Stuff You Can Use

Articles by Jay Logan

Articles and resources published by Stuff You Can Use.

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7 Tips for Social Distancing in Youth Ministry

In an alternate universe, there might be some version of you currently doing things like planning youth mission trips, going to camp, inviting students to awesome events, or playin

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Teaching Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR TEACHING How to strategically teach kids and teenagers every week. How to strategically teach kids and teenagers every month. How to strategically teach kids

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Events Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR EVENTS Why doing fewer events can make a greater impact. How to strategize a year of events for kids ministry. How to strategize a year of events for youth m

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Volunteer Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR VOLUNTEER INVESTMENT The 7 ways you can invest in volunteers. How to strategize a year of volunteer training and investment. How to create a healthier volunt

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Parent Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR PARENT ENGAGEMENT The 4 ways you can invest in parents. How to strategize a year of parent engagement and investment. How to earn parents’ trust. PLUS: What’

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Programming Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR WEEKLY PROGRAM How to strategize a year of weekly programming for kids ministry. How to strategize a year of weekly programming for youth ministry. PLUS: Wha

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Annual Planning Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO PLAN A YEAR OF MINISTRY The 7 areas of ministry that require an annual strategy. How to lead an annual planning meeting for your ministry. How to strategize an entire year o

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Discipleship Strategy for Your Ministry

HOW TO STRATEGIZE YOUR DISCIPLESHIP The 4 spiritual habits that help kids and teenagers grow spiritually. How to strategize a year of discipleship for kids ministry. How to strateg

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95 | Unboxing Volume 4 of Grow Students

Kenny and Elle discuss every teaching series, resource, and the new features that are included in Volume 4 of Grow Students, youth ministry curriculum and strategy.

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94 | 9 Ways to Make Your Ministry More Inclusive

Hedreich Nichols joins Kenny and Elle to share nine ways to make your youth ministry more inclusive.

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93 | 10 Tips on How to Build a Weekly Strategy for Online Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle share 10 tips on how to build a weekly strategy for online youth ministry.

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92 | 3 Keys to Spiritual Resilience in Youth Ministry

Tommy Nixon, CEO of Urban Youth Workers Institute, joins Kenny and Elle to talk about three keys to developing greater spiritual resilience.

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91 | Four Ideas for Using Tik-Tok in Youth Ministry

TJ McConahay joins Kenny & Elle to talk about four ideas for using Tik-Tok in your youth ministry.

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90 | Four Ways to Engage Teenagers with Disabilities in Youth Ministry

Sunny Brown joins Kenny and Elle to talk about four ways to engage teenagers with disabilities in youth ministry.

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89 | Four Ways to Grow Your Ministry’s Parent Engagement in Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle talk about four ways to grow your ministry’s parent engagement in youth ministry.

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88 | Five Ways for Youth Workers to Be More Creative in Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle talk about five ways for youth workers to be more creative in youth ministry.

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87 | Five Interview Questions to Ask a Potential Ministry Volunteer in Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle talk about five interview questions to ask a potential ministry volunteer in youth ministry.

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86 | Navigating Conflict with a Volunteer in Your Ministry

Tash McGill joins Kenny and Elle to talk about navigating conflict with a volunteer in youth ministry.

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85 | Six Teaching Tips for Communicating to Teenagers in Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle talk about six teaching tips for communicating to teenagers in youth ministry.

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84 | Four Ways to Celebrate Your Impact in Youth Ministry

Kenny and Elle talk about four ways to celebrate your impact in youth ministry.

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83 | Five Things to Remember When Leading Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are the backbone of a healthy ministry. We dug deep into the Youth Ministry Answers archives to find the five most important things to remember when leading volu

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82 | Nerd Culture: What It Is and Why It Matters

Drew Dixon, Chief Content Nerd at LoveTheyNerd.com, joins Kenny and Elle to talk about nerd culture — what it is and why it matters in your youth ministry.

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81 | The 4 Must-Haves of Discipleship in Youth Ministry

Sean A. Fenner joins Kenny and Elle to talk about the four must-haves to effectively disciple students in your youth ministry.

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80 | Small Budgets in Youth Ministry

Brooklyn Lindsey joins Kenny and Elle to talk about leading a youth ministry on a small budget.

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79 | Leading Worship: 5 Things You Must Know | Youth Ministry

Angie Hong joins Kenny and Elle to talk about leading worship in youth ministry.

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78 | High School: 4 Things You Must Know

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77 | Middle School: 4 Things You Must Know

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76 | Setting Priorities and Getting Things Done in Youth Ministry

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07 | How Your Church Can Minister To Families | Children’s Ministry

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06 | Developing Volunteers Instead Of Guilting Them | Children’s Ministry

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05 | Bored, Broken and Burned Out in Kids Ministry | Children’s Ministry

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04 | Make Your Teaching More Captivating | Children’s Ministry

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03 | Make Your Teaching More Captivating | Children’s Ministry

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02 | Big Dreams on a Small Budget | Children’s Ministry

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01 | How Do I Create Fun Games From Scratch in Children’s Ministry? | Kids Ministry

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75 | 13 Halloween Ideas For Your Youth Ministry

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74 | Lightning Round: 7 Questions & Answers

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72 | Our Numbers Are Declining! What Should I Do?

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Use It! Children’s Ministry Referral

Refer a Friend to the Use It! Children’s Ministry Newsletter! Empower the children’s ministry leaders in your life to thrive! If they choose to subscribe, every two weeks we’ll del

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71 | Should I Plan an Event with Another Youth Pastor?

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70 | How Can I Be More Creative in Youth Ministry?

Episode Notes: In this episode of the Youth Ministry Answers podcast, Kenny and Elle to talk about how to be (and stay) creative in youth ministry. Creativity in Youth Ministry Don

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A Little Bit MORE About Us!

