| 1. The church - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 4:03 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A youth group discussion starter on the church. Exploring the New Testament images of the church and discovering the importance of each person playing their part in the life of the church. A themed night of icebreakers and activities can also be found in the earlier post The Body of Christ. TOWER BUILD Don't say too much about the theme of the session at first. It is introduced through the object lesson that follows the tower build exercise. Divide your group into teams of four. Explain the task is to work together to build the tallest free standing structure or tower they can with the materials provided. Give each team an identical selection of materials which they can use to build the tower. This can include a limited amount of, Cardboard, newspaper, plastic straws, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, plastic cups, paper plates, paper clips, cardboard tubes from toilet of kitchen rolls, tape. Encourage each team to use all of the resources they are given and to involve everyone in the planning and building process. Give each team 15 minutes to construct their tower. Then ask each group to step away from their free-standing tower to determine the winner. Depending on the size of your group, come back together as a whole (or divide) to discuss any lessons learned from the project. How did you decide which way to construct your tower? How did you make decisions? Can you give examples of how you worked together as a team? What role did each team member play in the process of building the tower? What would you do differently to build a taller tower next time? Did the team who worked best together achieve the best results i.e. build the tallest tower? Introduce the theme of the session. Explain that the group will be discovering what the New Testament says about the church. The word 'church' in the New Testament never refers to a physical building, but always to a group of people who come together for a purpose. The church (people) is so important to God that he planned it from the beginning (Ephesians 3: 10-11) Are we part of a church (and the church) and playing our part on Gods team? OBJECT LESSON - THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE Show the closed knife to the group. Who knows what it is? Confirm it's not just an ordinary penknife but a Swiss army knife. Why is it special? Because of the different tools you will find contained in the base. The first Swiss army knife was created in 1897. Since then there have been many different variations but they usually include some of the following, a large blade, small blade, corkscrew, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, punch, sewing eye, tweezers, toothpick, scissors, nail file and key ring. All the tools are useful and all are different, but the great thing about the Swiss army knife is that all the tools are joined together as one unit to use whenever you need it. This is an illustration of what a church is like. A group of people who love Christ, everyone different , everyone needed, and everyone with an important role to play. A team working together with Christ in command. REFLECTION Divide into small groups and read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 together. Why do you think the Apostle Paul chose to compare the church to a body? Is every part needed? What would happen if a part was missing? What do you think you can do to play your part in the body? Paul uses several different images or illustrations to describe what the church is like. Can you find them? A body Ephesians 1: 23 A family Ephesians 2: 19-22 A temple Ephesians 2: 19-22 A bride Ephesians 5: 25-27 An army Ephesians 6: 12-17 What might these things have in common? How does each help us understand the nature of the church? Do you think 'unity' is important? What can we do as a youth group to play our part in the body, the family, the army, the bride, the temple? End by praying for your church and your part in it. Praise God for everything you receive through it. Pray for needs of your church and God's church worldwide. MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 2. The church - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 4:03 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A youth group discussion starter on the church. Exploring the New Testament images of the church and discovering the importance of each person playing their part in the life of the church. A themed night of icebreakers and activities can also be found in the earlier post The Body of Christ. TOWER BUILD Don't say too much about the theme of the session at first. It is introduced through the object lesson that follows the tower build exercise. Divide your group into teams of four. Explain the task is to work together to build the tallest free standing structure or tower they can with the materials provided. Give each team an identical selection of materials which they can use to build the tower. This can include a limited amount of, Cardboard, newspaper, plastic straws, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, plastic cups, paper plates, paper clips, cardboard tubes from toilet of kitchen rolls, tape. Encourage each team to use all of the resources they are given and to involve everyone in the planning and building process. Give each team 15 minutes to construct their tower. Then ask each group to step away from their free-standing tower to determine the winner. Depending on the size of your group, come back together as a whole (or divide) to discuss any lessons learned from the project. How did you decide which way to construct your tower? How did you make decisions? Can you give examples of how you worked together as a team? What role did each team member play in the process of building the tower? What would you do differently to build a taller tower next time? Did the team who worked best together achieve the best results i.e. build the tallest tower? Introduce the theme of the session. Explain that the group will be discovering what the New Testament says about the church. The word 'church' in the New Testament never refers to a physical building, but always to a group of people who come together for a purpose. The church (people) is so important to God that he planned it from the beginning (Ephesians 3: 10-11) Are we part of a church (and the church) and playing our part on Gods team? OBJECT LESSON - THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE Show the closed knife to the group. Who knows what it is? Confirm it's not just an ordinary penknife but a Swiss army knife. Why is it special? Because of the different tools you will find contained in the base. The first Swiss army knife was created in 1897. Since then there have been many different variations but they usually include some of the following, a large blade, small blade, corkscrew, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, punch, sewing