Free Youth Group Games — games for youth groups at church
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON COMPASSION
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON COMPASSION
Bible: Psalm 145:8; John 13:34-35
Bottom Line: Genuine compassion always leads to action.
SUPPLIES
- Index cards (enough for each group of students to have 5 pieces)
- Pens/pencils (one for each group of students)
- A bucket
- Index cards with the answers (provided below)
GAME PREP
Divide students into five groups of equal size and have them form huddles.
Give each group five index cards and a pen/pencil.
Place the bucket up front.
Write the following, one word on each index card:
- H.H.M.H. (Helping Hands Monkey Helpers)
- T.C.I.F. (Tall Clubs International Foundation)
- B.B.I. (Best Buddies International)
- S.O.I. (Sports Outreach Institute)
- W.B.P. (Women’s Bean Project)
Have a leader on hand that can keep score for all the teams.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Say: How many of you enjoy helping other people?
I’m glad to see that you think it’s important, because it is!
All over the world, there are groups and organizations that help others.
In our game today, we’re going to learn the names of a few of them.
I will read the initials of an organization out loud.
With your huddle, you will come up with a word for each letter of the initials, write them down on your team’s index card, and place them in the bucket.
You will want to come up with something that is super convincing because it will help you win.
For example: If I read the letters “H.F.C.,” you might guess something like, Help Feed Children.
The real answer is: Heroes for Children.
But, if you came up with a convincing answer, then you would get points for every team that chooses your answer—I will tell you more about that in a minute.
I will also place a card with the actual answer in the bucket with everyone else’s answers.
Next, I will read each card out loud.
When I read you team’s answer, don’t make it obvious.
The goal is to write down an answer that is so convincing that the other teams will think it is correct.
Then, we will go around the room and hear which answer your team thinks is the correct one.
After everyone has chosen an answer, I will reveal the real answer.
If your team guessed correctly, you will get two points.
You will also get a point for every team that thought your answer was correct.
The team with the most points after all five rounds, wins!
TEACH
Say: Winning team, how did you feel about that game?
Did you feel bad for the teams that lost the game?
Allow a few responses from students.
Ask: Have you ever felt genuinely sorry for someone?
What situation occurred that made you feel sorry for them?
Allow a few responses from students.
Share a personal story of a time you felt sorry for someone and how you responded with your actions.
Other situations that make us feel sorry, or sad, for someone might be:
If you see someone trip and fall—hopefully, you don’t laugh, but instead, you feel bad for them.
Or when someone tries to do something and they don’t do as well as they had hoped—like being the last runner to finish in a race.
How about when someone is rejected by a friend who turns their back on them or betrays them?
Not only do those types of situations make us feel sorry for the people involved, but they can also produce compassion for others and their situation.
Today, that’s what we’re talking about: compassion.
The meaning of compassion is, “to suffer together.”
It goes beyond just feeling and emotion, and leads to action.
For example: the person that trips and falls while carrying all of their school books—you see them fall, run to them, help them stand, and pick up their books.
Genuine compassion always leads to action.
A person could not say they had compassion if they only watched the person struggle to stand back up, dust themselves off, and keep going without any help.
Compassion is demonstrated in how we act towards others.
In the United States, there are over 1.5 MILLION charities.
I said MILLION.
Typically, a charity is founded out of a desire to help a group of people or a cause.
Most of us are familiar with charities that help kids with cancer, homeless people, or animals who need to be adopted.
But, there are also charities that I’ve never heard of, and maybe you haven’t either, that are one-of-a-kind.
For example, “Shaving Away the Eyebrows” was a charity fundraiser by a man named Si Burgher in Indiana.
Si had to brush his 3-inch eyebrows every day to keep them out of his eyes—wow!
He decided to raise money for a polio foundation by allowing people to trim his eyebrows.
He raised over $1600 for trimming his eyebrows!
Or, there’s this one: “The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.”
Worried about your dog or cat becoming too chubby?
You can give to this foundation that is researching healthy ways to keep our pets from becoming obese.
Here’s one more—a man named Matt Jones allowed himself to be hit by 21,000 paintballs to demonstrate how many children die from poverty every single day.
He allowed himself to feel pain in order to help others see the number of children who are dying from not having enough food and water.