Description: Kenny and Elle share their stories and how they got involved in youth ministry. Links: Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum We Need Your Help: Did you like what you heard? P

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UPDATE! From Stuff You Can Use

Description: Kenny and Elle give some updates on what’s happening at Stuff You Can Use. Links: Grow Curriculum: growcurriculum.org We Need Your Help: Did you like what you heard? P

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Book Reviews Parent

BOOK REVIEWS BY YOU! Over the last couple of years we’ve seen the number (and quality) of youth ministry related podcasts sky rocket, and so we decided to create this list to help

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Top 10 Camp Speakers

TOP 10 CAMP SPEAKERS Over the last couple of years we’ve seen the number (and quality) of youth ministry related podcasts sky rocket, and so we decided to create this list to help

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Student Cell Phone Basket: Use It! Newsletter Idea Spotlight (Wes Buckley)

This week’s idea spotlight is from Wes Buckley, Student Pastor at Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, VA. Student cell phone use can be a distraction and barrier to relationship buil

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Host Youth Group in Your Home: Use It! Newsletter Idea Spotlight (Thomas Osterkamp)

This week’s idea spotlight is from Thomas Osterkamp, Pastor at Good News Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, IA. Have you ever wanted to host youth group in your home? This change of s

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Youth Group Prayer Pilgrimage: Use It! Newsletter Idea Spotlight (Austin MacKintosh)

This week’s idea spotlight is from Austin MacKintosh, Student Ministry Director at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, TX. The Prayer Pilgrimage is a youth group prayer activity desig

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Snowball Fight Icebreaker: Idea Spotlight

IDEA SPOTLIGHT: This idea comes from Ryan Gilliam, who is the Youth Minister at Combined Gospel Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, FL. “Snowball Fight” is meant to be a large yo

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How To Love Someone You Don’t Like: Idea Spotlight

IDEA SPOTLIGHT: This idea comes from Neil Redenbaugh and Corrie Haffly. Neil is a youth pastor from First Baptist Church in Davis, CA, and Corrie is a volunteer youth worker in the

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MailChimp For Youth Ministry

MailChimp is an incredible free tool that we believe can really help you communicate more effectively with students, volunteers, and parents. In this tutorial Kenny Campbell from S

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How to Take Your Summer Mission Trip to the Next Level

We love the team at Experience Mission and their heart for helping youth workers make their summer mission trips more awesome. Have you ever wondered how to take your summer missio

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69 | A More Strategic Missions Trip For Your Youth Ministry

Description: Chris Clum joins Kenny and Elle to talk about developing a more strategic missions trip for your youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org Grow

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68 | Protecting Your Family From Your Youth Ministry

Description: Sandra Stanley joins Kenny and Elle to talk about protecting your family from your youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org Grow Youth Ministry

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67 | How To Rest From Youth Ministry

Description: April Diaz joins Kenny and Elle to talk about resting from youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org Grow Your Youth Ministry Online Conference

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66 | 4 Tips For Rookie Youth Workers in Youth Ministry

Description: Brian Aaby joins Kenny and Elle to talk about 4 tips for rookie youth workers in youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org Grow Youth Ministry C

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65 | Live! At The National Youth Workers Convention

Description: Zac Workun and Chad Higgins join Kenny and Elle live at the National Youth Workers Convention. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org Grow Youth Ministry Cur

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64 | How To Develop A Scope And Sequence For Your Youth Ministry

Description: Dallas (a youth pastor in South Carolina) wants to know why it’s so important to have a scope and sequence for your sermons and how to develop one that works for your

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63 | Navigating Tragedy With Teenagers In Your Youth Ministry

Description: Adam Mashni joins Kenny and Elle to talk about navigating students through tragedy in youth ministry. When the news is filled with stories of tragedy, violence, and tr

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62 | Engaging Students In Scripture In Your Youth Ministry

Description: Lindsey Gorveatte joins Kenny and Elle to talk about engaging students in scripture in youth ministry. Links: Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum Notes: BIBLE ENGAGEMENT ST

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Fifteen Minutes With Frank

Fifteen Minutes With Frank Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Want to grow as a Youth Worker but don’t have a ton of time? Spend 15 minutes with Frank each week as he talks about

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When you gonna be a real Pastor?

When you gonna be a real Pastor? Visit Their Website | View on iTunes A podcast focused on Youth Ministry at all levels. From Pastors to Parents, from Vocational to Volunteer, from

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PICTIONARY: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a fun way to use the whole room while also keeping a high level of anticipation and excitement. It’s classic pictionary that everyone loves but on a larger

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61 | How to Set Up A Small Group Leader Coaching System In Your Youth Ministry

Description: Jack (Ft. Worth, TX) is wondering how to implement a coaching system for his small group leaders. In this episode, Kenny and Elle share what they’ve learned about […]

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POISON CHAIR : Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A classic youth group game that is just down right fun! Oh and remember don’t touch the chair!!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. People. You need people to play. 2. Chairs.

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FOUR WAY TRAFFIC JAM: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A 4 team, 4 corner game in which students race across the room in various ways.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. At least 4 people. 2. A room with 4 Corners. 3. A list of fu

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BOTTLE FLIP MOVE UP: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: An upfront or whole group race in which players must land a successful bottle flip in order to move closer to the finish line.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Water Bottles

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EGG HUNT: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: You do the math; Stockings, eggs and pool noodles, how could this not be amazing! This is most likely an outdoor game but if you lay enough tarp down I’m sure you c

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MOVE UP DAY: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: As school is just around the corner or just started, why not make a big deal of all the students that are moving up into your ministry. We have 5th grade students j

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BIRDIE ON A PERCH : Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great game to play with a bunch of people. It always helps getting to know new people when you bump into them and push them out of the way in good competitive fas

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CANDY CANE NOSER: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who is ready for Christmas in July?! Get your youth group excited with a Christmas game that is both challenging and funny. Thanks to @youthministryideas for this o

