Youth Group Activities

10 Animal Would You Rather Questions

July 31, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Ostrich Riding — Would you rather ride this or a camel?

Each week, we publish a list of 10 Would You Rather questions based on a certain theme. This week, they’re all about animals.

We also have some suggestions of youth group activities you could organize that tie in with this theme.

And if you don’t know how to play this game, check out our guide here.

10 Animal Would You Rather Questions

Would you rather…

ride an ostrich or a camel?
hug a koala bear or a panda?
stroke a tarantula or a snake?
fight a tiger or a bear?
have a dinosaur or a dolphin as a pet?
milk a cow or shear a sheep?
put your head in a lion’s mouth or waterski over a shark tank?
own a cat or a dog?
be able to climb a tree like a squirrel or dig burrows like a mole?
be kept awake at night by a dog barking or be woken up early by a cock crowing?

Get the book – 501 Would You Rather Questions

For more animal youth group games, check out our name game and barnyard animals game.

These questions could also tie in nicely if you’re planning on taking your young people to a local animal shelter or Humane Society as a volunteering opportunity.

Alternatively, use them as part of some Earth Day activities by focusing on animal care.

For more ideas, check out all our other Would You Rather questions.

Question: What other Would You Rather animal questions can you think of? We’d love to hear your ideas below.

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Image credit – Marv Gillibrand, Flickr

Great Balls Of Paper – Youth Group Games

July 29, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Newspaper Games If you want to play a fun youth group game that can be used in all kinds of ways, give Great Balls Of Paper a go.

It’s active, versatile and requires no preparation – here’s how to play it:

Resources

Loads of newspaper
Wastepaper baskets or buckets
Masking tape (optional)

Preparation

No preparation is necessary – perfect for when you need to switch from one youth group activity to another without having time in between to set up.

Location

This can be played indoors or outdoors.

Instructions

The basic instructions for this game are that you’ll have some young people holding a wastepaper basket on top of their head.

About 10-15 feet away from each of them, other youth will be standing with some newspaper. Their challenge is to scrunch up the paper and try to throw it into a basket.

Options

As we mentioned, this game is pretty versatile, so here are some different ways it can be played:

Upfront Game

Pick 6 or 8 young people to play this upfront and split them into pairs. One person from each pair will be the basket holder and the other will throw the newspaper

Relay Game

To get your entire youth group playing this, organize it as a relay game. Split them into teams, with the basket holders standing in a line.

Their teammates stand in a line and take it in turns to throw paper.

Rapid Fire

Split the youth into four teams. The teenagers holding the wastepaper baskets need to stand in the center of the playing area with their backs to each other, thereby facing in four different directions.

The rest of the players need to stand in a row in front of their teammate, effectively creating a square/diamond around the players in the center. When you say go, they have to start throwing the paper.

This means there’ll be loads of newspaper flying through the air at the same time. It also means that if they’re not careful, they might miss their team’s basket and fill up an opponent’s instead.

Tip

Use masking tape on the floor to indicate where the basket holders should stand, as well as to mark out a line that the throwers should stand behind.

Winners

There are also a couple of ways to choose a winner:

Time Limit – The winning team is the one who gets the most paper in their basket within a certain time limit
Target – The winners are the ones who are the first to get a set number of newspaper balls in their basket. This version will need volunteers keeping count so that you know who reached the target first.

If you liked this idea, check out all our newspaper games, along with all our other games for youth groups.

Question: What would you suggest to make Great Balls Of Paper even more fun? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

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10 Christian Would You Rather Questions – Part 3

July 24, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Each week, we’re publishing a list of 10 Would You Rather questions that have a certain theme. We’ve covered superpowers, school, food, gross ideas and more.

We’ve also published a number of Christian Would You Rather questions and this week we have 10 more. You can find the other parts using the links below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 – this week

Beneath the questions are some suggestions of discussions and activities that you could plan that are linked to the questions.

If you’re not sure how to organize this game, here’s how to play it.