Each of those stories, although they might seem strange or extreme, represent people who were moved to compassion because they believed in a cause and wanted to make a difference.
As followers of Jesus, we should feel compassion towards others.
Why? Because God has shown compassion for us.
Read Psalm 145:8.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
When we look at the people and situations all around us, sometimes it can be difficult to show compassion.
Maybe you get frustrated seeing the situations that people allow themselves to live in.
Why don’t they just change how they live?
Or, it might be difficult to have mercy towards people who don’t show mercy to others.
God could feel the same way about us, but instead, He shows compassion.
He isn’t impatient when we make bad decisions—He loves us.
And God demonstrated the ultimate form of compassion when He sent Jesus to earth.
Ask: How does God show love and compassion to us every day?
Allow a few responses from students.
Ask: Has anyone ever shown compassion to you when you didn’t feel like you deserved it?
How did that affect you?
Allow a few more responses from students.
When we show compassion and mercy to others, whether we feel like they deserve it or not, we are demonstrating the heart of God.
Compassion isn’t based on what we’ve done, deserve, or even what we need.
If compassion was based on whether or not someone deserved it, God would have never shown compassion to us.
Each of us have disobeyed God’s commands and sinned against Him, but God’s compassion is founded in mercy and love.
So, we should be so full of the same mercy and love that God pours into our lives that it flows into the lives of others.
When we do this, we are following what God tells us in His Word:
John 13:34-35 says, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
We show that we are disciples of Jesus when we show love to others.
Ask: When you think about the world around you, how can you demonstrate compassion in how you live?
Is there something that you could do to show compassion?
Allow a few responses from students.
You might want to write down the things the students suggest and consider starting a compassion initiative together as a youth group.
I’m really proud of the ideas you have and the love you have for other people.
Sometimes, when we step out and do something new or out of our comfort zone, it isn’t easy, and sometimes it isn’t even well received.
Just like the compassion God has shown for us, what you do isn’t based on whether or not people appreciate or accept it.
Don’t let the way others respond stop or discourage you from demonstrating compassion.
God sees your heart and He knows the motives behind your actions.
When you show compassion, you are a walking example of God’s love for others, just like Jesus.
And in the end, that’s all that really matters.
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON FORGIVENESS
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON FORGIVENESS
Bible: Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)
Bottom Line: We should forgive others because God has forgiven us.
SUPPLIES
- 50 Sheets of copy paper—Draw a large heart in the middle of each sheet of paper
- 2 Buckets of water
- 20 Foam dishwashing sponges cut into halves
GAME PREP
This is an outdoor water game and you will need a fairly large playing space.
Divide students into two teams of equal size.
Then, instruct each team to split into two equal-sized groups.
Have each team choose a captain.
Give each team a bucket of water containing 20 foam sponge halves.
Also, give each team captain 25 sheets of copy paper.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Say: Today, you are going to do your best to break each other’s hearts.
Now, I know that’s not something we typically encourage, but it’s how you will win our game today.
I need one group from each team to stand at each end of our game space.
Have one group from each team stand with the buckets of sponges at one end of the space.
Each of these groups will form a single file line.
Have the other group stand at the other end of the space with the team captain and the pieces of paper with hearts drawn on them.
All of the those with the team captain will form a line by standing side-by-side.
The team captain will give each of those people a piece of paper to hold in front of them.
When I say, “Go,” one person from each team will throw 10 sponges, one at a time, at the pieces of paper being held by your teammates at the other end.
Your goal is to soak up as much water as you can and hit the pieces of paper so that they eventually rip because of the water.
You cannot just rip your piece of paper; it has to break because of the water.
After you take your turn and throw your sponges, the next person on your team will take their turn while you are picking up the sponges and returning them to your bucket.
If your piece of paper rips, you will trade places with the person that threw the sponge at your paper—even if they didn’t get to finish throwing all of their sponges on their turn—and you will pick up the sponges they had thrown.
The team captain will be responsible for giving their teammates a new piece of paper when a piece rips.
The first team to break 10 of their hearts (or however many you choose) wins!
TEACH
Say: You might not want to, but you really should forgive each other for being so brutal in our game.
It was all in good fun!
Here, however, is an example of someone who was not quite so willing to move on from the pain someone caused in her life.