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TRAFFIC JAM: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Want to get everyone moving? Want to have controlled chaos? Want a great game for your youth group? Well check this game out from @brave.youth!!Supplies You’ll Need

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TUBE BLOW: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great game from @rockjr.high that will be sure to get your students excited and on the edge of their seats. Get ready to get messy and have a ton of fun!Supplies

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HOLY BUCKETS: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great game to play outside on a warm summer day! Get ready for some Holy Buckets. This is a game some may think is a little gross but will prove to be very entert

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POWDER BALLOONS: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: “Powder Balloons” is another one of the many great youth group games from our friend @youthministryideas. Watch as anticipation fills the room only to erupt into ex

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Monkey In The Middle: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A fun game from our friends at @youthministryideas to get everyone moving and working together. See who has fast reactions and see who has a hard time getting out o

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60 | How To Grow As A Leader In Youth Ministry

Description: Tyler Reagin president of Catalyst, joins Kenny and Elle to talk about growing as a leader in your youth ministry. Links: Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum We Need Your H

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Stiff Arm: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A hilarious game that may not come out with a definite winner but will be sure to engage the crowdSupplies You’ll Need: 1. PVC Pipe. You will want a 4inch tube cut

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59 | A Look Inside Grow Curriculum and Strategy for Youth Ministry

Description: Kenny and Elle give an inside look at their brand new resource: Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum and Strategy. Links: Grow Youth Ministry Curriculum and Annual Strategy

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Cotton Brawl: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Whenever you are missing the winter you can always pretend it’s snowing by having cotton balls fall from the sky and make it feel like Christmas again.Supplies You’

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Dunk Effect: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Not only does this game look awesome but it is so fun to play! Check you memory and skills all in the same game!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Hamper Hoops. You can find

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Pantskiball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Have you ever considered using giant pants and launching dodge balls into the crowd to be collected in your oversized pants? Well we did and it was awesome.Supplies

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58 | How To Grow Your Parent Engagement In Youth Ministry

Description: Kenny and Elle talk about how to grow your parent engagement in youth ministry. Links: stuffyoucanuse.org/grow We Need Your Help: Did you like what you heard? Please h

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Ping Pong Blast: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A high energy game full of strategy and lots of movement. See who can be the first team to fill their tube with ping pong ballsSupplies You’ll Need: 1. Clear PVC. Y

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57 | A 1-Year Strategy To Grow Your Volunteer Team In Your Youth Ministry

Description: Kenny and Elle to talk about a 1-year strategy to grow your volunteer team in your youth ministry. Links: stuffyoucanuse.org/grow We Need Your Help: Did you like what

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Ping Pong Grid Out: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great game we played at our Winter Retreat. There is no defense, which means everyone has to work together on their own team to try and come out on top. T

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56 | 4 Habits To Help Your Students Grow Spiritually In Your Youth Ministry

Description: Kenny and Elle talk about 4 Habits To Help Your Students Grow Spiritually In Your Youth Ministry. Links: Free GROWTH Resources Youth Ministry Fails on Kickstarter We N

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54 | Taking Your Small Groups Strategy To The Next Level In Youth Ministry

Description: Kenny and Elle talk about taking your small groups strategy to the next level in youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org We Need Your Help: Di

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53 | 5 Ways To Make Your Youth Ministry Space More Small-Groups-Friendly

Description: Britt Kitchen joins Kenny and Elle to talk about making your space more small groups friendly in youth ministry. Links: Experience Mission: experiencemission.org We Ne

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52 | Youth Ministry Answers LIVE

Kenny and Elle were live on Facebook answering your questions about youth ministry.

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Hurts Donut: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: One of the greatest game I have ever played. It incorporates everything amazing about any great game. Launching things, Making things messy and eating an unhealthy

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Divided Trivia: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves some good old trivia… But what happens when you put contestants behind divider walls and have them answer trivia questions in under 10 seconds? Well

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Spitball Spaceman: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Every wonder how you can incorporate space helmets and spitballs together in one game? We did too and it’s pretty awesome!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Space helmets. Th

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What Happens Next: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This a great twist to an amazing game by Download Youth Ministry. You can purchase their game HERE.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. What Happens Next. The game purchased fr

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Crowd Skee Ball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves the classic arcade game, Skee Ball, so we decided to bring the fun to everyone and make it a crowd game!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Ramp made out of woo

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Behind The Teacher’s Back: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A cool way of adding a screen game with an upfront game. There is math and extra large spit balls involved. A crazy game that kids won’t believe they actually got t

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Thro’ Christmas Tree: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Decorate the Christmas tree like never before! Why not pull out the good Ole’ Christmas tree for a little fun! Everyone loves the Christmas spirit but why not pract

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Gaga Ball Overload: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is Gaga Ball with a little twist for when you have a bunch of players! Supplies You’ll Need: 1. 8 Walls or Gaga Pit. You don’t need to make your own gaga pit b

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Izzy Dizzy: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great way to get everyone dizzy and compete against each other. Try running across a field after spinning around a few times, now try doing that with a cup full o

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Using Trello In Youth Ministry

It’s a Thursday night and you are meeting with your team. Your team is incredibly talented, each are great leaders in their own right. You all sit around the table and as you speak

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Slip Ball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A good ole’ spin on kickball. This game keeps everyone having fun while adding us strategy and difficulty. Definitely a game to try! Supplies You’ll Need: 1. 4 Infl

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Spray ‘Em Clean: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Shoot em clean is a fun messy game using simple props that you will have laying around at home. A great way to get a little messy, this could be a great game to get

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Bazooka Face Tank: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is so fun. It’s super engaging for both contestants as well as fun to watch from the audience. Shoot play pen balls to another contest trying to catch the

