#10 – YP’s House
Have the teens over at your house for food, fun, and fellowship! Provide snack type foods, games such as catch phrase, charades, and win, lose, or draw, or a variety of “minute to win it” style games.
Materials
• Your home, food, and games
Benefits
• Gives a great opportunity for the teens to visit with the YP and YP wife at their home, and also provides a low cost activity that is bound to have lots of laughs and great memories!
#9 – Minor League Baseball Game
Take the teens to a nearby minor league baseball game for a fun night in a family friendly environment.
Materials
• Local minor league team
Benefits
Relatively inexpensive activity that requires minimal planning and coordinating on the part of the YP.
#8 – Split Activity
Split up the guys and girls for this activity. It does not necessarily have to be on the same date. The following is just an example of what can be done, but other ideas can be implemented. Guys: play basketball at a nearby court; Girls: enjoy a night with the YP wife at her house for homemade pizza (girls make their own), homemade dessert (ie: cupcakes, cookies, etc.), and a Christian film.
Materials
• Basketball & location to play; food ingredients, location to host the girls.
Benefits
• This gives the YP and YP wife an opportunity to bond with the respective genders. Some of the best activities can be your split ones.
#7 – Afterglow
Stay at church following a Sunday evening service for a 60-90 minute game time!
Materials
• Games and prizes
Benefits
• Great low cost (possibly free) activity that takes place after a service when all or most of your teens are already in attendance. (Parents only have to make one special trip).
#6 – Corn Maze
Take the teens to a local corn maze for a night of fun!
Materials
• A location for the activity, transportation, enough chaperones to split up into groups; make it a race and see which team can finish first!
Benefits
• This seasonal activity is perfect for a fall night that has built in fun and excitement.
#5 – Harvest Party at Pastor’s house
Enjoy a fun filled night at Pastor’s house during the fall/autumn with delicious food, games, and a small bonfire for roasting marshmallows. End the night around the fire with singing and testimonies. (This activity can be done at the church as well)
Materials
• A location, food, games, and bonfire
Benefits
• This activity gives the teens an opportunity to spend time with the Pastor and his family, while enjoying dinner and fun games! This is a treasured time for teens in the youth ministry.
#4 – Thanksgiving Activity
Have the teens in the Youth Department host a Thanksgiving meal for the Senior Saints in the church. The program can include singing, games/prizes for the Senior Saints, giveaways and door prizes, and testimonies by both the teens and Senior Saints.
Materials
• A location to host the activity, a Thanksgiving meal prepared and provided by workers or church members, and a program for the night.
Benefits
• This allows the teens an opportunity to be a blessing to the elderly church members by waiting on them and also sitting with them during the meal. This gives them a chance to get to know them and spend time with them. The Senior Saints are greatly blessed by this annual teen activity.
#3 – Parent vs. Teen Afterglow
Stay after a Sunday evening service for a time of games and competitions between the teens and their parents! This is bound to become an annual rivalry that will provide lost of laughs and wonderful memories for everyone!
Materials
• Games (indoor or outdoor), snack foods (ie: hot dogs, chips, drinks), child care for younger kids whose siblings and parents are involved in the activity.
Benefits
• Families enjoy this time together as they go head to head in games and activities. The cost can be very minimal. And the time of the activity is convenient for most families.
#2 – Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag
Play a any number of rounds of capture the flag at night time with glow sticks as your flags! Depending on the number of teens in attendance, rounds can last as little as 15 minutes to an hour! Recommendation: don’t allow one round to go beyond one hour, at which point whichever team has the most flags wins. (Ideas: give each teen a glow stick to wear at all times, and set up a large number of glow sticks as the more flags
there are the more exciting the game can get!)
Materials
• A large field for the location of the game, several chaperones to spread out throughout the entire arena, a large quantity of glow sticks, and pool noodles (cut up pool noodles into foot long pieces to allow guys and girls to tag each other).
Benefits
• This is a favorite among teenagers as it provides an exciting, large scale competition that they will want to play over and over again.
#1 – All Night Lock-In
Create a night to remember with endless games and activities that are sure to get interesting the later it gets! Fill in every slot of time with a game (lasting no longer than 30 minutes) and periodic breaks for snacks and drinks. The more you pack in the night the faster the time flies! (Always plan more games than you need!) Include a midnight run to IHOP to fill some time and also to provide a fun twist to things.
Materials
• LOTS and LOTS of games! (Depending on your location you can play outdoor and indoor games), a gym (ideal but NOT necessary) or a large indoor open area (ie: fellowship hall), snacks and drinks for breaks.
Benefits
• Provides a crazy and exciting activity for the teens within a Christian environment. Does not have to be expensive, perhaps $5 per teen to help cover costs of food and game supplies. If done right, this is a memorable night for all teens!
Bro Danny Ortiz | Youth Pastor
Frederick Baptist Church | Frederick, MD
https://frederickbaptist.org/