When Leslie Ray 'Popeye' Charping passed away, his daughter submitted an obituary in the local newspaper that expressed her feelings about her father—and she held nothing back.
Here’s what she wrote:
"At a young age, Leslie quickly became a model example of bad parenting combined with mental illness and a complete commitment to drinking, drugs, womanizing, and being generally offensive. Leslie enlisted to serve in the Navy, but not so much in a brave & patriotic way, but more so as part of a plea deal to escape sentencing on criminal charges.
Leslie's hobbies included being abusive to his family, expediting trips to heaven for the beloved family pets, and fishing, which he was less skilled with than the previously mentioned. Leslie's life served no other obvious purpose, he did not contribute to society or serve his community and he possessed no redeeming qualities besides quick-witted sarcasm which was amusing during his sober days.
With Leslie's passing, he will be missed only for what he never did; being a loving husband, father, and good friend.
Leslie's passing proves that evil does in fact die and hopefully marks a time of healing and safety for all.”
Leslie’s daughter had a lot to say, but what she didn’t say spoke the loudest—she did not forgive her father for the pain he had caused her, and she wanted to make sure no one else did either.
Forgiveness is often difficult to choose, especially when you have to overcome feelings of disappointment, resentment, or the desire for revenge.
Let’s read what Jesus told His followers and the crowd that was gathered around Him, as part of what we call, “The Sermon on the Mount.”
Read Matthew 6:14-15.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Once our eyes have been opened to how much God has forgiven us, we no longer have the option to allow bitterness and un-forgiveness to be part of our lives.
If we choose not to forgive someone, we are saying they are less deserving of forgiveness than we are.
Ask: Why is it more difficult to forgive some things more than others? Or some people?
Allow a few responses from students. Share a time when it was difficult to forgive someone in your own life.
Ask: Have you witnessed the long-time results of unforgiveness in your life, or in the lives of those you love?
Allow a few responses from students.
Forgiveness is pretty important in the life of a believer because without it, we cannot have a restored relationship with God.
Unforgiveness will separate us from God.
Here are a couple of reasons why those who desire a relationship with God should forgive others and themselves.
- When you are focused on the hurt and pain of the past, you can’t move into a future that is free of those things.
It’s like carrying a heavy weight around your neck that you can’t remove on your own.
God will forgive us of the things that separate us from Him if we simply ask, allowing us to move forward in life with a clean slate and the heaviness removed.
When you forgive others for the things they have done to cause you pain, you are allowing them to experience that same gift in their own lives.
- Unforgiveness isn’t healthy.
Bitterness can affect your body.
It can actually make you sick, causing ulcers, depression, anxiety, heart problems, and more.
Maybe it’s because our bodies were not created to live with those feelings; it is not part of God’s plan for us.
Unforgiveness will also affect the healthy relationships in our lives.
Feelings of bitterness and resentment can be difficult to turn off and on, so it’s not unimaginable that those who love you would get the brunt of your harsh feelings towards others.
- If we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us.
It’s cut and dry, “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
God loves us so much and He knows we can’t serve Him with a forgiven heart that is holding unforgiveness against someone else.
Unforgiveness clouds our vision from seeing a picture of God’s love because it’s actually the opposite of who God is.
Today, you can begin to take steps towards healing in even the most difficult relationships of your life.
You might not be able to work on forgiving someone on your own—you might need someone to walk through it with you.
Share your feelings with a pastor, parent, or a godly friend.
And then, ask God to help you show to others the same forgiveness you have received from Him.
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON DOUBT
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON DOUBT
Bible: Matthew 14:30-31(NLT)
Bottom Line: When life is hard, allow your faith to take the place that doubt could fill.
SUPPLIES
- Paper lunch bags – 2 per student
- 2 Bananas
- 2 Pencils, 2 sheets of paper
- 2 Rolls of toilet paper
- 2 Tubes of lipstick
- 2 Decks of playing cards
GAME PREP
Divide students into two teams of equal size.
Give each student two paper lunch bags and tell them to place them on their hands.
Choose a “captain” for each team and give them a list of the following tasks.
- Peel and eat a banana.
- Have each person on your team write their name on a piece of paper.