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Candy Corn Bottle Flip: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Bottle Flipping is huge. Why not see who is the best flipper in your youth group. Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Plastic Bottle. Empty out some plastic water bottles. You

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99 Thoughts About Junior High Ministry by Kurt Johnston

What does it take to succeed in junior high ministry? A limitless string of ideas for dynamic, energetic games? An attention span only slightly longer than your students? A high to

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99 Thoughts for Smaller Church Youth Workers by Stephanie Caro

Serving as a youth worker in a smaller church can be one of the most difficult assignments-but the rewards are undeniably satisfying. You don’t have as many resources-but you know

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You Lost Me by David Kinnaman

Is the Church Losing the Next Generation? More than half of all Christian teens and twenty-somethings leave active involvement in church. Based on research conducted by the Barna G

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A Woman in Youth Ministry by Gina Abbas

If you’ve ever been boycotted for being a girl, pumped breast milk on a church bus, gotten fat from eating too much pizza, or wondered if women really can do youth ministry (even w

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The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly

A New York Times Bestseller From one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and

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Rewired by Brandon Cox

If God’s desire to enlarge His family matters… If the church of the future matters… If the gospel still matters… We must embrace the changes that are happening in our world. There

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The Social Church by Justin Wise

Did you know you can read online reviews of your church? How often have you talked about “reaching people where they are”—and realized that much of the time, they are on the Intern

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Pumpkin Slingshot: Youth Group Games

Connect With Us: Do you have a question about this game? Did you play this game with your group? Did you modify it for your context? Did you add something to it to make it more exc

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Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields

Since forever altering the course of the youth ministry world with his best-selling, groundbreaking book, Purpose-Driven® Youth Ministry, Doug Fields’ mind—but especially his heart

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Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries

You’re looking for a youth pastor. Again. What goes wrong? Why do youth ministries crumble? And what is the cost to students, parents, volunteers and church staff? Is a sustainable

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Middle School Ministry by Mark Oestreicher

Many people run scared from the middle school youth room. But (thankfully!) there are people out there who are actually drawn to those young teens. Although often times they’re not

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A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media by Mark Oestreicher

With each passing day, teenagers’ lives become increasingly intertwined with social media. How can you as a parent stay informed and involved in healthy ways? How can you help your

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Right Click by Art Bamford

The cry of every parent and church leader in this generation is “How do I help create media-safe homes?” Right Click is a wonderful resource that gives practical answers to the mos

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Parent Chat by Matt McKee

The number 1 thing that parents say they need help with is how to parent kids who are always using technology. Parents feel overwhelmed, under equipped, and mostly lost. Parent Cha

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Can I Ask That Volume 2 by Jim Candy

Teenagers are tired of vague or nonexistent answers to their tough questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Just when they’re capable of diving into the deep end of their

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Can I Ask That? by Jim Candy

Teenagers are tired of vague or nonexistent answers to their tough questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Just when they’re capable of diving into the deep end of their

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Growing Young by Kara Powell

All churches grow old. Strategic churches grow young. Across the United States, churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based

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Teams That Thrive by Ryan T. Hartwig Ph.D

2015 Readers’ Choice Award Winner It’s increasingly clear that leadership should be shared―for the good of any organization and for the good of the leader. Many churches have begun

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Turkey Bowling: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Turkey bowling is awesome and a great event right before Thanksgiving! Who wouldn’t want to throw a frozen turkey? Easily can be set up in your youth room; and your

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Toe Jam: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who doesn’t like getting their feet wet with a fun game. Let’s see how strong your students feet are as they try and collect some slippery marbles from a kiddie poo

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Stack or Bowl: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is such a fun game that combines strategy and skill. Don’t choose wrong on if you want to stack or bowl because it might just cost you the game.Supplies You’ll

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Human Space Invaders: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Most of your students won’t even know what Space Invaders is but this is a great way to give them a taste of what arcade games were like, only now we are going to d

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10 Best Podcasts For Youth Ministry 2018

THE 10 BEST PODCASTS FOR YOUTH MINISTRY Over the last couple of years we’ve seen the number (and quality) of youth ministry related podcasts sky rocket, and so we decided to create

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10 Best Leadership Podcasts 2018

We asked hundreds of youth workers to tell us their favorite leadership podcasts. From that list, we ranked the top 10 based on the number of positive reviews on iTunes. Leave your

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10 Best Youth Ministry Books 2018

We asked hundreds of youth workers to tell us their favorite youth ministry books. This list is the result. But you can influence the list by leaving a comment below and letting us

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A Day In The Life Of The Mobile Teen

Are you using a texting service to connect with teenagers? The one thing that I have done right in the past few years is setting up a texting service. The best part about having a

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5 Apps That Every Youth Pastor Needs

What are your go to iPhone or android apps? There are some essential apps that all youth pastors should have. Every time I go to a conference I like to see what other apps youth pa

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Communicating Like A Social Media Pro

How many hours do you put into managing your social media accounts? If you don’t know how many hours you put in each week, you should track it this week. Social media is crucial in

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Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof

You’ve probably noticed … Churches aren’t growing. Young adults are walking away. Volunteers are hard to recruit. Leaders are burning out. And the culture is changing faster than e

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Leading Change Without Losing It by Carey Nieuwhof

Leaders try to bring about change. And change almost always elicits opposition. So how do leaders navigate change, and the opposition to it, without giving up their dream for what

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H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick and Mark Burnett

H3 Leadership provides a practical road map for implementing and living out twenty transformational habits of a leader—now in paperback. In H3 Leadership, Brad Lomenick shares his

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99 Thoughts For Small Group Leaders by Josh Griffin and Doug Fields

Lives are changed. Decisions are made. Jokes are shared. Lifelong friendships are formed. If you’re a small group leader, you probably ask yourself lots of questions. Am I making a

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Lead Small by Reggie Joiner and Tom Shefchunas

If you’re a small group leader, you believe in the power of community. You know that every stage and phase of life needs a unique kind of influence. But what exactly do you do? Wha

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Creating A Lead Small Culture by Reggie Joiner, Elle Campbell, Kristen Ivy

Every kid needs to be known by someone and to belong somewhere. Most leaders agree. That’s one reason for a shift in the way many churches are discipling their kids and teenagers.