eye, tweezers, toothpick, scissors, nail file and key ring. All the tools are useful and all are different, but the great thing about the Swiss army knife is that all the tools are joined together as one unit to use whenever you need it. This is an illustration of what a church is like. A group of people who love Christ, everyone different , everyone needed, and everyone with an important role to play. A team working together with Christ in command. REFLECTION Divide into small groups and read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 together. Why do you think the Apostle Paul chose to compare the church to a body? Is every part needed? What would happen if a part was missing? What do you think you can do to play your part in the body? Paul uses several different images or illustrations to describe what the church is like. Can you find them? A body Ephesians 1: 23 A family Ephesians 2: 19-22 A temple Ephesians 2: 19-22 A bride Ephesians 5: 25-27 An army Ephesians 6: 12-17 What might these things have in common? How does each help us understand the nature of the church? Do you think 'unity' is important? What can we do as a youth group to play our part in the body, the family, the army, the bride, the temple? End by praying for your church and your part in it. Praise God for everything you receive through it. Pray for needs of your church and God's church worldwide. MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 3. The church - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 4:03 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A youth group discussion starter on the church. Exploring the New Testament images of the church and discovering the importance of each person playing their part in the life of the church. A themed night of icebreakers and activities can also be found in the earlier post The Body of Christ. TOWER BUILD Don't say too much about the theme of the session at first. It is introduced through the object lesson that follows the tower build exercise. Divide your group into teams of four. Explain the task is to work together to build the tallest free standing structure or tower they can with the materials provided. Give each team an identical selection of materials which they can use to build the tower. This can include a limited amount of, Cardboard, newspaper, plastic straws, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, plastic cups, paper plates, paper clips, cardboard tubes from toilet of kitchen rolls, tape. Encourage each team to use all of the resources they are given and to involve everyone in the planning and building process. Give each team 15 minutes to construct their tower. Then ask each group to step away from their free-standing tower to determine the winner. Depending on the size of your group, come back together as a whole (or divide) to discuss any lessons learned from the project. How did you decide which way to construct your tower? How did you make decisions? Can you give examples of how you worked together as a team? What role did each team member play in the process of building the tower? What would you do differently to build a taller tower next time? Did the team who worked best together achieve the best results i.e. build the tallest tower? Introduce the theme of the session. Explain that the group will be discovering what the New Testament says about the church. The word 'church' in the New Testament never refers to a physical building, but always to a group of people who come together for a purpose. The church (people) is so important to God that he planned it from the beginning (Ephesians 3: 10-11) Are we part of a church (and the church) and playing our part on Gods team? OBJECT LESSON - THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE Show the closed knife to the group. Who knows what it is? Confirm it's not just an ordinary penknife but a Swiss army knife. Why is it special? Because of the different tools you will find contained in the base. The first Swiss army knife was created in 1897. Since then there have been many different variations but they usually include some of the following, a large blade, small blade, corkscrew, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, punch, sewing eye, tweezers, toothpick, scissors, nail file and key ring. All the tools are useful and all are different, but the great thing about the Swiss army knife is that all the tools are joined together as one unit to use whenever you need it. This is an illustration of what a church is like. A group of people who love Christ, everyone different , everyone needed, and everyone with an important role to play. A team working together with Christ in command. REFLECTION Divide into small groups and read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 together. Why do you think the Apostle Paul chose to compare the church to a body? Is every part needed? What would happen if a part was missing? What do you think you can do to play your part in the body? Paul uses several different images or illustrations to describe what the church is like. Can you find them? A body Ephesians 1: 23 A family Ephesians 2: 19-22 A temple Ephesians 2: 19-22 A bride Ephesians 5: 25-27 An army Ephesians 6: 12-17 What might these things have in common? How does each help us understand the nature of the church? Do you think 'unity' is important? What can we do as a youth group to play our part in the body, the family, the army, the bride, the temple? End by praying for your church and your part in it. Praise God for everything you receive through it. Pray for needs of your church and God's church worldwide. MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 4. The church - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 4:03 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A youth group discussion starter on the church. Exploring the New Testament images of the church and discovering the importance of each person playing their part in the life of the church. A themed night of icebreakers and activities can also be found in the earlier post The Body of Christ. TOWER BUILD Don't say too much about the theme of the session at first. It is introduced through the object lesson that follows the tower build exercise. Divide your group into teams of four. Explain the task is to work together to build the tallest free standing structure or tower they can with the materials provided. Give each team an identical selection of materials which they can use to build the tower. This can include a limited amount of, Cardboard, newspaper, plastic straws, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, plastic cups, paper plates, paper clips, cardboard tubes from toilet of kitchen rolls, tape. Encourage each team to use all of the resources they are given and to involve everyone in the planning and building process. Give each team 15 minutes to construct their tower. Then ask each group to step away from their free-standing tower to determine the winner. Depending on the size