Children & youth ministry

As kids arrive, each gets a number that they must wear in a conspicuous place on their clothes. A slip of paper with each number should be placed in a box. Students will draw a number (other than their own) and have a few minutes to find their person and ask them questions. Each should receive a pen and a piece of notebook paper to record his answers. The questions should be:

1. 
   What is your name?
   
2. 
   What school do you go to?
   
3. 
   What is your favorite food?
   
4. 
   Where are you from?
   
5. 
   What are some of your hobbies?
   
6. 
   What is an interesting fact about yourself?
   

When students are finished, ask for a few volunteers to introduce their new friend—without looking at their paper! --Amy Smith

Magical Handshakes

Before people assemble for the game, secretly give a number of persons (e.g. 2-4 depending on the size of your group) a small bar of chocolate or similar. When everyone is ready to begin, tell them that there a number of people possessing bars of chocolate and the 10th person to shake them by the hand will get the chocolate. Players must say their name each time they shake hands

Source: http://www.cay.org.nz/resources9.html
No Who

Here's the exhaustive rules to "No Who". It's a lot like "Prince of Paris" or "Yes Sir, Yes sir" but has a different frantic twist to it. It's called "No Who".

In "No Who" you have everybody sit around in a circle (4-15 players is best) and everybody is given a number. The #1 spot is the best and the last spot is the worst. The goal is to get to the #1 spot the fastest and then to keep it the longest.

The #1 person starts by saying, "No Who #1 says..." then a number. For instance, "No Who #1 says 3". When your number is called, you say, "No". So,

#1: "No Who #1 says 3."
#3: "No."
Then the person who started will ask, "who?"
#1: "No Who #1 says 3."
#3: "No."

#1: "Who?"

Then the person who is asked who, will answer with a new number.
#1: "No Who #1 says 3."
#3: "No."
#1: "Who?"
#3: "6"
So, since 6's number was called, the process repeats:
#1: "No Who #1 says 3."
#3: "No."
#1: "Who?"
#3: "6"
#6: "No"
#3: "Who?"
#6: "2"
#2: "No"
#6: "Who"
#2: "1"
#1: "No" etc.
So, once again, when your number is called, you answer, "No." When someone answers, "No." to you, you ask, "Who?" And when someone asks you, "Who?", you give another number.

Only #1 says, "No Who Number One says..." when they restart the game as a sign that the game is restarting. This is a game that needs a lot of concentration and "mental reflexes". Because pretty soon you start going after specific people or going back and forth with someone in a "No Who War". Example:

#1: "No Who #1 says 7."
#7: "No."
#1: "Who?"
#7: "1"
#1: "No."
#7: "Who?"
#1: "7"
#7: "No."
#1: "Who?"
#7: "1"
#1: "No."...etc.

The game stops when someone "messes up". That person then takes the last number and seat, and everyone behind the person moves up one number and one seat.

Ways you can "mess up": (1) Saying a number that isn't there (since a game lasts as long as people want to play, the number of players can get smaller and people might forget). (2) Saying your own number. (3) Taking more than 3 seconds to respond. (4) Saying something out of order (i.e. like saying "No" when you should ask "Who?"). (5) Talking out of turn. By saying "No" when somebody else's number was called.

Advanced tactics of No Who: (1) Concentrate better on remembering your current number by writing it down, holding that number of fingers so you can see them, or by repeating your number in your mind. (2) Look at one person and say somebody else's number. (3) Yell loudly. (4) Laugh while you do it. (5) Combination of turning towards somebody and yelling loudly someone else's number. (6) Hold a No Who War by going back and forth with them and then say somebody else's number that sounds like the number you were warring against while looking at them to try and trick them.

SOURCE: http://www.youthpastor.com/games/index.cfm?G=153 DEVO:
DEVOTION

“Being Relational Beings”

OBJECTIVE: to encourage a deeper relationship with God through communication, trust, and mutual commitment

There are three components that are essential to any good relationship. The first is communication. You would never have gotten to know anyone’s name or what they liked if you didn’t communicate with them in some form or fashion. In the same way, they wouldn’t be able to know what you liked or disliked.

How many of you like to get birthday presents? How many like to get other people birthday presents? Do you ever ask people what they would like for their birthday? Do you think it’s harder to shop for someone you know or someone you don’t know so well? In order to understand each other, we have to communicate. We have to be willing to listen as well as speak. Most importantly, we have to pay attention when the other person speaks. How hard would “No Who” have been if everyone was talking at the same time?

The second thing I want to bring out is that relationships have to be based on trust. Okay, who was my blind walker? Were you scared? Did you have a hard time trusting your friends to not let you get hurt?

The final point is that relationships have to be mutual. By mutual, I mean that both of you are working together to equal a partnership. It’s a lot like teamwork. When you guys all did your part in the relay, you were having a mutual working relationship. If you don’t work together, you can’t achieve your goal. What if both ends of our caterpillars had tried to go in different directions? What would have happened? What if one person wanted to Hippity Hop and the rest just stood there? Would anything have gotten accomplished?

How do you think we can have a better relationship with God? What are some ways we communicate with Him? Did you know that God loves it when you just talk to Him? He wants to be your friend and know that you like to spend time with Him.

God can be trusted. He is faithful (Ps. 199:90) and will always come through for you. (Phil. 4:19). His promises to you are true (II Cor. 1:20) because He loves you. Before you knew Him, He loved you and died for you. (Jer. 1:5; Rom. 5:8)

If you sincerely long for a relationship with Him, you can always count the feeling will be mutual. James 4:8 tells us if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. How close do you want to be?

Let’s pray.

Crystal Tanner

Kumawannaknoya
Ice breaker