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Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Carey Nieuwhof and Reggie Joiner

“Parenting Beyond Your Capacity provides us with a practical and revolutionary approach to the responsibility most of us find daunting parenting. This book will equip you to be suc

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Playing For Keeps by Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy

There are some things adults just can’t do for kids. You can’t force a toddler to love broccoli. You can’t make a teenager not date someone. And you can’t make a kid love God. At s

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A Parent’s Guide To Understanding Teenage Brains by Mark Oestreicher

It’s often tough to understand why teenagers do what they do. One moment they’re calm and rational, but the next they’re agitated and emotional. One day they’re making incredibly w

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Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark

Nearly every Christian parent in America would give anything to find a viable resource for developing within their kids a deep, dynamic faith that “sticks” long term. Sticky Faith

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5 Ways To Partner With Parents As A Small Group Leader

A couple weeks ago I was honored to speak to the amazing preschool ministry volunteers at Park Valley Church. The topic I was asked to speak on was How to Partner With Preschool Pa

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Truly Partnering With Parents

I’m sometimes amazed how many youth ministries don’t involve parents. “The kids don’t like having them around.” “Parents just get in the way.” Think about this for a moment. The st

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6 Tips For Talking To Teenage Girls

Adolescent girls—like boys—get wrapped up in the work of parting from childhood and moving toward adulthood. This is good, important, even necessary work. But for parents and other

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Leadership University Podcast

Leadership University Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Dr. Henry Cloud’s Leadership University Podcast is a podcast designed to help you learn how to leverage influence

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Leadership Momentum Podcast

Leadership Momentum Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes The Leadership Momentum Podcast, hosted by Chris Brown, brings the world’s top church leaders into the room to cand

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Brian Houston Leadership Podcast

Brian Houston Leadership Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Brian Houston is the Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, a global family of congregations comprising more than 1

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Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

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On Being Podcast

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TED Radio Hour

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The Tim Ferriss Show

The Tim Ferriss Show Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Tim Ferriss is a self-experimenter and bestselling author, best known for The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been translated i

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Donut Hole: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: One of the greatest game I have ever played. It incorporates everything amazing about any great game. Launching things, Making things messy and eating an unhealthy

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Youth Ministry In Motion Podcast

Youth Ministry In Motion Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes The podcast to keep youth workers motivated and their youth ministries moving forward. [hungryfeed url=”http:/

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Youth Pastor Recharge Podcast

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The Catholic Youth Ministry Podcast

The Catholic Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Two youth ministers talk about youth ministry and invite you to join the convo. [hungryfeed url=”http://www

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The Student Ministry Podcast

The Student Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Student Ministry Podcast is for any person serving and leading teenagers and young adults. The show is fun and con

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Clash of Worms: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is an amazing game with various levels that take regular worm races to the next level. Yes you have to get from Point A to Point B but watch out for the pillar

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Bobbin For Cobs: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves the classic bobbin for apples but why not spice it up a little bit! We tried it with corn as it is currently in season and it was a hit!Supplies You’

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Splat-Toon: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a Summer outdoor game based on the video game Splatoon. HERE is a video that will help you understand the game if you have never played. 2 Teams work to get

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Jello Slurp: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A game that involves patience, team work and willing to look a little silly, this is a great game for your group!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Jello. Get whatever flavor

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Soda Balancing: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a classic minute to win it game! Student love playing this game because it also lets them drink a bunch of soda!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Cans of Soda. You w

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The Ultimate Pillow Fight: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great game to get the crowd interacting with the game you are playing! They will love the element of surprise when the students who participated in the pi

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Sombrero Taco Toss: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves a good burrito, but have you ever wondered if people love a burrito on their head? This is a game that is not only challenging to play but will leave

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Ducks Away: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: You probably have some water balloon launchers lying around and have wondered… Are these things only good for launching water balloons? Well today you have to wonde

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Faceketball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A fun way to play a new form of basketball in your group! Instead of shooting at real hoop why not shoot at someones face, that sounds like a lot more fun!Supplies

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Know It All: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: “Know it All” is a fun game taken from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. You can check out how they do it HERE!Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Chess Timer. You can buy one HER

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Youth Ministry Life Podcast

Youth Ministry Life Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes A podcast dedicated to offering fresh ideas and encouragement to youth workers abroad! [hungryfeed url=”http://feed

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The Worst Youth Ministry Podcast

The Worst Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Just a couple of guys being real about ministry. The good, the bad, and the very ugly… Whether you are in yout

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For the Work Youth Ministry Podcast

For the Work Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Jason and Rob host the newest Youth Ministry podcast today! Together they bring nearly 16 years of youth ministry experience to th

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Youth Ministry Collective Podcast

Youth Ministry Collective Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Wisdom from the field, for the field. [hungryfeed url=”http://www.seedbed.com/ymc-podcast-rss/” allowed_tags=

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This Week In Youth Ministry Podcast

This Week in Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes This Week in Youth Ministry with Terrace Crawford is a podcast featuring conversations among today’s youth

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Let’s Talk Youth Ministry Podcast

Let’s Talk Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes New podcast about our learnings and experience in youth ministry. Giving a little hope and help. [hungryfeed

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LifeWay Student Ministry Podcast

LifeWay Student Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes he LifeWay Student Ministry Podcast is designed to encourage and inform student ministry leaders at every leve

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The Elle Campbell Youth Ministry Podcast

