Themed Events for Preteens!

I have always been against "theme" nights. I think I wore the wrong costume to one as a child and it has forever scarred me. Having spent some time in our preteen ministry, I must concede that preteens LOVE themed events. Crazy socks, crazy hair, crazy hat, does not matter one bit just so long as they get to dress fun and crazy!

The difficulty with incorporating themed events with preteens is understanding their culture.

Not All Themes are Created Equal! 

So here are some theme ideas I have worked with and the preteens loved it!

Black-Out! All glow-in-the-dark games, and all kinds of fun!

Ninja style games, and everyone dressed in black. Definitely a favorite!

Easily the most successful theme. Boys and girls dressed up a ton.

Fighting evil turkeys. Everyone dressed in camo. Lots of fun.

Medieval theme! Knights and princesses, jesters and kings. Good times!

Each theme has had its own unique set of games to parallel the theme. I think my favorite set of games was probably for ninja night or pirate night, or black-out night, really they were all pretty awesome. I hope some of these ideas get you excited about how you can use them in your ministry!

Be Blessed!

Best List of Preteen Charades and Stunts...Ever!

This is a great list of random jokes, charades, and stunts you can mix into ANY game! Maybe you're having a relay and one of the challenges is to draw from a pile of random envelopes and complete the challenge inside? Maybe you're having a Charades/Joke-off. Either way this list is packed full of ideas to get you started toward hilarious good times!

Enjoy!

An old person with no teeth running a race

A rabbit

A dinosaur

A ninja

Re enact the entire lion king movie

Why are ghosts bad liars.? Because you can see right through them

What dog can jump higher than a building? Any dog, buildings can't jump

What's black and white and makes a lot of noise? A zebra with a drum kit

How do you make fruit punch? Give it boxing lessons

Why did the sheep go to the movies? To get some snaaaahcks

What has for legs but can't walk? A chair

Pretend that your arm just fell off

A snail

Crazy cow

Why was Rita carrying a ladder? Because she was going to high school

Do a slow motion run

Get a volunteer with a matching color shirt as you and challenge them to a staring contest. Loser laughs first

10 push-ups in 10 seconds

What animal needs to wear a wig? A bald eagle

Why did the Oreo go to the dentist? Because he lost his filling

What has 4 wheels and flies? A garbage truck

Spin in a circle 5 times then do 5 jumping jacks

Act like a vacuum cleaner

Pretend you are person closing your eyes and walk around

Stand still and rub your belly

Don't stop barking

Act like a hungry monkey

When do ducks wake up? At the quack of dawn

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear

Act like a muffin

Pretend you are a slice of bacon

Be a tree

Act like a dj

Walk forwards while walking backwards

Pretend to be a little baby imagining itself as a grown adult playing in the World Cup finals against evil monsters 

trying to take over the world.

Name all the numbers from 1 - 100, which have the letter 'A' in their spellings?

Pretend to play fetch with your imaginary pet elephant. Throw him a ball 3 times!

Pretend that are terrified of people smiling. If anyone smiles at you start screaming and say “AHH NOT AGAINNN”

Get a friend and try to high-five eachother with your eyes closed

Act like a ninja and be reallyyyy sneaky!

Tell your leader to crawl on the floor and act like a horse

Have a contest with your entire team to see who can hold their breath the longest

Sit down and pretend you’re meditating for 10 seconds, saying “OHHHMMMM”

Yell “no you smell like moldy cheese!” then dance around your leader like a hungry monkey

Tell your leader to laugh like a hyena three times

Your entire team must hold hands and do the wave

Fly around like an airplane and don’t stop until your entire team does it too!!

Quick! Everyone make a Soul Train!!

Your entire team must leap through the air while yelling “I’m a beautiful Ballerinaaaa!!”

Ask the shortest person on your team if they’d like to eat some of your toe jam

Play “peek-A-Boo” with a door

Try to make a Lower case “e” with your fingers

Act like you’re an angry gorilla escaping from the zoo!!