of your group, come back together as a whole (or divide) to discuss any lessons learned from the project. How did you decide which way to construct your tower? How did you make decisions? Can you give examples of how you worked together as a team? What role did each team member play in the process of building the tower? What would you do differently to build a taller tower next time? Did the team who worked best together achieve the best results i.e. build the tallest tower? Introduce the theme of the session. Explain that the group will be discovering what the New Testament says about the church. The word 'church' in the New Testament never refers to a physical building, but always to a group of people who come together for a purpose. The church (people) is so important to God that he planned it from the beginning (Ephesians 3: 10-11) Are we part of a church (and the church) and playing our part on Gods team? OBJECT LESSON - THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE Show the closed knife to the group. Who knows what it is? Confirm it's not just an ordinary penknife but a Swiss army knife. Why is it special? Because of the different tools you will find contained in the base. The first Swiss army knife was created in 1897. Since then there have been many different variations but they usually include some of the following, a large blade, small blade, corkscrew, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, punch, sewing eye, tweezers, toothpick, scissors, nail file and key ring. All the tools are useful and all are different, but the great thing about the Swiss army knife is that all the tools are joined together as one unit to use whenever you need it. This is an illustration of what a church is like. A group of people who love Christ, everyone different , everyone needed, and everyone with an important role to play. A team working together with Christ in command. REFLECTION Divide into small groups and read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 together. Why do you think the Apostle Paul chose to compare the church to a body? Is every part needed? What would happen if a part was missing? What do you think you can do to play your part in the body? Paul uses several different images or illustrations to describe what the church is like. Can you find them? A body Ephesians 1: 23 A family Ephesians 2: 19-22 A temple Ephesians 2: 19-22 A bride Ephesians 5: 25-27 An army Ephesians 6: 12-17 What might these things have in common? How does each help us understand the nature of the church? Do you think 'unity' is important? What can we do as a youth group to play our part in the body, the family, the army, the bride, the temple? End by praying for your church and your part in it. Praise God for everything you receive through it. Pray for needs of your church and God's church worldwide. MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 5. Consequences - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 3:54 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A simple group discussion starter based on the party game of consequences i.e. his name/ her name/ where they met/ he said/ she said/ where they went/ what they did/ and the consequence was? This exercise assumes your young people have some background knowledge about the life of Christ. Invite them to sit in a circle of 9 people and give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, break into two or more circles. Explain that you are going to play the game consequences and ask a series of 9 questions. They write their first answer at the top of the paper and then fold it so that the answer cannot be seen. The paper is then passed to the person on their right. This is repeated for each question, until all 9 questions are asked. If someone can't answer a question they simply write a question mark, fold the paper over and pass it on. Where was Jesus born? What was his job? How old was he when he died? How long ago did this happen? Something Jesus did that people at the time liked. Something he did which shocked people. One thing that makes people want to follow him now. One thing that puts people off from following him now. One question you would like to ask him if you had the opportunity. Don't worry if the first four questions seem obvious. If your group knows the answers, they can show off their knowledge. When everyone is finished, put all the papers in the centre of the circle. Ask each person to take a different one to the one they put down. Give a moment for them to open the paper and look at the answers. Go through the questions one by one, each time asking a few people to read the answers on the paper. The first four factual questions can be covered quickly. If appropriate, add other pieces of information about the life of Jesus to help complete the understanding of your group. The later questions (5-9) are used to encourage a time of discussion. Use a whiteboard or flip chart to record the different answers. For example, ask if anyone has a different point of view or opinion to a particular answer, and why? Does anyone want to add something else? Add your own comments to the discussion and ask supplementary questions. One of your group may like to say why they want to follow Jesus. The responses to the final question could prompt a wider discussion on a particular topic or link to a follow-up session called, 'Thing's I'd like to ask Jesus?' MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 6. Consequences - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 3:54 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A simple group discussion starter based on the party game of consequences i.e. his name/ her name/ where they met/ he said/ she said/ where they went/ what they did/ and the consequence was? This exercise assumes your young people have some background knowledge about the life of Christ. Invite them to sit in a circle of 9 people and give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, break into two or more circles. Explain that you are going to play the game consequences and ask a series of 9 questions. They write their first answer at the top of the paper and then fold it so that the answer cannot be seen. The paper is then passed to the person on their right. This is repeated for each question, until all 9 questions are asked. If someone can't answer a question they simply write a question mark, fold the paper over and pass it on. Where was Jesus born? What was his job? How old was he when he died? How long ago did this happen? Something Jesus did that people at the time liked. Something he did which shocked people. One thing that makes people want to follow him now. One thing that puts people off from following him now. One question you would like to ask him if you had the opportunity. Don't worry if the first four questions seem obvious. If your group knows the answers, they can show off their knowledge. When everyone is finished, put all the papers in the centre of the circle. Ask each person