New From the Mountaintop                                                                 Activities for Christian Teens

c International Bible Treasure Hunt So how do we get Christian youth from Pakistan, the Philippines, Uganda, the United States and other countries together? At the cost of air fare nowadays travel is difficult. But there is another way: an International Bible Treasure Hunt. Think of a cross between a Bible Trivia Contest and an episode of Indiana Jones searching for some missing archaeological treasure from the past. In January 2009 youth groups will take an evening to search through their Bibles, as a group, to find ten distinct Biblical Treasures – and where they have been hidden. Word puzzles, simulated journeys through Biblical lands, collections of Bible verses, numerical/ logical reasoning calculations will be used to give clues to these treasures and their location. The treasure hunt is being developed by Tim Ferguson and youth groups are encouraged to sign up for this event. Currently three youth groups have signed up and we will be limiting the number of groups participating to ten on this first trial event. It will be held during a week in January during which the Treasure Hunt will be released on this website. Each group will pick an afternoon or evening to work on the hunt. There will be a maximum period of time to complete the Hunt – probably one and a half to two hours. More detailed rules will follow. Bibles, concordances, encyclopedias, Bible maps anything may be used but youth leaders, coordinating the event, cannot participate, except to gather the answers given and submit them to this website a week later. Upon grading the responses, recognition awards to the first, second and third place youth groups will be given. Each group will be asked to share, in a brief statement, what they learned during the event and what part of the event was most enjoyable. There will be no charge or fee required to enter the Treasure Hunt. More details will be offered as the Treasure Hunt is developed. Please e-mail Timferguson@christianyouthgroup.org to ask further questions, give suggestions and sign up. Return to Index

11 ... Bombs Away This is a game we used in conjunction with the event 'Trust and Prayer' described above under the category 'Activities that teach'. It is listed here as it can be used simply as an activity for fun apart from the more serious event or as part of the above activity. Find a space in your youth area about four feet wide by twenty feet long. Use some tape to mark this game area out clearly. Take six or seven pieces of construction paper and randomly place them in the area that's been marked off. Break your group into two teams. Each team is to pick a 'guide' who will direct teammates down the four foot by twenty foot corridor while they are blindfolded. Blindfolded youth must walk from one end of the corridor to the other end without touching the tape boundaries or any of the bombs (pieces of construction paper). Use a stop watch to record the duration of each youth's effort. When a youth steps on a bomb or on or past a tape boundary, hit a pot with a spoon or make some such loud noise simulating a bomb going off. Record the number of times errors are made. Total the times needed for each team to walk the maze and add ten seconds for each time a bomb goes off. After each youth attempts to traverse the maze, change the locations of the construction paper so that no one can memorize the locations of the bombs. The total team time plus the penalty seconds will determine the winning team. See the activity entitled 'Trust and Prayer' for discussion ideas regarding this activity. Click on the following link: Trust and Prayer Whether you use this activity on its own or with Trust and Prayer, we would love to hear if this activity was useful to your group. Please share your experience by writing to: TimFerguson@christianyouthgroup.org. Return to Index

Something new, something different: fresh, fun and effective ideas for youth groups Click here: Activities for Christian youth

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands * Christian Teens Candles of Prayer In order to share with the congregation the many facets of our youth program, we used a candelabra and the spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. The youth group began by lighting a candle for each of the projects we were involved in. As a member lit the candle another read a brief statement. For example: Our first candle is for Lu Lu, an orphan, we youth members support by giving one dollar per member per month. We pray for Lu Lu. Our second candle is for the people of Indonesia, whose lives we have learned about this year during the Thirty Hour Famine. We pray for the people of Indonesia. The third candle is for our Christian friends in Uganda, with whom we have been corresponding. We pray for our friends in Uganda. The fourth candle is for Christians in Deer Park that we all will be filled with the Spirit of God. We pray for Deer Park Christians. All in all there were nine candles and nine messages like the above. After lighting the candles we asked the congregation to join us in singing a couple of the established verses of “He’s Got the Whole World in Hid Hands”. After completing these verses, we asked the congregation to look towards our youth group in the front of the sanctuary. Nine youth members held nine different signs representing the nine candles earlier lit. The last verses of the song went … He’s got Lu Lu from China in His hands He’s got Indonesia in His hands He’s got friends from Uganda in His hands He’s got the whole world in His hands Just as we got to “Lu Lu” then “Indonesia” then “friends from Uganda” the youth turned over the sign they held for everyone to see in order to sing the coming lyrics. He’s got Deer Park Christians in His hands He’s got New York City homeless in His hands He’s got all of God’s children in His hands He’s got the whole world in His hands. One more verse of candles, then a repeat of the original first verse and the usually serene Presbyterians were clapping their hands and swaying back and forth. And they even learned all about our youth program in this eight minute event. Try it … your congregation and youth will love it! Return to Index

