Youth leaders need a variety of Christian games and activities to keep their youth groups active. You’ll be glad you kept a ‘stock’ of youth group ideas for emergencies. Whether your activities are silly or serious, they’ll be fun for your group members regardless of their age.
Fun Youth Group Activities and Games
Christian youth groups don’t have to be serious all the time, right? Individuals who are shy can benefit from these types of activities as they can come out of their shells and take part in other activities in the future.
Bubble Gum Blow-Out
For each team, bubble gum and a piece of paper are affixed to the wall at an easily reachable height. The players have to race to a table on the other side of the room. After that, they have to pick up a piece of bubble gum, unwrap it, and chew it.
They must then blow bubbles and stick them to a piece of paper on the wall using only their mouths. Keep your hands to yourself (no touching).
First place goes to the team who finishes first. It can be more difficult if you use old-fashioned bubble bum, such as Bazooka.
Baby New Year
You can play a variety of games related to the New Year with your imagination. Have a baby bottle race. To see who finishes first, fill baby bottles with juice (use 4-ounce bottles) and let the players drink it.
Players can also race baby buggy strollers to see who can cross a finish line first while one pushes and the other rides.
All attendees must post a picture of themselves as babies on the wall for the Guess That Baby game. The babies must be guessed by everyone.
Board Games
Taking part in age-appropriate board games can be a fun activity for youth group members. Play time-tested traditional or religious-themed board games during one gathering per month or quarter.
There are a number of Christian board games available, including Bibleopoly, Outburst Bible Edition, and Proverbs Wisdom Bible Edition.
Fellowship Youth Group Activity Ideas
For new members who are not familiar with everyone, fellowship is a favorite activity. Youth group members will have the opportunity to get to know each other better through the following activities.
Progressive Dinner
During these dinners, members visit each other’s homes for a specific course of food. Parents or chaperones will need to assist with transportation for this activity. In addition to making one course of the meal, each participant provides entertainment.
Youth ministry leaders, parents, and other family members all get involved in this activity. Each person should be given 20 to 30 minutes of your time.
A to Z
Each letter of the alphabet must be represented by an item found by the assigned teams. As long as it’s warm outside, this game works well because teams can get creative looking for the items. Each team must get a youth leader’s approval before discovering an item.
As the alphabet approaches its end, the game becomes more difficult. The team that finishes the alphabet first (or finds the most corresponding items) wins.
Scavenger Hunt
Give each team a list of items they must find and divide the members into teams. You should include items they can reasonably find on the grounds of the church or in their own homes. Give a prize to the team that successfully collects all the items on the scavenger hunt list.
Bible Activities for Teens
Christian activities should be included in youth groups since youth groups are focused on the church. Think about playing a Bible game with your kids if you want something spiritual but not boring.
Chapter and Verse
Each member of the group should memorize a chapter from the Bible. To see how many verses they can memorize, assign a set number of minutes. A contestant wins if he or she memorizes the most Bible verses in the given time period.
It is also possible to play this game as a team; the group that memorizes the most verses will win.
Bible Quiz Master
Make sure that each team reads and learns the same passages. Divide the teams into study groups. They will meet again after a period of time and sit at separate tables. After the teams have studied a chapter, the youth leaders will ask them a set number of questions.
The team that answers the most questions correctly wins. By raising their hand or using a bell, they can respond to the questions.
First team to signal gets to answer if they are wrong, second team that raises their hand (or rings the bell) gets to answer, and so on. It is the team that answers the most questions correctly that wins.
Bible Instruction
Group members according to their interests. Each group should analyze a specific section of scripture. Each group should lead a discussion about the scripture. Provide feedback to each group individually, recognizing participants’ unique contributions.
Youth Group Activities With a Message
It is sometimes important for your youth group to participate in activities that convey a message of kindness, love, or compassion. Talking about the importance of these activities opens the door to discussing the message behind them.
In God We Trust
The importance of trusting one another goes beyond trusting in God. The purpose of this activity is to teach teens how to trust their friends and neighbors.
Materials
- Obstacles such as cones
- The space
- Put on blindfolds
Instructions
In order to play the game, you will need to construct an obstacle course using cones, pool noodles, and other soft materials. Here are the instructions:
- Multiple groups of three to four teens should be created.
- One teen should be blindfolded.
- Blindfold the teen and spin him around.
- In order to guide the blindfolded teen through the course, the group will use their hands and verbal commands.
- In order to complete the course, the blindfolded teen must follow the commands.
- After the course has been completed, introduce the verse Psalm 56:3. I put my trust in you when I was afraid. Discuss with the youth how they had to put their trust in one another.
Kindness Is Key
Being kind to one another is crucial during the teen years. Youth will think of ways to be kind to their friends and strangers after participating in this activity.
What You Need
- Utensils used for writing
- A few slips of paper
- The hat or the bag
How It’s Done
Introduce Ephesians 4:32 and discuss how we can be kind to one another. The teenagers can then suggest a variety of ideas, such as:
- The slips of paper should be handed out.
- Each person should write their name on the paper.
- Bags or hats can be used to hold the slips of paper.
- Give teens the opportunity to draw a name. It should remain a secret.
- To begin, pick someone at random.
- They should describe the person whose name they drew in a nice way. Although it should be descriptive, it should also be difficult enough for the other teens to guess who it is about.
- It is now up to teens to guess who the person is.
- The next person is the one who guesses correctly. Continue until everyone has left.
- Talk about how they felt after completing the task.
Love Is an Important Thing
The importance of love and compassion should also always be reinforced for youth. It can be used with several verses, such as 1 Peter 4:8.
Activity
- Groups of five or six should be formed.
- Each group should prepare a short skit that illustrates an act of compassion or love. Giving food to a homeless person or forgiving a friend who lied are two examples.
- Let the kids act out their skits.
- Talk together after each skit about the importance of love and compassion and why the teens chose that specific act.
Finding More Ideas for Youth Groups
Are you looking for more ideas? If you’re looking for more activities for Christian youth groups, check out the following websites:
- A youth pastor or other individual involved in youth ministry will find a lot of useful resources on this site. Here you’ll find a variety of games, lessons, reading suggestions, and musical suggestions.
- Games for Youth: This site is an excellent resource if you’re looking primarily for games. Using the searchable database, you can identify games that are specific to the age group and objectives you are working on by browsing the most popular and highest-rated games.
- Visit The Source for Youth Ministry for ideas for icebreaker activities, games, discussion topics and other youth ministry activities.
Vary Activities to Maintain Interest
There’s no reason to do the same thing week after week when there are so many available activities. Provide a variety of age-appropriate faith-based activities to young youth group participants on an ongoing basis in order to help them remain engaged and involved.