to take a different one to the one they put down. Give a moment for them to open the paper and look at the answers. Go through the questions one by one, each time asking a few people to read the answers on the paper. The first four factual questions can be covered quickly. If appropriate, add other pieces of information about the life of Jesus to help complete the understanding of your group. The later questions (5-9) are used to encourage a time of discussion. Use a whiteboard or flip chart to record the different answers. For example, ask if anyone has a different point of view or opinion to a particular answer, and why? Does anyone want to add something else? Add your own comments to the discussion and ask supplementary questions. One of your group may like to say why they want to follow Jesus. The responses to the final question could prompt a wider discussion on a particular topic or link to a follow-up session called, 'Thing's I'd like to ask Jesus?' MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 7. Consequences - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 3:54 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A simple group discussion starter based on the party game of consequences i.e. his name/ her name/ where they met/ he said/ she said/ where they went/ what they did/ and the consequence was? This exercise assumes your young people have some background knowledge about the life of Christ. Invite them to sit in a circle of 9 people and give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, break into two or more circles. Explain that you are going to play the game consequences and ask a series of 9 questions. They write their first answer at the top of the paper and then fold it so that the answer cannot be seen. The paper is then passed to the person on their right. This is repeated for each question, until all 9 questions are asked. If someone can't answer a question they simply write a question mark, fold the paper over and pass it on. Where was Jesus born? What was his job? How old was he when he died? How long ago did this happen? Something Jesus did that people at the time liked. Something he did which shocked people. One thing that makes people want to follow him now. One thing that puts people off from following him now. One question you would like to ask him if you had the opportunity. Don't worry if the first four questions seem obvious. If your group knows the answers, they can show off their knowledge. When everyone is finished, put all the papers in the centre of the circle. Ask each person to take a different one to the one they put down. Give a moment for them to open the paper and look at the answers. Go through the questions one by one, each time asking a few people to read the answers on the paper. The first four factual questions can be covered quickly. If appropriate, add other pieces of information about the life of Jesus to help complete the understanding of your group. The later questions (5-9) are used to encourage a time of discussion. Use a whiteboard or flip chart to record the different answers. For example, ask if anyone has a different point of view or opinion to a particular answer, and why? Does anyone want to add something else? Add your own comments to the discussion and ask supplementary questions. One of your group may like to say why they want to follow Jesus. The responses to the final question could prompt a wider discussion on a particular topic or link to a follow-up session called, 'Thing's I'd like to ask Jesus?' MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 8. Consequences - a youth group discussion starter |
| From Insight on Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ 3:54 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. A simple group discussion starter based on the party game of consequences i.e. his name/ her name/ where they met/ he said/ she said/ where they went/ what they did/ and the consequence was? This exercise assumes your young people have some background knowledge about the life of Christ. Invite them to sit in a circle of 9 people and give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, break into two or more circles. Explain that you are going to play the game consequences and ask a series of 9 questions. They write their first answer at the top of the paper and then fold it so that the answer cannot be seen. The paper is then passed to the person on their right. This is repeated for each question, until all 9 questions are asked. If someone can't answer a question they simply write a question mark, fold the paper over and pass it on. Where was Jesus born? What was his job? How old was he when he died? How long ago did this happen? Something Jesus did that people at the time liked. Something he did which shocked people. One thing that makes people want to follow him now. One thing that puts people off from following him now. One question you would like to ask him if you had the opportunity. Don't worry if the first four questions seem obvious. If your group knows the answers, they can show off their knowledge. When everyone is finished, put all the papers in the centre of the circle. Ask each person to take a different one to the one they put down. Give a moment for them to open the paper and look at the answers. Go through the questions one by one, each time asking a few people to read the answers on the paper. The first four factual questions can be covered quickly. If appropriate, add other pieces of information about the life of Jesus to help complete the understanding of your group. The later questions (5-9) are used to encourage a time of discussion. Use a whiteboard or flip chart to record the different answers. For example, ask if anyone has a different point of view or opinion to a particular answer, and why? Does anyone want to add something else? Add your own comments to the discussion and ask supplementary questions. One of your group may like to say why they want to follow Jesus. The responses to the final question could prompt a wider discussion on a particular topic or link to a follow-up session called, 'Thing's I'd like to ask Jesus?' MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS For more, click on discussion starters in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 9. Servant leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:27 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.' J. Donald Walters 'Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.' St. Augustine 'You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.' Anthony J D'Angelo 'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' Winston Churchill 'But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.' Jesus the Christ Read More... |
| 10. Servant leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:27 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.' J. Donald Walters 'Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.' St. Augustine 'You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.' Anthony J D'Angelo 'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' Winston Churchill 'But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.' Jesus the Christ Read More... |