- Form a straight line and unroll a roll of toilet paper by passing from the front of the line to the end and back without letting it break.
- Have three people tie their shoelaces.
- Have one person perfectly apply lipstick.
- Create a “house of cards” that utilizes 15 or more cards and is at least 3 levels of cards high.
Have one leader assigned to watch each team to ensure they have completed each task correctly.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Say: Today, I have divided you into two teams to perform six tasks that will be pretty challenging.
Your team captain has been given a list of these tasks and they will be responsible for deciding who will complete each one.
Here are a couple of notes:
Everyone must participate in at least one task.
You must complete the tasks in order and you can only begin the next task after you have finished the previous one.
A leader will let you know when you are “signed off” for each task.
The first team to finish all of the tasks, and have a standing house of cards at the end of the game wins!
TEACH
Say: At some point during our game, you probably doubted whether or not you would be able to finish—and forget about winning, you just wanted to get it done!
When you think about the stories we read in the Bible, many times we remember the examples of people with great faith in God.
But the Bible also tells about those who dealt with personal feelings of doubt.
In Matthew 14, we read the story of when Jesus fed over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish—it was a miracle!
Jesus’ disciples had seen it happen with their very own eyes, which is why I think what happens in the following few verses is so interesting.
The crowds went home after they ate their meal of fish and bread, the disciples went across the lake in a boat, and Jesus went up into the hills to pray.
While the disciples were out in the boat, they encountered a storm.
In the middle of the storm, Jesus walked on the water toward their boat.
He tells them not to be afraid and Peter asks Jesus to prove Himself.
Peter says, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
And Jesus tells Peter to come to Him.
But, let’s read what happens in the following verses.
Read Matthew 14:30-31.
But when he saw the strongwind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Say: Let’s take a minute and imagine that entire scenario.
The disciples are in a storm and they see someone walking across the water.
The Bible says the disciples actually thought Jesus was a ghost.
I mean, what other explanation would they possibly have for what was coming at them in the middle of the water?
But, when they see Jesus, they ask Him to prove it’s really Him.
Who did they think it was?
Next, Peter begins to walk on the water towards Jesus and as he looks around, doubt settles in and he begins to sink.
Jesus doesn’t let Peter drown.
He could have, but He shows Peter grace and saves him.
As Jesus is pulling Peter out of the water, he asks Peter, “Why did you doubt me?”
The Bible doesn’t record Peter’s answer, and maybe it’s because he didn’t have one.
Really, what could he say?
Ask: Think about your own life.... have you ever doubted God?
Maybe you’ve had questions about whether the Bible is true, or if God is even real.
Have you ever doubted whether God was going to help you in a situation?
Allow a few responses from students. Create a safe place where students can be honest about their doubts.
Peter looked into the face of Jesus and doubted who He was and he had an advantage that we don’t have—he was looking at Him!
When we ask God questions and work through our own feelings of doubt, Jesus responds the same way to us as He did to Peter.
What was Jesus’ response?
He saved him.
Doubts are feelings of uncertainty and all of us experience them at one time or another.
But, you can’t allow yourself to live in those feelings.
Peter overcame his doubt when he asked Jesus to save him—and Jesus did.
We need to choose faith over doubt, even in the midst of our questions.
Here are a few things you can do when you feel doubt creeping in:
1. Take a look at what has happened in your life to cause you to doubt God.
3. Talk to people who will encourage you, even in your times of doubt.
Ask your parents, pastors, and friends—who are growing in their relationship with God—how they learned from the doubts in their lives.
Be honest with others and realize you aren’t alone.
You’re going to experience tough times in life, but you have the opportunity to grow and become stronger in your faith, even if that means you have to work through your doubts.
Just remember: When life is hard, allow your faith to take the place that doubt could fill.
YOUTH GROUP GAME ON GOD'S GUIDANCE
Written by Mike Sheley
Bible: Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 119:105
Bottom Line: God guides us in our everyday life, one step at a time, as we follow Him.
SUPPLIES
- Three “Connect 4” Game Sets
- Three extra sets of checkers that are a different color from the two colors in the Connect 4 sets
- Most checkers come in black and red
- Some new game sets for Connect 4 include a yellow set
- If you need a different color for the third set, you can search Amazon, collect old checkers, or purchase some new ones and use paint to make them whatever color you want
- One, 6 or 8-foot Table
- Six Chairs
- Background Music
- For the lesson portion, you will need pre-printed copies of Proverbs 16:9 and Psalm 119:105.