The Elle Campbell Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Hi, friends! I’m Elle and I blog about youth ministry and student ministry at ElleCampbell.org. Each e

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Nick Blevins Family Ministry Podcast

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After 9 Podcast Youth Ministry Podcast

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The Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast

The Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes The Longer Haul’s Jody Livingston and Chris Trent help you survive and thrive in your Youth Ministry or

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The Volunteer Youth Leaders Podcast

The Volunteer Youth Leaders Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes This podcast exists to equip, train, and inspire volunteer youth leaders to be the best they can be as they

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Rank That Trivia: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Honestly a game I constantly go back to just for how good it is at including everyone and a game everyone can get behind. Trivia with a little bit of a twist.Suppli

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Dart Knockout: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A classic little twist on you standard carnival game! And yes we did give darts to high school students and no, nobody died or got injured in the creation or playin

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The Download Youth Ministry Webshow

The Download Youth Ministry Webshow Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Join Doug Fields, Josh Griffin, Katie Edwards & Jason Carson for another weekly “team meeting.” They wi

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Youth Ministry Answers Podcast

Youth Ministry Answers Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes A bi-weekly podcast hosted by Kenny and Elle Campbell from StuffYouCanUse.org. Every episode of Youth Ministry A

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Frozen Fitting Room: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Are you looking for a new game that everyone will be talking about for a while? Well, here it is! All you’ll need to do to play Frozen Fitting Room is take a trip t

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Newspaper Hunt: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great game to get everyone involved. All you have to do is pick up a bunch of penny-saver newspapers and find some obscure article and your set. Not much

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Spontaneous Pillow Fight: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Not so much of a game with a winner but more so a way to create an awesome buzz as your students are arriving or just hanging out during the course of the night. Yo

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Shovel Standoff: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great way to incorporate a bunch of stuff you may have lying around already! Not only that but its a bunch of fun for your students to sling anything using a shov

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Big Mountain Mayhem: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is part of a series of games based off the Mario Party Minigames. These are great ways to allow students to play a game they play on a gaming system in real li

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Love Me Hate Me: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We know you have wanted to think of a creative way to use the candy hearts that come out around Valentines Day… well look no further. This game is a perfect blend o

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Peanut Pit Discovery: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Every wonder what you could do with a whole bunch of packing peanuts? Well we did too so we decided to create a huge encasement filled to the brim with hundreds of

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Saran Wrap Relay: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A creative way to use a simple house hold object! Make sure you wrap them a couple times around so they can’t break out as easy.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Saran Wrap.

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Inverted Zorb Soccer: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Bubble Soccer is one of those new fads that rock! Who doesn’t like running full speed at someone else, colliding and not getting hurt. This game is so fun!!Supplies

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Catch Phrase Live: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves this fun party game but have you ever played it in a large group! Take this twist on a great game and play it in your youth group.Supplies You’ll Nee

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Balloon Stomp: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A classic game that is sure to bring a little competition to your group. An easy game to explain and execute. Have fun and protect those ankles!Supplies You’ll Need

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Unicorn Ring Toss: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great game that is sure to bring some good fun to your youth group. See who has the best hand-eye-head coordination with this awesome game!Supplies You’ll Need: 1

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Water Balloon Volleyball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Have you ever had a super warm summer day, and decided to search for some great outdoor youth group games? Are you looking for an enjoyable game to play at summer c

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VHS Toss: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Two teams will face off as each member of their team must touch the VHS tape as it is passed from the back of the room to the front. It gets super intense and fun!S

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Hungry Hippos: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who didn’t like this game when they were a kid! This is just taking a beloved memory for many of our students or at the very least a nostalgic item from our past an

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Water Wars: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Try this game originally seen on Jimmy Fallon. A fun way to put a spin on the regular game of war. It makes a regular game of war look like a walk in the park.Suppl

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Toilet Paper Take-Out: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Here’s a fun game and a easy way to give away some awesome stuff! Just string up some toilet paper and attach prizes to the end of it! If you break the toilet paper

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Balloon Antlers: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great game that will get many student involved and will leave you with some really fun memories! We first saw this on “Youth Ministry Ideas” Instagram. Yo

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6 Hacks For Partnering With Parents Free

6 HACKS FOR PARTNERING WITH PARENTS THE VIDEO DOWNLOAD THE NOTES Featured Resources: 1. Small Group Leader Profile Card 2. Parent + SGL Breakfast 3. Dads + Daughters Date Night THE

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Confetti Cleanup: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who likes confetti? Who hates picking it up? If you answered yes to one or both questions then this game is for you. A game for you to use a confetti cannon as well

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Tube Toss: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is just a fun game that will test your ability for accuracy and quickness! By throwing a fake snow ball you will attempt to knock out inflatable balls from the

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Battle Ship: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great large group game that will take about 5-15 minutes. A battle between two teams (could be more if you have larger numbers) to fill the board with hits on the

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Number Scrambler: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A battle between two teams (could be more if you have larger numbers) to swap the seats the fastest! This will take about 5-15 minutes to play! Supplies You’ll Need

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Christmas Song Challenge: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is an incredible game that Rhett & Link played on their show Good Mythical Morning. You can take a look at the video above for an idea of how the game is p

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Copy Cat: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great large group game with a lot of activity. It takes about 5-15 minutes to play. This is a great time for a battle between two teams (could be more if

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Twister Hoopla: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great game that is twister with a different twist. Instead of playing on the floor you play vertical, using other people as the board.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Twi

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Ice Cream Whistle: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a super simple game! There’s a whistle in the middle of a ball of ice cream, and you have to be the first person to eat through the ice cream and blow the w

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Smoothie Chef: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A great way to get a bunch of students involved. A great game that involves many students, and the rest are more than entertained just to watch. Who doesn’t want a

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Head Shots: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great chance to combine a bow and arrow, helmet, and anything you have ever wanted to shoot. A game to test the bravery of your students as they look dang