| 11. Servant leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:27 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.' J. Donald Walters 'Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.' St. Augustine 'You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.' Anthony J D'Angelo 'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' Winston Churchill 'But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.' Jesus the Christ Read More... |
| 12. Servant leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:27 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.' J. Donald Walters 'Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.' St. Augustine 'You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.' Anthony J D'Angelo 'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' Winston Churchill 'But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.' Jesus the Christ Read More... |
| 13. Reflections on leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:24 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.' Harvey S. Firestone 'As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.' Bill Gates 'Leadership is the transference of vision.' Hal Reed 'The only real training for leadership is leadership.' Anthony Jay 'He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk.' Anonymous Read More... |
| 14. Reflections on leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:24 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.' Harvey S. Firestone 'As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.' Bill Gates 'Leadership is the transference of vision.' Hal Reed 'The only real training for leadership is leadership.' Anthony Jay 'He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk.' Anonymous Read More... |
| 15. Reflections on leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:24 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.' Harvey S. Firestone 'As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.' Bill Gates 'Leadership is the transference of vision.' Hal Reed 'The only real training for leadership is leadership.' Anthony Jay 'He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk.' Anonymous Read More... |
| 16. Reflections on leadership - more food for thought |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 1:24 PM PST
in the "Blog" Category. 'The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.' Harvey S. Firestone 'As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.' Bill Gates 'Leadership is the transference of vision.' Hal Reed 'The only real training for leadership is leadership.' Anthony Jay 'He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk.' Anonymous Read More... |
| 17. Team builders - more than icebreakers |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 11:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. Team building games and activities are great ways to help groups develop cooperation, decision making and communication skills. Team building exercises can be adapted for many different settings and public domain examples are found freely available across the web. In the next few days I will post some of my favourites, used over the years in youth clubs, youth weekends, camps and as team building exercises with new groups. A key part of these exercises is facilitating a time of group discussion after the activity. Remember to ask open-ended questions, helping the young people to reflect on what they have learned. Team building games can also provide a useful entry point to teaching themes for your group i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), values and leadership. Much depends on the role of the youth leader. A well planned and prepared activity, followed up with thought-provoking questions can be a significant learning experience. Team building activities can be simple games, or involve creative problem-solving, or 'pen and paper' group survival situations. These games can challenge your young people's values, cooperation, decision making and leadership skills.There are two classic types of 'pen and paper' survival games – selecting equipment and selecting people. PLANE CRASH This is an example of the 'equipment' scenario. The plane your group is travelling in crashes. You have to choose the 12 most useful items found in the wreckage. This is done individually, then as a small group together until consensus is reached. Your final answers are then scored against an 'expert' opinion. Coming soon are complete outlines for 'Moon Landing' with answers scored against the judgment of a NASA team, and 'Lost at Sea' with expert opinions from the US Coastguard. With this format group decisions are usually more accurate than individual ones, helping to illustrate the importance of cooperation and collaborative decision-making. SHIPWRECKED The second method involves the group role playing characters from the simulation. For example, your group has been shipwrecked and you are cast adrift on a life raft. Rations are very limited and in order for most to survive until rescue comes, the group has to decide to cast two members overboard. Who will survive? This can stimulate a powerful debate on values and prejudices. After the role play, review the decisions made in each lifeboat. Discuss why you think certain choices were made. Why did you vote for...? How did you decide what value to place on people? Was there agreement or a wide difference of opinion? Did you listen to the arguments each person made, or had you already decided who would be set adrift? Do you think you made the right choices? What do our choices teach us about our values? See the discussion starter 'Shipwrecked' for a complete outline. Here are three team building games encouraging your group to work together to complete a challenging task. AFRICAN RIVER CROSSING Create an imaginary river by marking two river banks with rope or masking tape. Make it wide enough (20-25') to be a challenge for your group to get from one side to the other. Distribute squares of cardboard (1'x1' squares) to half of the group. Alternatively, you can use sheets of standard letter sized paper. The aim is to get all of the group (or team) safely across the river. However, they cannot touch the 'water' and must use the rafts (cardboard squares) to cross. Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current. Once the crossing has begun, the leader must remove any cardboard squares that are swept away by the current. Unfortunately the 'river' is also filled with crocodiles and if any team member touches the water they incur a crocodile penalty i.e. 