Children & youth ministry

Ice breakers-

1. - Getting into groups

There are lots of ways to get people into groups. Here are just a few.

A. Get enough round bubble gum balls for each person in your group. Make sure there are several colours (enough for each group you need). On cue, everyone chews his or her piece of gum. After five to 10 seconds, everyone sticks out their tongues and tries to find those with the same color.

B. Write out colors on pieces of paper (one for each group you want to have). Give each person a piece of paper with a color on it when he/she enters the room. On cue, participants get into groups by yelling out their colors and finding all the others with the same colors.

Alternatives:

• 
   Tape the pieces of paper under their chairs.
  
• 
   Use animal names and have them make the sound of the animal they get.
  
• 
   Do a silent grouping by having the participants simply hold up their group name without saying anything.
  
• 
  C. Group the months of the year into as many groups as you need. Have the participants call out the month they were born in to group
  

(http://njcirclek.org/icebreakers.htm)

2. –Circus animals

Have group form a circle sitting in chairs. One person is to stand in the middle as the "ring master". Everyone is to choose an animal name for themselves (dog, rhino, hippo, monkey...). The person in the middle is to have a wadded up newspaper to hit the animals...make sure it is tape up well because it will fall apart! You start with one person asking them to call out one of the animal names in the circle. The person whose name was called must call out another name before the ringmaster swats him. This goes on until someone is swatted before another name is called or they call out the ringmaster’s animal name. Once a person has been swatted, they are to become the ringmaster and the former ringmaster. Take that persons seat. This game is a lot of fun and can be tweaked to make the rules better.

(http://njcirclek.org/icebreakers.htm)

3. –Who is this group?

Pre-make tags with each tag having one famous group, singers, movies, sports) on it, mainly groups that everyone would know. These tags will be placed on the back of each guest as they arrive. This is done without them knowing who they are. They are to go around the room asking questions as to who they might be. Questions like “am I a singer?” They can only ask one question and make only one guess as to whom they are with each person that they talk to, and then they have to move on to another person. They can come visit previous players once they've visited another player. Once the team has found all it’s members they will act out whatever group they are (improve).

(Youthpastor.com)

4. –Story time

As people arrive, count them off and send them off into groups of 5 or
6. Give each group a bag with three items in it. Tell them that at introduction
circle, their group must be prepared to tell a story using the three items in their bag in their story. They can elect a storyteller or they can all participate. They can "use" their items or just name them in their story. The items in the bags should be totally unrelated goodies that will stretch their imaginations to the limit. Eg. a toothbrush, a pen, a cracker; a safety pin, a crayon, a quarter; a stale piece of bread, a book, a stone;

(http://www.anzagl.com/resourcectr/icebreakers.htm)

5. - Find someone who…

Each person has a sheet of paper with rectangles on it. Each rectangle has

a different statement.
Find someone who:
Was born in the same town as you
Can speak more than one language
Has a birthday in July
And so on.
Members hunt round the room trying to find someone else to sign a
rectangle/statement that fits them.
I personally never think this is a good "get to know you game" when you
don't know the names of the people - or their signatures (as is the usual
way of playing the game) as you end up becoming more interested in filling
out the other person's bit of paper rather than 'seeing' them.
However if it's for a group of people who already know each others names
then it would be a good way of getting to know more about each other.

(http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/classmanagement/icebreakers.html)

Games

1. – Amazon Women

You separate the guys from the girls. They guys all lay down on the floor of the open area. They hook themselves together by arms and legs. Then the girls walk over and try to pry the guys apart from each other. Once a guy has been pried off he cannot reconnect to the same guy or another. The girls have three (3) minutes to completely take the guys apart.

(http://www.youthpastor.com/)

2. –Aluminum balls war

This game is a combination of paint ball and capture the flag.
Divide your group (any size) in two teams. Divide the room in two territories. Each team has a flag they can place anywhere in their territory...as long as there is direct access for the other team. Each team can place tables, chairs, or other "defense objects" in their territory.Supply each team with as many aluminum foil balls as possible. The object is to get the other team's flag to your side without getting hit by an aluminum foil ball thrown from the other team. On go, it is a firing frenzy! If a person is hit with a ball, he/she must sit out until the next round. When the team members begin to dwindle, raids can be made on the other team's flag. The first team to capture the other team's flag is declared the winner. Everyone re-supplies with the aluminum foil balls and another round can begin. We used this in a lesson about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. The game can be played as long or as short as you want. A great mixer with groups of all ages.

(http://www.youthpastor.com/)

3. -Blind numbers

Instruct each person to scatter around the room. The instructor will hand each individual a small piece of paper with a number on it (total amount of the group)
and advise the group they cannot reveal their own number. Blindfold the group. Advise the group that there is only one rule in the game and that is "No Talking". The object of the game is to form a single file line in numerical order with their assigned numbers. Remember, NO TALKING PERMITTED. Hints: Find the person with the number lower and greater than yourself. Clapping your number with your hands, tapping the person with your number and positioning the identified person's number in front of or behind you is one key to success.
Video tape the game and playback for loads of laughter! Limit to 20 minutes for added difficulty