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Rake Em’ Up: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Fall is an awesome time of the year! So we thought, why not make a game out of it that will prep them to go help their parents rake their lawn at home! Supplies You

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Make Your Games More Fun Free

MAKING YOUR GAMES MORE FUN THE VIDEO DOWNLOAD THE NOTES THE EXPERIMENT INSTRUCTIONS: Use this page to evaluate your games this week. Take notes on what you observed. DOWNLOAD THE E

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Recruiting Volunteers Free

DEVELOPING A BETTER RECRUITING STRATEGY THE VIDEO DOWNLOAD THE NOTES THE EXPERIMENT STEP 1: Use this experiment to brainstorm what your volunteer recruitment strategy might look li

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Air Zooka Stack Off: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is an adaptation to AIR ZOOKA DUEL, but allows for more students to get involved and ups the strategy a little bit. Try and keep as many cups stacked on the ta

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Blob Races: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: 2 teams are tied together and race around the room, facing obstacles along the way. Supplies You’ll Need: Pool noodles. Giving these to a bunch of students creates

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Human Foosball: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Everyone loves the standard foosball, but when you make it life size, it only makes everything better! This requires team work and strategy, but it’s super fun as w

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Color Dash: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Each team must attempt to collect their colors of ball pit balls before the other team collects all of their colors.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. 6-8 Garbage Cans. 2. 10

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Good Times Carnival: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a “Pinterest” classic DIY game. Basically you make as many small carnival games as you can and have each game serve as a mini competition. You could do boys

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Air Zooka Duel: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A duel with just the wind! Each student will try and beat their opponent using only one of the four major elements… namely air. After all, who wouldn’t want to be a

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Bucket Suprise: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Ever looking for the perfect way to cap off an awesome event? Look no further; this is it! This is apart of our GLOW night. We put on a special night for all our mi

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Ultimate Relay: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is apart of our GLOW night. We put on a special night for all our middle school students that was full of glow in the dark everything. We replaced all the flor

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Pie Trivia: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is apart of our GLOW night. We put on a special night for all our middle school students that was full of glow in the dark everything. We replaced all the flor

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Slime Find: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is apart of our GLOW night. We put on a special night for all our middle school students that was full of glow in the dark everything. We replaced all the flor

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Flinger Paint: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is part of a series of games based off Mario Party 9 Minigames. If you don’t know what Bumper Bubbles are check it out HERE. It’s a cool way to take a game tha

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Flag Till The End: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Have you build those Tub Racers yet? Well it might be worth it for this game! A team game that has a lot of variables for your students to really enjoy! Your studen

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Bubble Hoopla: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Time to see if all the time you spent blowing bubbles as a kid has paid off. You will use both agility and breath support to try and become victorious in this game!

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Crown The King: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a game you can go back to time and time again. It works in both small and large contexts, so it doesn’t matter if you only have 4 people face off or your wh

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Carpet Skiing: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: It doesn’t matter if you’re used to skiing down the slopes or skiing on the lake carpet skiing is a new adventure your students will love. Create a track around you

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American Turbine: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Are you ever looking for a game during some of the Patriot Holidays(July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day)? Well look no further! This is the game for you. Allow your s

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Dirty Diaper Relay: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who wouldn’t want to unwrap a diaper using everything but your hands!! Fill these diapers with some delicious chocolate pudding, Reese’s pieces and Kit Kat bars. It

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Bumper Bubbles: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is part of a series of games based off Mario Party 9 Minigames. If you don’t know what Bumper Bubbles are check it out HERE. Its a cool way to take a game that

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Block And Roll: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is part of a series of games based off Mario Party 9 Minigames. If you don’t know what Block and Roll is check it out HERE. Its a cool way to take a game that

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Bubble Wrap Roulette: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Your students will be asking you to do this game over and over again. It has the potential to get messy and involves something we all love to do… Pop Bubble Wrap!!S

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Dueling Unicorns: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who doesn’t want to battle a good friend, or even a stranger, with a shaving cream filled balloon. This game gets messy, but there is nothing wrong with that!Suppli

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Butterfly Shootout: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a game you will want to take advantage of! Don’t worry, I know your first thought will be “Well I don’t have a confetti launcher so I can’t do this game”. N

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5 Second Rule: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is a great game to get students involved! They will probably end up saying something they didn’t want to that will make you and everyone else laugh. Just like

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Marshmallow Flyover: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A relay race that incorporates two aspects that students love: launching something & eating something! A game that utilizes a team of 5 students to launch, catc

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Nerf Cup Shootout: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: I don’t know who doesn’t like Nerf Guns, not to mention getting to shoot them in Church! This is a classic shootout using a Nerf gun, and an obnoxious amount a solo

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Candysaurus Rex: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is an incredible game that is sure to keep your students and leaders talking for a while. Who wouldn’t want to be transformed into a Candysaurus Rex just by us

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How To Build Picnic Boards: Youth Group Games

This is a Classic Game that can be used both as a game during your ministry night, or as a team building activity for your student leaders. This is super easy and can be used over

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Picnic Board Racing: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: A good old fashion game. An oldy but a goody. This is a classic game that has a timeless affect on people of all ages. You can use this to have a race, but also use

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How To Build Tub Racers & Storage Units: Youth Group Games

We are all doing a lot of things all the time. We multi-task and have so many things running though our minds all at once. WELL its about time we build something that can do the sa

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How To Make Slime: Youth Group Games

What’s that oozing goo of green goodness sliding down the side of a bucket ready to be poured over the head of a willing participant? But of course… SLIME!!! So you think you can u

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Musical Beach Balls: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Hands down one of my favorite games we have played. A mix of musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey, this game is always a blast! Blindfold your contestants,