'lose a leg' and they must complete the river crossing hopping on one foot. The first attempt at crossing is usually hilarious to watch. Let the teams go a second time to build on lessons learned from the first crossing. Here are a few variations to try as well, Cardboard squares can only go forward. They cannot move backwards. No one can finish the crossing until everyone has left the starting "bank" of the river. Remember to discuss, What worked? What didn't work? Who provided leadership? How did you work together as a team? Was communication good or not? Did the group support one another? Did you learn anything from this activity? EGG DROP Allow 30 minutes for this activity. Divide your group into teams of 4-6. Supply each team with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, string, elastic bands, straws etc. Then give each team a hard-boiled egg. The challenge is to see which team can make the best capsule and parachute for their egg to survive a drop from a great height (recommend 10-12'). The least impact damaged or cracked egg wins. This project can require some considerable teamwork and imagination. Of course, you can be really challenging, and invite them to try the exercise with a raw egg! ALL ABOARD! This activity can be run in a number of different ways. Basically the group has to cooperate to try and fit into an ever decreasing area. How far can they go? Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have the young people (or each team) stand on the sheet. Easy! Once they have done this fold the sheet in half and challenge the group to repeat their previous success. Continue this process, making the sheet smaller each round. Eventually, it will become so small that your group (or each team) will require a great deal of cooperation, teamwork and ingenuity for everyone to get on without falling off the sheet. Make sure your group are comfortable with this game as they will need to get physically close and support one another. Alternatively you can have two teams competing against each other – boys vs. girls. MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES For more, click on team building games in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry ideas, resources and personal reflections on leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 18. Team builders - more than icebreakers |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 11:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. Team building games and activities are great ways to help groups develop cooperation, decision making and communication skills. Team building exercises can be adapted for many different settings and public domain examples are found freely available across the web. In the next few days I will post some of my favourites, used over the years in youth clubs, youth weekends, camps and as team building exercises with new groups. A key part of these exercises is facilitating a time of group discussion after the activity. Remember to ask open-ended questions, helping the young people to reflect on what they have learned. Team building games can also provide a useful entry point to teaching themes for your group i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), values and leadership. Much depends on the role of the youth leader. A well planned and prepared activity, followed up with thought-provoking questions can be a significant learning experience. Team building activities can be simple games, or involve creative problem-solving, or 'pen and paper' group survival situations. These games can challenge your young people's values, cooperation, decision making and leadership skills.There are two classic types of 'pen and paper' survival games – selecting equipment and selecting people. PLANE CRASH This is an example of the 'equipment' scenario. The plane your group is travelling in crashes. You have to choose the 12 most useful items found in the wreckage. This is done individually, then as a small group together until consensus is reached. Your final answers are then scored against an 'expert' opinion. Coming soon are complete outlines for 'Moon Landing' with answers scored against the judgment of a NASA team, and 'Lost at Sea' with expert opinions from the US Coastguard. With this format group decisions are usually more accurate than individual ones, helping to illustrate the importance of cooperation and collaborative decision-making. SHIPWRECKED The second method involves the group role playing characters from the simulation. For example, your group has been shipwrecked and you are cast adrift on a life raft. Rations are very limited and in order for most to survive until rescue comes, the group has to decide to cast two members overboard. Who will survive? This can stimulate a powerful debate on values and prejudices. After the role play, review the decisions made in each lifeboat. Discuss why you think certain choices were made. Why did you vote for...? How did you decide what value to place on people? Was there agreement or a wide difference of opinion? Did you listen to the arguments each person made, or had you already decided who would be set adrift? Do you think you made the right choices? What do our choices teach us about our values? See the discussion starter 'Shipwrecked' for a complete outline. Here are three team building games encouraging your group to work together to complete a challenging task. AFRICAN RIVER CROSSING Create an imaginary river by marking two river banks with rope or masking tape. Make it wide enough (20-25') to be a challenge for your group to get from one side to the other. Distribute squares of cardboard (1'x1' squares) to half of the group. Alternatively, you can use sheets of standard letter sized paper. The aim is to get all of the group (or team) safely across the river. However, they cannot touch the 'water' and must use the rafts (cardboard squares) to cross. Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current. Once the crossing has begun, the leader must remove any cardboard squares that are swept away by the current. Unfortunately the 'river' is also filled with crocodiles and if any team member touches the water they incur a crocodile penalty i.e. 'lose a leg' and they must complete the river crossing hopping on one foot. The first attempt at crossing is usually hilarious to watch. Let the teams go a second time to build on lessons learned from the first crossing. Here are a few variations to try as well, Cardboard squares can only go forward. They cannot move backwards. No one can finish the crossing until everyone has left the starting "bank" of the river. Remember to discuss, What worked? What didn't work? Who provided leadership? How did you work together as a team? Was communication good or not? Did the group support one another? Did you learn anything from this activity? EGG DROP Allow 30 minutes for this activity. Divide your group into teams of 4-6. Supply each team with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, string, elastic bands, straws etc. Then give each team a hard-boiled egg. The challenge is to see which team can make the best capsule and parachute for their egg to survive a drop from a great height (recommend 10-12'). The least impact damaged or cracked egg wins. This project can require some considerable teamwork and imagination. Of course, you can be really challenging, and invite them to try the exercise with a raw egg! ALL ABOARD! This activity can be run in a number of different ways. Basically the group has to cooperate to try and fit into an ever decreasing area. How far can they go? Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have the young people (or each team) stand on the sheet. Easy! Once they have done this fold the sheet in half and challenge the group to repeat their previous success. Continue this process, making the sheet smaller each round. Eventually, it will become so small that your group (or each team) will require a great deal of cooperation, teamwork and ingenuity for everyone to get on without falling off the sheet. Make sure your group are comfortable with this game as they will need to get physically close and support one another. Alternatively you can have two teams competing against each other – boys vs. girls. MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES For more, click on team building games in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry ideas, resources and personal reflections on leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 19. Team builders - more than icebreakers |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 11:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. Team building games and activities are great ways to help groups develop cooperation, decision making and communication skills. Team building exercises can be adapted for many different settings and public domain examples are found freely available across the web. In the next few days I will post some of my favourites, used over the years in youth clubs, youth weekends, camps and as team building exercises with new groups. A key part of these exercises is facilitating a time of group discussion after the activity. Remember to ask open-ended questions, helping the young people to reflect on what they have learned. Team building games can also provide a useful entry point to teaching themes for your group i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), values and leadership. Much depends on the role of the youth leader. A well planned and prepared activity, followed up with thought-provoking questions can be a significant learning experience. Team building activities can be simple games, or involve creative problem-solving, or 'pen and paper' group survival situations. These games can challenge your young people's values, cooperation, decision making and leadership skills.There are two classic types of 'pen and paper' survival games – selecting equipment and selecting people. PLANE CRASH This is an example of the 'equipment' scenario. The plane your group is travelling in crashes. You have to choose the 12 most useful items found in the wreckage. This is done individually, then as a small group together until consensus is reached. Your final answers are then scored against an 'expert' opinion. Coming soon are complete outlines for 'Moon Landing' with answers scored against the judgment of a NASA team, and 'Lost at Sea' with expert opinions from the US Coastguard. With this format group decisions are usually more accurate than individual ones, helping to illustrate the importance of cooperation and collaborative decision-making. SHIPWRECKED The second method involves the group role playing characters from the simulation. For example, your group has been shipwrecked and you are cast adrift on a life raft. Rations are very limited and in order for most to survive until rescue comes, the group has to decide to cast two members overboard. Who will survive? This can stimulate a powerful debate on values and prejudices. After the role play, review the decisions made in each lifeboat. Discuss why you think certain choices were made. Why did you vote for...? How did you decide what value to place on people? Was there agreement or a wide difference of opinion? Did you listen to the arguments each person made, or had you already decided who would be set adrift? Do you think you made the right choices? What do our choices teach us about our values? See the discussion starter 'Shipwrecked' for a complete outline. Here are three team building games encouraging your group to work together to complete a challenging task. AFRICAN RIVER CROSSING Create an imaginary river by marking two river banks with rope or masking tape. Make it wide enough (20-25') to be a challenge for your group to get from one side to the other. Distribute squares of cardboard (1'x1' squares) to half of the group. Alternatively, you can use sheets of standard letter sized paper. The aim is to get all of the group (or team) safely across the river. However, they cannot touch the 'water' and must use the rafts (cardboard squares) to cross. Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current. Once the crossing has begun, the leader must remove any cardboard squares that are swept away by the current. Unfortunately the 'river' is also filled with crocodiles and if any team member touches the water they incur a crocodile penalty i.e. 'lose a leg' and they must complete the river crossing hopping on one foot. The first attempt at crossing is usually hilarious to watch. Let the teams go a second time to build on lessons learned from the first crossing. Here are a few variations to try as well, Cardboard squares can only go forward. They cannot move backwards. No one can finish the crossing until everyone has left the starting "bank" of the river. Remember to discuss, What worked? What didn't work? Who provided leadership? How did you work together as a team? Was communication good or not? Did the group support one another? Did you learn anything from this activity? EGG DROP Allow 30 minutes for this activity. Divide your group into teams of 4-6. Supply each team with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, string, elastic bands, straws etc. Then give each team a hard-boiled egg. The challenge is to see which team can make the best capsule and parachute for their egg to survive a drop from a great height (recommend 10-12'). The least impact damaged or cracked egg wins. This project can require some considerable teamwork and imagination. Of course, you can be really challenging, and invite them to try the exercise with a raw egg! ALL ABOARD! This activity can be run in a number of different ways. Basically the group has to cooperate to try and fit into an ever decreasing area. How far can they go? Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have the young people (or each team) stand on the sheet. Easy! Once they have done this fold the sheet in half and challenge the group to repeat their previous success. Continue this process, making the sheet smaller each round. Eventually, it will become so small that your group (or each team) will require a great deal of cooperation, teamwork and ingenuity for everyone to get on without falling off the sheet. Make sure your group are comfortable with this game as they will need to get physically close and support one another. Alternatively you can have two teams competing against each other – boys vs. girls. MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES For more, click on team building games in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry ideas, resources and personal reflections on leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| 20. Team builders - more than icebreakers |
