There are some amazing KidMin directors within my network and playing with them and their kids always makes for a fun and memorable night. We came up with an idea called the “Winter Ball Invitational” where, because my church has a gym, these awesome KidMin servants bring their kids (3-5th grades) and we play “odd-ball” games.

This is what we did …

5pm – 5:30 dinner made up of Meatball subs (1 meatball to a water roll or 2 meatballs to a hotdog roll), cake balls, cheese balls, ice water in dispensers…round tables out in 1/4 of the gym with chairs

5:30pm Introduce Games in the gym through 6:40 at stations inside gym with an       Icebreaker:  Students meet at center of gym and move (run) from one side of the gym to the other if they better relate to…

Cake balls or Cheese balls

Cake or Cookie

Coke or Slurpie

Popcorn or Candy

Radio or iPod

Basketball or Soccer

Tennis or Football

Video Games or Board Games

Board Games or Card Games

Mountains or Beach

Circus Clown or Circus tiger trainer

Ballerina or Model

The Voice or American Idol

Survivor or Big Brother

Read or Paint

Book or Movie

QT or RaceTrac

Target or WalMart

Jonah or David

Mary or Esther

Now it’s time for the stations…led by our fabulous youth.  Before each game is played at each station, students must answer the question from the Bible

1.  Wrap basketball with whole roll of toilet paper

Question:  What friend of Jesus, who was the brother of Mary & Martha, was brought back to life when he was already buried with burial clothes when Jesus said, “Come out?”  John 11:43

Answer:  Lazarus

2.  Twister with football spinner for colors using colored office dots on a huge gray tarp

Question:  Where was Jesus when He raised His hand and said, “Be still” Mark 4:39

Answer:  In a boat

3.  Mini basketballs in to the circle cutout boards

Question:  What are the first 4 words in the Bible?

Answer:  “In the beginning God” Genesis 1:1

Who empties their bucket first by throwing basketballs through the circles and reload

4.  Little balls in 10  buckets (then students do what bucket says before moving on)

Question:  In what 2 books of the Bible do you find the 10 Commandments?

Answer:  Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 (who answers first gets to go first)

Bucket 1 – jump up and down 3 times

Bucket 2 – whistle

Bucket 3 – snap your fingers

Bucket 4 – what do you like best about your church?

Bucket 5 – put a bow/ribbon in your hair

Bucket 6 – do a cheer

Bucket 7 – what is your favorite thing your parents do for you?

Bucket 8 – if you could have lunch with anyone, who would it be?

Bucket 9 – high 5 everyone at your station

Bucket 10 – give a funny face

5.  Hockey puck balls INTO buckets/baskets on it’s side (taped down with painter’s tape and using footlong hockey sticks I just happened to find in the supply closet

Question:  in Mark 16:15, Jesus told his disciples to “Go INTO all the world and preach the good news to _________?

Answer:  all creation (not just people, Psalm 36:6)

6. Play horse near a basketball goal but spell out LOVE

Question: Who was Jesus talking to when He spoke John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who so ever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life?”

Answer:  Nicodemus (Winner gets to start the game)

7. Stuff many balls into clothes over kiddie pool to see who has the most in a timed setting

Question:  In John 14, 1-5, Jesus told his disciples that “In my Father’s house are many what?

Answer: rooms or mansions

8. Last game:  Rock, Paper, Scissors team

Objective:  To end up as the engine of a train made up of all the players

Set up: players are scattered throughout the playing area

Instructions:

1.  Players find someone to play rock, paper, and scissors with.  The losing player stands behind the winning player, holding his/her shoulders.
2. The player in the front finds another pair to play and competes with the front person in that pair. The loser in that competition joins the end of the train.
3. The group continues playing and joining trains until two trains play each other in a final competition.
4. When the entire group forms one train, start again if time permits (which we did because they enjoyed it so much), OR move everyone to the bleachers with all in one line.

End with a Devotion: Pistol Pete Maravich (his devotion to Basketball and the move to same attention to live as a devoted follower of Jesus).. of course I’d have to throw in an LSU-related devotion, especially since my dorm was directly across the street from the Pete Maravich Center.  Dan Farr has 2 outstanding books devoted to sports related devotions specifically for tweener boys.

AND award trophies to each church participating in the 1^st Annual Winter Ball Invitational.  The Wesley Chapel trophy was given to our youth to thank them for partnering with our tweeners for an outstanding event.

What do you do to partner with your networking bffs?