SUPPLIES:
1. Play Ground Ball
2. Pit: (Tables on their side)
RULES
1. All players must begin the game in “the pit” with one foot against the wall.
2. The referee will throw the ball into “the pit” and everyone chants “Ga,” “Ga,” “Ga.” The game begins on the 3rd “Ga.”
3. If the ball hits a player below the waist for any reason the player is out.
4. If a player throws the ball out of “the pit” then the player is out.
5. Players may not catch or throw the ball. If they do they are out.
6. Players must hit or bounce the ball in order to knock the other players out.
7. Players who hit the ball may not hit the ball a second time until it hits another player or hits the wall.
8. The winner is the last person in “the pit”.
9. Referee decisions are final
Scripture: Hebrews 2:4
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Supplies:
7 Pieces of wood with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit written on them.
13 Pieces of wood with things other than the gifts of the Holy Spirit written on them.
1 Big poster with a dove on it
1 Big poster with a dove that has been x out on it
Rules:
The team must decide which of the seven are gifts of the Holy Spirit and which are not. They have five minutes to do so.
Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Wisdom Understanding Counsel Fortitude
Knowledge Piety Fear of the Lord
Thirteen Terms:
Evangelization Humility Peace Tradition
Levitation Knowing the Future Superstition Transubstantiation
Convocation Riches Beatitude Gideon
Charity
Can anything bring people together and build team spirit then defending something they believe in?
Scripture: 1 Chronicles: 9:23
They and their descendants were in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the LORD -the house called the Tent.
Supplies:
4 Balls
1 Target (Suggestion is to use a round table on its side.)
Rules:
1. The team takes up position two feet in front of the target.
2. They must successfully defend the target for five minutes from the moderators throwing the 4 play ground balls.
This activity is meant to help people learn about the saints.
Scripture: Revelation 14:2
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Supplies:
Five Bowls
Four Coasters
Small Ball
Rules:
The moderator reads clues to the team about a mystery saint. If the team can guess whom the saint is they win a coaster. The team can earn four coasters. They then place the coasters next to the bowls in which they think the small ball is hiding. If they pick the right bowl then they win the game. If they do not then they have to play all over again.
Supplies: Candy Bars
Rules:
1. Hide candy in the room before players arrive
2. Place players in teams of two.
3. One player from each team must choose one player to be the hound and the other one would be the hunter.
4. Have each team’s hound practice barking so that the team’s hunter can identify his or her dog.
5. When the facilitator says “release the hounds” all the hounds go into the room in search of candy. When they find a hidden candy bar they must bark.
6. When the hunter hears his or her hound barking they run to him or her and pick up the candy bar and return to the doorway until his or her dog finds another piece of candy and barks again.
7. Hunters cannot enter the room until their dog barks, they cannot pick up more than one piece, and they must return to the doorway each time.
8. Winner is the team with the most candy.
Scripture: Exodus 13:8
So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
Supplies:
A bunch of fake snakes
An Ark of the Covenant
2 blindfolds
A cross
Rules:
Each team must carry the Ark of the Covenant around a path filled with fake snakes blindfolded. Their team members must encourage them by telling them which way to go. If they touch a snake they must put the Ark down and remove the blindfold and start over
A Jesse tree is a Christmas tree that is decorated with symbols from salvation history. The object of this game is to help players come to a better understanding of salvation history as they race to gather their Jesse tree ornaments by answering true/false questions.
Supplies:
Christmas Tree:
For the Christmas tree you may either get a small Christmas tree from a dollar store or you can draw a Christmas tree on a poster board. You will need one per group.
Jesse Tree Ornaments:For the ornaments I suggest that you buy some do it yourself business cards and hole punch the tops of the cards and add a string so that they can be hung on the Jesse Tree or have tape ready so the groups can tape them to the poster board trees.
Question Sheets:
For each group create a set of questions by first writing down the question on an standard sheet of paper. Second cut the paper with the question on it into four and place it in an envelope making sure to label it.
Answer Sheet:
Make sure each moderator has an answer sheet.
Rules:
Begin by having your teams line up on one side of the room next to their Jesse Tree. On the other side of the room have a table with the question envelops on it. When the race starts the first player on each team runs to the other side of the room an opens the first envelope and tries to answer the question. If they are correct they get to take the corresponding ornament back to their team’s Jesse tree and the next person from their team runs down etc. If a person gets the question wrong they simply run back to their group and tag the next person in line who will then try to answer the same question. The winning team is the first team to completely decorate their team’s Jesse tree.
# | Question | Answer | Ornament |
1 | Increase pain in child bearing, tension between men and women and the fact that human beings must work for their food are consequences of the first sin. | True | |
2 | Noah was not allowed to bring his family on the Ark with him | False: Noah was allowed to bring his family on the Ark | |
3 | The rainbow serves as a sign of God’s first covenant (promise) with human beings in which he promised not to destroy the earth by a flood again. | True | |
4 | God asked Abram to leave his home in the city of UR. As a sign of Abram’s new life, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. | True | ABRAHAM |
5 | God forced Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac so that God could test Abraham’s willingness to obey. | False: God was testing Abraham and sent an angel to stop Abraham. | |
6 | Jacob had a dream in which he saw angels climbing up and down a latter that reached into the heavens. | True | |
7 | Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because God did not care for how arrogant Joseph was. | False: God was preparing Joseph to help people survive a famine. | |
8 | God commanded the Jewish people in slavery to slaughter a lamb and smear its blood over their doors in that the angel of death may pass over their houses | True | |
9 | God gave us the Ten Commandments because God wants us all to live together in peace and happiness | True | |
10 | God made Joshua and the Israelites walk around the city of Jordan before the walls would come tumbling down without physically attacking the city. | False It was Jericho |
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11 | King David was the first king of Israel. | False: King Saul was the first King. | |
12 | The prophet Isaiah prophesied that the coming messiah would be a “Suffering Servant.” | True | |
13 | John the Baptist is considered the last of the prophets. | True | |
14 | God sent the angel Michael to a virgin named Mary | False: Gabriel was sent to Mary not Michael | |
15 | Since Mary was sinless she could not say “no” to the angel | False: Adam and Eve had not sinned but chose not to do God’s will. | |
16 | The city of Bethlehem literally means “house of bread.” | True | |
17 | St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, symbolizes God because he the way in which he adopted Jesus is similar to how God adopts us. | True | |
18 | The symbolic meaning of the gifts of the magi is… Gold for a king, frankincense for God, and Myrrh for a man who is destined to die. | True | |
19 | Jesus became human so that we might live with Him forever in heaven | True | |
20 | The star reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light shining in our darkness | True |
A fun game in which people can play
Scripture: Jericho 6:2
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
Supplies:
A box like structure (could be four tables on their sides)
Playground Balls
Rules:
Team must make it around the box like structure seven times without being hit by a playground ball. You may wish to construct some barricades for players to run behind. If a player is hit they are out. One member must make it around seven times.
Scripture: Acts 9:27
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
Supplies:
Signs with the places St. Paul visited.
Rope for marking off areas
Rules:
Moderator reads off a list of where St. Paul traveled. When he mentions a place the team must run to the sight without being tagged by the moderator(s).