8 ... Ha Ha "Ha ha" game. Youth stand in a circle. One youth is designated to begin. He or she turns to the next youth and states "ha" while staring into their eyes. There are no restrictions as to how to say "ha". It can be stated loudly, softly, drawn out, sung, anyway the speaker feels he can induce laughter in the listener. If the speaker or the listener laughs (even a little giggle), he or she is out. The recipient then turns to the next youth and states/sings "ha ha". The game continues to "ha ha ha", "ha ha ha ha" and finally "ha ha ha ha ha", before going backwards - four "ha's" - three "ha's" and the like. Continue around the circle until all but one person is left who, then, can be crowned "stone faced champion". The game is equally fun for those who have gone out as they watch their friends try to induce laughter in others. "Ha ha" is a good game to get everyone engaged and often can set the tone for active discussion afterwards. We would love to hear if this activity was useful to your group. Please share your experience by writing to: Tim Ferguson. Return to Index

* Activities Index Two Truths and a Lie : Instruct each player to think of three statements about themselves. Two must be true statements, and one must be false. Movie Review:Pray : As a Christian “thriller” type film, this movie would serve as a great film for junior high/high school youth groups. The Lifeboat Game : Youth pick who will survive a lifeboat sinking. A time to reflect on making decisions and the value given to life. Finding Truth : Four road signs depict a traveler's journey and the self doubts he/she have to overcome. Activity from Malaysia : "I STRONGLY suggest you try to get this movies and watch it as they were really beautiful and faith-lifting and encouraging." The Fruits of the Spirit: Note that some of the more difficult fruits,in the eyes of youth, are probably patience and self control. Determine which fruits are most common and why. The Rich Young Ruler : Activity that asks the question how to react to the command of Jesus to give everything that you own to the poor, then follow we are ready to follow Him. Trust and Prayer : Activity that encourages spoken prayer amidst youth and has been successful on several occasions with different youth programs. Jose Carlos, Christian Artist of Mexico City shares with us : An award winning Christian cartoon. Cross the Line : An icebreaker that gets young people sharing their experiences.

        More Christian Teen Activity Ideas

The ideas here work... Every one has been ‘teen-tested.’ Not the Same Old, Done-it-before Youth Meetings is a practical, eminently usable handbook by someone who has devoted himself heart and soul to working with youth. The practicality of the book is its most important feature. The ideas here work. I know that because I’ve seen them work. Every one has been ‘teen-tested.’ They shouldn’t work, of course. After all, everybody knows today’s teens aren’t interested in anything serious. Today’s teens are ruled entirely by hormones. You can’t capture the interest of a teenager today unless you come at them via the Internet or text messaging. Right? Well, if those are the kinds of teens you have in your youth group, then the ideas in this book may not work so well. It’s not a book of magic spells that will transform a hoodlum into a choirboy. But if you’ve got teens like the ones I know – good kids who maybe have short attention spans sometimes, but who also care deeply about the world and about right and wrong – then this book is a treasure house of ideas. And it’s not just a random bunch of ideas. It shows you how a gifted and experienced youth leader plans an entire program. Not everything here will work with every group, of course. Every group is different, and every youth leader has different strengths. But even if you can’t use every activity, some of the ideas may inspire you to create your own, adapted to the needs of your particular group. One of the most useful features is the detailed Appendix, featuring actual skit scripts, questionnaires, etc. Again, this is extremely practical. (One minor quibble: it would have been useful if the Table of Contents included a list of everything in the Appendix.) I recommend Not the Same Old, Done-it-before Youth Meetings both for youth leaders who are seeking new ideas, and for anyone who is interested in the thought processes behind the planning of a successful youth program. -- Frank Tangredi For additional reviews, please click on the following link: Not the Same Old, Done-it-before Youth Meetings

Activities Prayer Mighty Lord, Mighty God, Bless we youth leaders with a zeal to seek out and a wisdom to choose activities, which will promote an understanding of your transforming love. Help us discover events purely for fun that bring laughter and build bonds of trust amongst our youth. Guide us to other activities, which teach your truths and motivate youth to seek a deeper understanding of your call for them. May these activities strengthen their individual faith in each other and in you, O God. May their call be one of joining together as a team of Christian youth seeking to make a difference in this world.