GAME PREP
Set up a 6 or 8-foot table with three “Connect 4” stands sitting side-by-side.
On each long side of the table, place three chairs - each facing one of the stands.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Divide your group into three teams and have them line-up in three single-file lines.
Let each group know which color checker represents their team.
For this game, the first two people in each line will have a seat at the table.
They cannot sit side-by-side or across from someone on the same team.
The purpose of the game is to connect as many checkers as they can, in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally of their color.
Defensively, their goal is to block as many connections from the other two teams as possible.
Players can only use checkers of the color assigned to their team.
When the music starts, they will take turns putting in one checker at a time.
You can only play one checker at a time.
You have to wait for your opponent to drop in a checker before you can add another one.
This all sounds pretty familiar, but, of course, we are spicing things up a bit.
When the music stops, everyone must move one seat to the right.
If you are in the farthest seat on the right, you will go to the end of your team’s line and a new person from your team will take the empty seat on the far left.
When the music begins, play resumes.
At the end of the game, the team that has the most connections of four or more checkers of their color, in a row, will win.
If there is a tie, the one with the longest connection(s) in the tie will be the champion.
Say: Ready? Go!
Have someone play upbeat music in the background.
Randomly stop the music at intervals of 10-30 seconds.
At the end of the game, congratulate your champion!
Remember to look at all three boards.
Whichever color has the most connections of four or more in a row will be your winner.
If there is a tie, then see which one has the longest connection in a row.
TEACH
Say: Many of you have probably played Connect 4 before.
But, I doubt any of you have played it like that!
The easiest round of that game was when you were the first one to play and you could drop your checker anywhere.
A new beginning feels good - the beginning of the year, and the beginning of a new school year are always filled with hope because you have a fresh start.
But, today, we're going to take this opportunity to check-in and see if the steps you are taking in your everyday life lead you towards God’s best for your life.
Hand out the pre-printed copies of Proverbs 16:9 and Psalm 119:105 to the students and ask for a volunteer to read each of the verses when they are to be read during the lesson.
Read Proverbs 16:9.
If I was to summarize this verse I would say, "We can make all the plans we want, but God shows us each step along the way."
So, that makes me wonder: If I want to follow God’s lead in my life, how do I know which steps he wants me to take?
Allow a few responses from students.
Let's think about the game for a minute.
It would have been awesome if before the game started, I had given you a picture of how the completed stand full of checkers was going to look and you could just drop in your checkers where they needed to go.
And what if I had even shown you where to drop the checkers for each individual round... that would have been more like me helping you one step at a time.
Check out this next verse where we find out exactly how God does this for us.
Have a student read the verse.
Read Psalm 119:105.
The author of this Psalm, or song, in the Bible says that “God’s Word,” or the Bible, guides us.
In this passage, the “lamp” or “light,” is like a modern-day flashlight.
He emphasizes this by saying the same thing a little differently – It’s a “lamp to guide my feet” and it’s a “light for my path.”
Some of us wish God gave us a big spotlight.
Maybe you've started thinking about what you will do someday after you graduate high school.
It would be amazing if God gave us specifics about our future - like telling us what career we should choose, who we should marry, where we should live, etc.
But, here's what God does... He shows you how to live your everyday life, one day at a time.
And as you follow Him every step of the way, He leads you.
Following God’s guidance and making wise choices in our everyday lives is like making connections in the game we played - getting our checkers lined up in a row.
How do you get a long streak of connecting what God wants you to do multiple days in a row?
You spend time in the Bible so that you will be able to see how God is guiding you, one step at a time.
So, remember - God shows us in the Bible how to live our lives one day at a time so that no matter what our big plans are, we’ll live in such a way that we honor God and help others get to know Him.
Let’s commit to spending more time reading the Bible so we can live more days the way God wants us to.
Close in prayer.
Written by Mike Sheley. Mike is the Middle School Pastor at Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana, where he oversees their ministries for 5th-8th graders. He’s been in full-time youth ministry over 15 years with most of that time focused on preteens and junior highers.