10 Christian Would You Rather Questions – Part 3

Would you rather…

be like Zechariah and made mute by an angel or like Jacob and have to wrestle with an angel?
see Lot’s wife turn to salt or hear Balaam’s donkey talking?
live in the Garden of Eden that’s perfect but unchanging or in our imperfect world that has sin but also a hope for forgiveness?
live on the ark with all the stinky animals or be stuck in the belly of a large fish?
(For girls) have to wear a head covering for your whole life or no make up?
(For boys) have to wear a head covering or never shave your beard and not cut your hair?
deny Jesus three times or betray Him for 30 pieces of silver?
be Abraham and be told you have to kill your only son not knowing that he’d be saved or be Isaac knowing that your father would be willing to sacrifice you?
have to love your neighbor your whole life or your enemy for one month?
be known for forgiveness or faith?

Discussions / Activities

Here are some discussions you could use based on some of the questions:

How do you think you’d react if you saw an angel?
If life on Earth was perfect, do you think you’d find it boring? Why is that?
How do you feel about some of the gender specific rules that the Bible mentions?
Why do you think God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, knowing that he was going to stop him from doing so anyway?
What are some ways you can actively love your enemies?
Who are some people you need to forgive?
What are some ways you can show faith?

As for youth group activities, you could organize some sessions on:

Restoration and forgiveness
Building bridges (tied in to forgiveness and loving enemies)

If you liked these ideas, check out all our other Would You Rather questions – as we mentioned above, there are many more questions with all different kinds of themes in addition to the Christian ones.

Question: What other Christian youth group activities could you plan that are related to the questions listed above? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

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Image credit: Wikipedia

How To Plan A Back To School Fundraiser

July 22, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Here’s a great idea for a Back To School fundraiser that you can use to either raise money for your youth group or provide school resources for low income families in your community.

During August and September, your young people will be going back to school or college. Most of them (well, their parents) will be planning on buying school supplies that they need, so make things convenient for them by selling Back To School Kits.

What would go in a Back To School Kit?

The supplies you include will vary depending on how old your young people are, but here are some suggestions of items:

Notebook
Pens
Pencils
Crayons
Coloring pencils
Erasers
Ruler
Calculator
Binders
Paper clips
Glue
Pencil sharpener
Protractor
Backpack
Lunchbox
Pencil case

How to reduce the cost of items

As this is a fundraiser, you’ll want to get as much as possible for as little as possible. Here are a few ways to do this:

Sales – Take advantage of stores’ Back To School sales that will also be going on during August and September
Bulk – As you’ll be producing many packs, reduce the cost per item by buying multipacks and in bulk – either from stores like Walmart or wholesalers like Costco or Sam’s Club
Dollar Store – Although not always the greatest quality, dollar stores can still be a great place to stock up on school supplies

How much should I charge for a Back To School Kit

This will depend largely on how much you’ve spent on supplies. First of all, calculate how much all of the items will cost (along with any miscellaneous expenses), then divide by the number of kits that the supplies will fill. Miscellaneous costs might include boxes that you’ll be giving the kits in, although if you’re also including a backpack they could be put in there instead.

When you know how much each kit costs, add a markup of 50% – 100%. For example, if it costs $15 for each kit, you could charge $22.50 – $30.

An alternative would be to provide different levels of kits based on what’s included. A Standard kit containing the basics might cost $10, a Deluxe kit containing some extras might be $20, while an Ultimate kit (perhaps including a backpack) could be $30. If you provide different options like this, make sure that parents know what they’d be getting in each kit so that they can easily choose which one they need.

Buy One, Give One

Instead of this being a youth group fundraiser, you and your young people could plan this as something that will benefit other youth in your community, particularly those from low income families or who live in a shelter.

When selling these kits, add a markup of exactly 100% on top of what the items cost. Parents will then be able to Buy One, Give One – they get one Back To School kit for their own child and a similar kit is given to a family who might not be able to afford to buy their own one.