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Hoodie Legs: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is an obstacle course of steroids. And the best part about the whole things is that you can customize it however you want based upon the supply’s and resources

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Apple Stack: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We played this game with 2 teams of 2 players each, going to head to head to create the highest stack of apples. Each team gets a whole box of toothpicks to help th

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Beach Ball Madness: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We played this game with 4 players each with a sports ball bag. The object of the game is to be the first to collect all the beach balls of your color. The first pe

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Toilet Paper Hike: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We played this game with 2 teams of 3 players each consisting of one hiker, one catcher & one retriever. They go head to head to see who can hike the most rolls

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Tub Jousting: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Find two students who want to joust! Line them up across from each other each with a ballon velcroed their helmet/hat, armed with a foam pool noodle, and sitting in

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Chocolate Mouth-Mallows: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We played this game with 2 teams of 2 players each, going to head to head to catch as many chocolate dipped marshmallows in their mouths as possible in 1 minute. Th

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Ritz Blitz: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is played with 2 teams of 2 players each, going to head to head to eat 12 Ritz crackers off of a plexiglass board. The first team to eat all of their crac

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Best Of The Mess: Youth Group Games

So we just finished our rising 6th Grade event, we call it Best of the Mess! I thought I’d share some of the games that we played… which are MESSY, GROSS, DISGUSTING, AND FUN! Thes

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Elephant Wars: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Elephant Wars is played with 4 contestants battling it out at the same time to be the last elephant standing. The game is simple: drop an orange down the leg of a s

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On The Spot Rap Battle: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We recently started doing these “On The Spot” segments and this one happened to be a “Rap Battle”. Here’s how it worked… At the very beginning of our program we ask

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Balloon Cup Blow Off: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. We played this game with teams of 2 players each. Each team races to repeatedly blow up a balloon and use the air inside of it t

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Gatorade Flip Out: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. We played this game with teams of 3 players each. Each team has 60 seconds to try and flip as many Gatorade bottles in the air a

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Baby Food Roulette: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Students create circles of 8-10 people and pass a spoon around as music plays. When the music stops, whoever is left holding the spoon must eat a spoonful of baby f

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Q-Tip Shootout: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: 2 teams of 3 players each race to knock 16 ping pong balls off of golf tees by shooting q-tips out of straws standing 7 feet away.Supplies You’ll Need: 1. Q-Tips, S

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On The Spot Dance Crew: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We recently started doing these “On The Spot” segments and this one happened to be “Dace Crew”. Here’s how it worked… At the very beginning of our program we asked

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Life-Size Guess Who: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: It’s the classic game of Guess Who?, but with real people. Students play head to head trying to guess their mystery person on their board or 16 other students. The

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60 Second Makeover: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This one’s for the girls! In one of our weekly SHINE! staff meetings we decided to play a game where the girls can get back at the guys for beating them at all the

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Cereal Surprise: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Blindfolded students compete to try and identify extra (and usually gross) ingredients in their bowl of milk and cereal. Whichever team can identify the most myster

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Duct Tape Round Up: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: National Duct Tape Days happen over Father’s Day weekend every year, and we decided to pay honor to Duct Tape with a game. The game starts with the floor littered w

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Baby Slingshot Relay: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: It was Mother’s Day and we needed a game, so we thought why not use a sling shot to launch baby dolls across the room, make students put them in strollers, race aro

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Giant Angry Birds: Youth Group Games

We were pretty excited to create and play a Giant Angry Birds game. But we couldn’t believe how excited our students were. Seriously. They kind of freaked out. This is how we did i

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Reverse Charades: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: If you’re wondering what the reverse of Charades is, it’s when the whole crowd is acting out the secret word and only one contestant is guessing. We played this wit

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National Flashlight Day: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: If you haven’t noticed, we love playing games that celebrate random/weird holidays. So to celebrate National Flashlight Day (Dec 21), we played a game where student

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Stick To It: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. This game is played with teams of 2 players each. One player bounces ping pong balls across the table to their teammate who is h

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Conjoined Christmas: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Teams of 2 race to be the first to wrap a christmas present – except one thing: they are both wearing the same sweater with only one arm out each sleeve. Each playe

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Chocolate Unicorn: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. It’s a test of focus and balance as students try to stack Oreos as high as they can on their forehead. Whoever can achieve the h

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Worm Races: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Students put worm costumes on (sleeping bags) and crawl across the floor like worms in a relay race. The first players from each team crawl to their partners on the

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Face The Cookie: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. It’s pretty simple, contestants place an Oreo on their forehead and just by using the muscles in their face they have to move it

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Mystery Hotdog: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We have a long tradition of Chef Andy’s amazing games based on his unique recipes. But we are in a time of transition at SHINE!, and Chef Andy is handing off the re

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VHS Dominoes: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. 2 Teams of 2 race to set up VHS tapes like dominoes in a “U” shape on a table and try to be the first team to successfully have

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Storage Tub Racing: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Teams of 2 race in a figure-8 pattern going in opposite directions using plastic storage tubs with scooters attached to the bottom. One teammate sits in the tub, wh

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Suck It Up: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This game is from Minute to Win It. Four players compete against each other to transport as many pieces of candy as they can in 60 seconds from one bowl to another

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Stocking Face Tug A War: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Four players compete head to head to head to head – literally. Four stockings are tied together with the opening for the leg going over each players head. Players p

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Sticky Toes: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Contestants plunge their foot into a bowl of Jello to try and retrieve little plastic animal figurines using just their toes. The first player to find and remove th

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Fruit Ninja Kinect: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: As a part of this website I’m not only sharing what games we play and how we play them, but this is also just an archive for my own personal records. So this post i

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May The Odds Be With You: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: We put 60 seconds on the clock with the Lord of The Rings soundtrack blasting in the background as students try to shoot an arrow through a hoop using the Z-Curve B