| From Insight on Saturday, July 28, 2012 @ 11:52 AM PST
in the "Blog" Category. Team building games and activities are great ways to help groups develop cooperation, decision making and communication skills. Team building exercises can be adapted for many different settings and public domain examples are found freely available across the web. In the next few days I will post some of my favourites, used over the years in youth clubs, youth weekends, camps and as team building exercises with new groups. A key part of these exercises is facilitating a time of group discussion after the activity. Remember to ask open-ended questions, helping the young people to reflect on what they have learned. Team building games can also provide a useful entry point to teaching themes for your group i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), values and leadership. Much depends on the role of the youth leader. A well planned and prepared activity, followed up with thought-provoking questions can be a significant learning experience. Team building activities can be simple games, or involve creative problem-solving, or 'pen and paper' group survival situations. These games can challenge your young people's values, cooperation, decision making and leadership skills.There are two classic types of 'pen and paper' survival games – selecting equipment and selecting people. PLANE CRASH This is an example of the 'equipment' scenario. The plane your group is travelling in crashes. You have to choose the 12 most useful items found in the wreckage. This is done individually, then as a small group together until consensus is reached. Your final answers are then scored against an 'expert' opinion. Coming soon are complete outlines for 'Moon Landing' with answers scored against the judgment of a NASA team, and 'Lost at Sea' with expert opinions from the US Coastguard. With this format group decisions are usually more accurate than individual ones, helping to illustrate the importance of cooperation and collaborative decision-making. SHIPWRECKED The second method involves the group role playing characters from the simulation. For example, your group has been shipwrecked and you are cast adrift on a life raft. Rations are very limited and in order for most to survive until rescue comes, the group has to decide to cast two members overboard. Who will survive? This can stimulate a powerful debate on values and prejudices. After the role play, review the decisions made in each lifeboat. Discuss why you think certain choices were made. Why did you vote for...? How did you decide what value to place on people? Was there agreement or a wide difference of opinion? Did you listen to the arguments each person made, or had you already decided who would be set adrift? Do you think you made the right choices? What do our choices teach us about our values? See the discussion starter 'Shipwrecked' for a complete outline. Here are three team building games encouraging your group to work together to complete a challenging task. AFRICAN RIVER CROSSING Create an imaginary river by marking two river banks with rope or masking tape. Make it wide enough (20-25') to be a challenge for your group to get from one side to the other. Distribute squares of cardboard (1'x1' squares) to half of the group. Alternatively, you can use sheets of standard letter sized paper. The aim is to get all of the group (or team) safely across the river. However, they cannot touch the 'water' and must use the rafts (cardboard squares) to cross. Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current. Once the crossing has begun, the leader must remove any cardboard squares that are swept away by the current. Unfortunately the 'river' is also filled with crocodiles and if any team member touches the water they incur a crocodile penalty i.e. 'lose a leg' and they must complete the river crossing hopping on one foot. The first attempt at crossing is usually hilarious to watch. Let the teams go a second time to build on lessons learned from the first crossing. Here are a few variations to try as well, Cardboard squares can only go forward. They cannot move backwards. No one can finish the crossing until everyone has left the starting "bank" of the river. Remember to discuss, What worked? What didn't work? Who provided leadership? How did you work together as a team? Was communication good or not? Did the group support one another? Did you learn anything from this activity? EGG DROP Allow 30 minutes for this activity. Divide your group into teams of 4-6. Supply each team with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, string, elastic bands, straws etc. Then give each team a hard-boiled egg. The challenge is to see which team can make the best capsule and parachute for their egg to survive a drop from a great height (recommend 10-12'). The least impact damaged or cracked egg wins. This project can require some considerable teamwork and imagination. Of course, you can be really challenging, and invite them to try the exercise with a raw egg! ALL ABOARD! This activity can be run in a number of different ways. Basically the group has to cooperate to try and fit into an ever decreasing area. How far can they go? Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have the young people (or each team) stand on the sheet. Easy! Once they have done this fold the sheet in half and challenge the group to repeat their previous success. Continue this process, making the sheet smaller each round. Eventually, it will become so small that your group (or each team) will require a great deal of cooperation, teamwork and ingenuity for everyone to get on without falling off the sheet. Make sure your group are comfortable with this game as they will need to get physically close and support one another. Alternatively you can have two teams competing against each other – boys vs. girls. MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES For more, click on team building games in the category list on the sidebar. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Each month I add more youth ministry ideas, resources and personal reflections on leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing. Read More... |
| News Archive: 1 2 3 Next |
Copyright 1997-2026, YouthPastor.com. All Rights Reserved
http://www.youthpastor.com/News/index.cfm?ChannelID=29
Reproduction allowed for personal use only. More info at:
http://www.youthpastor.com/about/index.cfm/fuseaction/legal.htm