Make your best “FART” sound!

Pretend like youre super mad at your leader and tell them to get outta your house!!!

QUICK!! Play Marco Polo!

More Preteen Game Night Ideas!

Post card I mailed to our preteens to remind them to RSVP! 

Lately I have noticed that the preteens in our ministry love having a specific theme night that gives them a reason to dress up in a fun costume or clothes. 

This year I started with a medieval theme. Dress up as knights, princesses, princes and jesters!


We had a ton of fun and the 4 games I planned turned out to be enough to last us more than 3 hours of playing time.

It was important to me to break down any possible stereotypes, that girls have to be princesses, boys have to be princes. It was hilarious to see some of our preteen boys try to act cool and be princesses. And some of our girls wanted to be knights!

All of the games we played involved the 4 different characters. Regardless of what someone dressed up as, they could choose to be either of the characters. However they must remain that character throughout the night.

And yes, that is a functioning drawbridge

Here are the games we played, the supply list will be at the bottom of this post as well.

Knight Rescue: 

(This time the princesses must rescue the knights!)

• Any preteen choosing to be a knight must be blindfolded and can only crawl
• Any preteen choosing to be a princess must rescue the blindfolded, knight from point A and bring the knight to point B. The knight MUST crawl the entire time. (We used a long hallway)
• Anyone having not elected to be a princess or knight must spread out along the hallway and sit on their butt. They cannot get up from their seated position. 
• Whenever the princesses and knights pass by the people sitting down try to tag them. If tagged the princess must spin 3 times while saying "I'm a pretty bunny" 
• Designate 3 challenges the princesses must complete before rescuing the knights. 
• We used 2 "mystery boxes." Concealed within a box was a bucket of watery cottage cheese, another a bucket of 4lbs of chopped hotdogs. In order to succeed each princess must find the "key" inside the bucket (a plastic spoon). 

Jester Got Jokes: 

• Essentially this game is a stand-up comedy show mixed with charades and stunts
• Fill a bucket with slips of paper with (appropriate) typed jokes, or stunts, or charades 
• Teams get a point for correctly guessing the charade
• Participating team automatically wins point for successful completion of stunts 
• Participating team wins extra point if any preteen designated "jester" tells joke
• Team must fake laugh as hard as possible whenever jokes are told
• List of Jokes, charades and stunts can be found in the "supplies" section below  

A Royal Joust:

• Using a rolly cart with an attached rope
• Wear funny bucket masks 
• Use noodle to hit target on top of bucket for 1 pt 
• Use noodle to hit helmet for 2 pts
• Use noodle to knock opponent off car for 3pts 
• 2 heats, first person to 3pts wins

We also did fun relay races using these carts attached to rope. Watch out for rope burns from kids holding the rope incorrectly though. 

Protect the Castle:

• Set up 3 cones on top of cardboard box
• Knights must protect 3 cones by tagging any player trying to steal cones 
• Everyone not a knight may only walk backwards while trying to steal one cone at a time
• Knight with at least one cone left wins! 

Supplies:

• Cottage Cheese 
• Chopped hot dogs 
• Blindfolds 
• 4 cardboard boxes 
• Rolling carts with attached rope 
• Crazy bucket helmets 
• Foam Noodles 
• Supplies to design Kingdom Crest (we cut cardboard into shield-shapes) 
• An old person with no teeth running a race
  A rabbit
  A dinosaur
  A ninja
  Re enact the entire lion king movie
  Why are ghosts bad liars.? Because you can see right through them
  What dog can jump higher than a building? Any dog, buildings can't jump
  What's black and white and makes a lot of noise? A zebra with a drum kit
  How do you make fruit punch? Give it boxing lessons
  Why did the sheep go to the movies? To get some snaaaahcks
  What has for legs but can't walk? A chair
  Pretend that your arm just fell off
  A snail
  Crazy cow
  Why was Rita carrying a ladder? Because she was going to high school
  Do a slow motion run
  Get a volunteer with a matching color shirt as you and challenge them to a staring contest. Loser laughs first
  10 push-ups in 10 seconds
  What animal needs to wear a wig? A bald eagle
  Why did the Oreo go to the dentist? Because he lost his filling
  What has 4 wheels and flies? A garbage truck
  Spin in a circle 5 times then do 5 jumping jacks
  Act like a vacuum cleaner
  Pretend you are person closing your eyes and walk around
  Stand still and rub your belly
  Don't stop barking
  Act like a hungry monkey
  When do ducks wake up? At the quack of dawn
  What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear
  Act like a muffin
  Pretend you are a slice of bacon
  Be a tree
  Act like a dj
  Walk forwards while walking backwards
  Pretend to be a little baby imagining itself as a grown adult playing in the World Cup finals against evil monsters trying to take over the world.