If you want to find people who might be able to benefit from this, there will be many local organizations who would gladly welcome the donations or be able to pass them to people who need them:

Schools
Shelters
Low income housing authorities
Local children’s charities
Libraries

If you like this BOGO idea, we’ve also provided a way you can do a similar type of Buy One, Give One activity by selling Christmas stockings.

Tips

Backpacks – These can be quite a personalized style. If including backpacks as part of the kit, it’s best to go for something fairly neutral rather than a design that a child will either love or hate
Local partners – Contact local businesses – especially stationery stores – to see if they’d be willing to donate supplies for your Back To School fundraiser
Get your youth involved – This is a great way to encourage youth participation. Have them make a list of items to go in the kits, take them to the store with you, get them to pack the kits, promote the fundraiser, etc.

How to reduce wastage

If you have any items left over at the end of the fundraiser, you could either keep hold of these for your own youth work programs or donate them to a local shelter or low income housing authority.

Alternatively, keep track of the receipts and return any additional supplies to the stores for a refund.

How to promote the fundraiser

To maximize your youth group fundraiser, promote it as widely as possible. Here are some ways to do this:

Church – If your youth group’s run through a church, make sure the fundraiser is mentioned during services and included in the bulletin
Flyers – Give these to your youth to take home to their parents, providing extras for them to pass to their friends, neighbors and work colleagues
Local businesses – Ask businesses in your area if they’d be willing to post your flyers in their window or on their counter
Local news – Contact local TV news networks and newspapers and ask them if they’d be willing to do a feature on your fundraiser
Libraries – Get in contact with your local library and see if they’d also be willing to carry your flyers
Charities – If you’re running this as a BOGO option, let whichever charity or organization you’ll be supporting know what you’re planning so that they can then promote it to their own donors.

Ordering

Try to reduce the amount of supplies you have left over at the end by getting parents to order the kits upfront. Put together some order forms that include the following details:

How much the Back To School Kits will cost (including the Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate options if offering these)
The supplies that will be in each pack
When it will be available
How they can pay (make it easier by offering credit cards)
Who to return the order form to

Where possible, take payment for the kits upfront as this will reduce your initial outlay.

If you liked this idea, check out all out other youth group fundraisers.

Question: Do you have any additional tips or ideas for people organizing a Back To School fundraiser like this one? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

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10 Famous Would You Rather Questions

July 17, 2013 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Each week, we’re publishing lists of 10 Would You Rather questions based on a certain theme for you to use with your youth group. This week, the theme is all about being famous.

If you’ve never played this game/activity before, here’s our guide on how to play Would You Rather.

Beneath the list, there are suggestions for some discussion questions and other youth group activities you could organize that tie in with this ‘being famous’ theme.

10 Famous Would You Rather Questions

Would you rather…

be famous and have no friends or not famous with many friends?
write a bestselling novel or sing a bestselling song?
be a movie star or a rock star?
hit the game-winning home run in the World Series or score the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl?
become President of the USA or be the first person to step foot on Mars?
be the subject of a famous painting or a famous song?
be famous for something embarrassing or not be famous at all?
be immortalized as a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame or as a star on the CIA Memorial Wall?
appear on a billboard in Times Square for one day or on a billboard in your local city for a year?
get famous quickly as a reality TV star or earn an Oscar when you’re 75?

Discussion Questions

Here are some ideas of additional questions you could use to explore being famous and how your young people feel about it:

Why is it that you’d like to be famous?
If you don’t want to be famous, why is that?
If you could choose one thing to be famous for, what would it be?
Which famous person do you admire most? Why is that?

Youth Group Activities

Here are a few activities and session plans that could tie in with this ‘being famous’ theme, especially in terms of helping them to set targets and achieve their goals:

If you liked these ideas, check out all of our other Would You Rather questions for even more ideas, discussions and activity suggestions.

Question: What other ‘being famous’ questions can you think of? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

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Image courtesy of dahcheet, Flickr

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