This year I’m no longer teaching 3/4 grade in Sunday School. Instead, I’m teaching/mentoring 7th-grade girls. Now every Sunday School lesson starts with a game. Sometimes they’re minute to win it type games, sometimes they’re trivia games, and in a few weeks, I’m responsible for the game. I’ve come up with a fun Christmas story minute to win it game.
The importance of games in Youth Ministry
It can be tempting now that the kids are teens to stop playing games. I know I’ve made that argument from time to time when discussing the problem with our youth program at church.
But I was wrong.
Teens aren’t adults yet, and they’re not kids.
They still need silly games occasionally to help them focus. So, I’m going to stop grumbling and find a way to make the games helpful.
I have a new goal for our games (when I’m in charge), I want the games to help them to know each other, or to teach them something, or to get a bit of energy out, and that’s what today’s Christmas story minute to win it game is.
Minute to win it games
These games are designed to be played in just a minute or two. Usually they’re silly. My Christmas Story Minute to win it game is a bit silly. Or that’s what my daughter told me when I told her about it.
How to Play My Christmas Story Minute to Win It Game
You know how to play Paper, Rock, Scissors, right?
Then you know how to play this.
I had a similar type of game for the story of David and Bathsheba.
First, you have Mary. Mary is the mother of Jesus, right?
So, Mary cuddles the baby Jesus.
At this point, my daughter was telling me, “Mom, but no one should be able to beat Jesus.”
“I know that child, but for the game to work, Mary cuddles baby Jesus just like every other mother does.”
Next comes baby Jesus, but he’s not just a baby, he’s also the King of Kings! So of course, Jesus is going to beat Herod. I’m amused, my kids picked out this sign for Jesus because they didn’t like most of my original ideas. They also changed my original Mary symbol….
Then comes King Herod. Being the king, and the guy who ordered the death of all the children under the age of 2, so of course King Herod causes Mary to run away in terror.
Now, here’s how we play this Christmas Story Minute to Win It so it’s fun in a Sunday School class.
When you have your “Mary, Jesus, Herod” epic battle, the person who loses grabs the shoulders of the winner and follows them to the next battle.
The next group faces off and the entire chain of people that loses gets in line behind until you end up with two long conga (congo?) lines of people facing off.
Now, when I’ve done this before with younger kids, I had the winner lead a conga dance around the room.
I don’t think I’m going to get away with that with a crowd of self-conscious junior highers. It would be funny though.
More Christmas Story Bible fun
- Christmas Story bracelet and poem
- Christmas Story unit
- The birth of John the Baptist
- The birth of Jesus
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