Serving Your Family

I am practicing a new technique for my blog posts: less words! 

I have this terrible habit of talking and talking and talking, which of course on a blog is, writing and writing and writing---Ahh I'm doing it again! 

Here is a short video I showed to our preteens during a lesson I taught about how God desires that we minister to our family. I think it is a great way to challenge preteens, especially since the boy in the video is only 4 years old. 

Be Blessed! 

Are Preteens Only Half-Christian?

No. 

The question, "are preteens only half-Christian?" sounds crazy! Right?
Yet I notice so often that adults and parents alike see their preteens as Christians that are meant to sit on the sidelines. They think preteens are Christians in waiting, as though they cannot offer as much as someone older.

So perhaps the better question is:

Are we expecting too little from our preteens? 

My answer is a resounding YES! And I see it all the time! It's as though we are too afraid to challenge our preteens, for worry they might actually have to experience failure. Well I love when our preteens attempt something on their own and encounter failure, because it allows for the opportunity to teach them about the necessity of abiding in God!

English Standard Version (©2001) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Yes, it is sad to see our preteens encounter challenges in life, but when did you stop facing troubles as a Christian?
I believe we need to continue to challenge our preteens to pursue God more, and create opportunities for our preteens to be involved in ministry as it will dig deeper the spiritual well from which they will rely on as they transition into youth ministry.

Here's a video I showed to our preteens as I challenged them to consider how they are encouraging the people around them. I asked "How much do you know about the person sitting next to you this morning, have you reached out to encourage them?"

Let's challenge our preteens to be the Church wherever they go!

Be Blessed! 

Awesome Game Night Idea!

The 2nd Friday of each month I get to plan a fun-filled night for our preteens! From 6:30pm to 10:30pm we eat, play games, get crazy, get a little crazier then conclude the night with a movie and snacks, we call this Preteen Night Out!

I recently tried a themed night: Night of the Ninja! And if you did not already know this:

Preteens love ninjas. 

I asked everyone to dress up like a ninja and come ready to learn the art of the ninja! I have about 5 college-aged volunteers (no parents allowed, sometimes youth (7th grade through high school) can be good volunteers) who help facilitate the night and lead small groups. 

I like to have about 5 to 1 ratio. So with 25 preteens, and 5 leaders, that means 5 teams of 5. If you are interested in the games we played I will have them listed below along with the supplies I used to make it possible. 

Here are some quick tips in case you want to make up your own games or don't have the time to read all of mine: 

• Create the environment from the start (we decorated and used ninja-sounding music at the entrance) 
• Remind the preteens that weapons are not allowed (they will try to bring foam weapons of all sorts) 
• Dress up your leaders (think about how awesome Disney World is, everyone is always in character!) 
• Be enthusiastic and flexible! (almost nothing goes according to your plan, but it will still be fun)

Ninja Games:

(accuracy) Ninja Frog Shooter---

Bucket of rubber frogs located at center court (basketball court used here, but any distance greater than 25ft will work)

Each person on team can only grab 1 frog at a time

Return to start line and launch frog into team’s bucket/box. If shot is missed pick it up and retry shot from start line

Team with most frogs in bucket/box after time runs out wins.

