Happy Christmas!

by Phil Houtz on December 26, 2012

in News

May God’s blessings be yours as you seek to follow him in the coming year. Merry Christmas to all.

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Here’s a fun card game that will stretch your brain. Spot It! is a deck of round playing cards covered with colorful pictures. Every card in the deck has at least one matching picture with every other card in the deck. Your challenge is to spot a picture that matches your card before anyone else. [...]

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Foosketball

by Phil Houtz on August 12, 2012

in Field games,Games

  What do you get when you combine the raw energy of football with the calm restraint of ultimate frisbee and the precision of basketball? The answer is…a ton of fun that can have even your usual sideliners pulling off some amazing athletic feats. All you need is large grassy playing area, two basketball hoops [...]

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Relay Races: Better Bucket Brigades

by Phil Houtz on July 10, 2012

in Games

A bucket brigade, or human chain, is an effective way to move items over long distances quickly with each person spending only a small amount of effort. If you haven’t played Bucket Brigade Relay, it’s a lot of fun…and with a few adjustments the game can get really wild. Time: 15 to 30 minutes Number [...]

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Playing with Fire: Match Rockets

by Phil Houtz on July 4, 2012

in Games

Yes, as Steve Hoefer says in this video below, this activity will literally have you playing with fire. But with the right group and good supervision this can be a fun and educational activity. Or not. An activity like this is best with a small group that has built some trust and accountability. To make [...]

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Water Balloon Games: Hot Potato

June 30, 2012
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Water balloons are good, clean, fun with just a hint of treachery. Water Balloon Hot Potato cranks up the suspense as players pass a water balloon from hand-to-hand until the music stops. What happens next is up to the person holding the bag – of water. Time: 10 to 20 minutes Number of Players: five [...]

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Charades…with a Twist

January 20, 2011

The game of Charades is huge fun for a group. But sometimesindividuals – particularly high school age individuals – don’t like being put on the spot. Here are two twists on the classic parlor game that will help you keep things moving, active and tons of fun. Charades Relay Divide your group into two teams, [...]

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Ten Reasons Small Groups Are Great for Kids

January 6, 2011

Back in July Doug Fields blogged ten rewards that teens get from associating with small group leaders. Interestingly a lot of these benefits are directly related to having a relationship with a caring adult. Here are ten of my own ideas. Some, of course, will overlap with Doug’s – 1. Relationship with a caring adult [...]

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Top Five Youth Blogs of 2010

January 5, 2011

Joel Mayward shares his top five Christian youth ministry blogs from 2010.

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Off-the-Wall Dodgeball

January 4, 2011

Here’s a dodgeball game where it’s every man – and woman – for himself. No teams involved. What’s required is a large wall and a soft springy dodgeball with a good bounce. The object of the game is to be the last man (or woman) standing. The first person in possession of the ball slams [...]

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