just all fun and games?
2. If you are serious about being a Christian like Olympic athletes are serious about their sport, what are
some things you might incorporate into your life to be better at pursuing Jesus more intentionally?
3. Create a daily “training plan” that adds some discipline and structure to following Jesus. What are
some things you can do daily that will point you to Jesus throughout the day? When will you do them?
Who will help you accomplish these things (who will you train with? Who might be a good “coach”?)

Figure Skating Videos (Took, 5-10 mins)

This is the reminder that how we created these videos is also how we can live life as a Christian: together, but
we did have to practice a bunch of times and make time to do it, there might have been some frustrations, but
we kept at it, and we did have fun!

 Show the videos

 Announce results from curling
 Pass out team gold medals
 (Optional, add 1.5 mins): play the national anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqq7ALCDGFc
 Ask: How is this activity a reminder for what living the Christian life is like?
o We did it together, but we did have to practice a bunch of times and make time to do it, there
might have been some frustrations, but we kept at it, and we did have fun!
 “Train together” might be a good motto for living the Christian life. Just remember the team figure
skating!!

Close in prayer, asking God to help us pursue Jesus with intention this week and always!

“Olympic Training” by Sally Ulrey

for the Diocese of Atlanta
4