(teamwork) Ninja Sword Ball--- (We didn't have time for this game, so no pictures sorry!)

Using half noodles each team must hit their team balloon into another team’s box

Teams can only block their box within 3ft away from box

Team to put one balloon in every team’s box wins

(cunning) Ninja Puzzle---

With a parachute hanging off the basketball rim, teams must roll on their stomachs to half court. Leave their cart there and crawl under the parachute to find their team’s missing puzzle piece.

First team to complete their puzzle wins!

(cunning, accuracy, speed, teamwork, sneaky) Ninja Battle--- (We did not have enough time for this game either!) 

4 way cross-over dodgeball

The game space will be divided into 5 quadrants.
follow dodgeball rules

If you get hit move over to join forces with team that hit you

Once hit you cannot return to your original quadrant

Team that has most people in their quadrant wins!

Ninja Hunt---

Game begins on first floor outside

Each team given a map to find bonuses

Each team given first clue to lead them to next clue

Follow clues to discover the sacred vase!

Do not get caught by the "Ninja Hunter" patrolling the halls

If you get caught your team must hand over 1 clue to "Ninja Hunter"

This game was a favorite of the night. Turn off the lights and that will automatically amp up the level of fun for preteens! 

Ninja Beam---

Teams line up and each hold one piece of wood

Start at the first cone and place each piece of wood on the floor and step across them

The player at the back must pick up the last piece of wood and each team member must pass it to the front together

If any player touches the ground with their hands the entire team must return to the nearest cone

It is acceptable to fall down and continue playing so long as the player’s hands do not contact the floor when falling or getting up

Supplies Needed:

Ninja Shooter—

-5 medium buckets or boxes

-1 large bucket

-48 rubber stretch frogs

-place markers for starting line

Ninja Sword Ball—

-25 short noodles

-5 boxes

-5 segment play area

-5 balloons

Ninja Puzzle—

-5 easy puzzles (25 pieces, I got mine at the dollar store)

-Giant parachute hanging from basketball goal

-5 rolly carts

-start line set up

Ninja Battle—

-lots of balls

-play area segmented into 5 parts

Ninja Hunt—

-5 church maps

-4 clues for each team
(I used 5 locations in our building, and alternated which team's clue would lead them there, the final clue for each team was the same and led them to the "sacred vase")

Ninja Beam—

-blocks of wood for each player

-lots of cones
-our blocks of wood came from our giant Jenga set!

Giant Jenga Blog Post

Ninja Bandanas— We started our night with each team becoming a "Dojo". I cut strips of fabric from Hobby Lobby that the preteens decorated for cool ninja headbands.

-fun fabrics

-tape

-hot glue

-decorative stuff

Be Blessed! 

Quick Tip: Increasing Visitors

It is always a blessing to see new faces on Sunday morning. I cannot think of many ministries that would not want to increase the number of new guests, which is why I am excited to share with you some of the things that have really helped our ministry:

Prayer:
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." John 15:4

From Our "Night of the Ninja" Preteen Night Out

Visitor cards: 
Every time a new guest visits our ministry they fill out a small card with their personal information, and this is very important to us because the following day we mail a welcome packet from our ministry. It has calendars, postcards and newsletters detailing all the events happening in the preteen ministry.

Encourage: 
One of our most successful methods of increasing out visitors has been the preteens inviting their friends! Because of the influence our preteens have in reaching their friends, I always make sure to celebrate and encourage our preteens to continue inviting friends.

Various Events:
This is probably our central method of bringing in new guests. Create as many opportunities as possible for your preteens to invite their friends. I spend a lot of time making our once a month, friday night event, Preteen Night Out, lots of fun. It is absurd and crazy. Our guests have so much fun they almost always visit us that following Sunday morning.

There are so many more tips for increasing guests, but these are definitely some of my absolute favorites.

Be Blessed!