Preteen Ministry Game: God Is In Control
In this game students face off against each other in teams, but the challenge they will compete in is completely up to the spinner on the board!
The game includes a quick lesson & discussion about God’s sovereignty, helping students know that God is in control.
The goal of the game is to teach preteens that God leaves nothing to chance. He knows the beginning to the end.
This can be reassuring in our constantly changing world.
– Nick Diliberto, Preteen Ministry
Preteen Ministry Game: Challenge by Chance
SUPPLIES
- One large poster board
- One large paper fastener
- Arrow cut out of poster board
- Sharpie
- Ruler
- One 24 pack of toilet paper.
- One ball per team.
- One sleeve of paper cups per team
- One package of 25 balloons.
GAME PREP
Cut the poster board into a large circle and using the sharpie, draw lines to divide the circle up into six pie slices.
Write the titles of the six challenges below, one per slice, onto the circle.
Poke a hole in the center and then, using the paper fastener to attach the arrow to the middle of the circle, create a spinner.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Divide preteens into their small groups or into teams.
Each team will take turns spinning the spinner.
Whatever it lands on is the challenge that they will compete in against the other teams.
Each challenge gives the winning team 50 points.
Keep track of points and play 10-12 rounds depending on the size of your group, until one team is clearly the winner.
CHALLENGES
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Have preteens, as a team, decide whether they will reveal rock, paper, or scissors.
Have each team find another team to face off against.
After the count, have them reveal their team choice.
Losing teams will sit down while teams left standing will go to the second round.
Keep going until there is only one team standing.
Freeze!
Each team quickly chooses a sport to act out as a charade.
When the leader says “freeze”, teams hold their pose.
If any team member moves after the leader calls “freeze” than that entire team must sit down.
Winning team is the last one standing.
Relay Race
Have teams line up at one end of your room.
Mark a starting line with a rope or a chair.
When you say go, teams compete relay style by running to the opposite side of the room and back with a ball between their knees.
If a team member drops the ball, they return to the start line to try again.
Winning team is the first team to finish.
In A Roll
Have preteens choose one team member to wrap the rest of their team members in toilet paper.
The first team to wrap their team, using the most toilet paper, without breaking the roll – wins!
Be sure to eliminate any team that breaks their toilet paper.
Save leftovers on the roll in case the challenge gets picked again.
Stuck on Stacking
Teams have one minute to stack the highest stack of cups possible without it falling over.
If a team’s stack collapses, they are out of the challenge.
The winning team will have the highest stack after a minute or be the last team standing.
Keep It Up
Give each team a balloon.
Each team circles up with their team members and bounces the balloon in the air to keep it up.
If a team holds the balloon, or if it drops to the ground, their team is out.
Once the game is finished ask:
How many of you got the challenge you hoped for when your team got to spin?
If you could have picked, what challenge would you have chosen?
This game had a degree of uncertainty.
You could not predict how it would end because you didn’t know what challenges your team would face.
Ask: What kind of challenges do we face that are uncertain in our world today?
Allow for responses and give some ideas if needed.
For example: who will become president/prime minister, the impact of global warming, what grades we will get at the end of the school year.
We live in a world that is constantly changing and because of that, we live with a degree of uncertainty every day.
This can feel unsettling for us and cause us to be anxious about the future.
Read and discuss the following verses with your preteens so they can see that God is in control:
2 Chronicles 20:6 (NLT)
He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, You alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against You!
Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.
Romans 11:33 (NLT)
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!
Romans 8:28 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Remember, God is in complete control over everything that happens.
We do not need to be concerned about what the future might bring because we can trust Him.
God has the ultimate power and He leaves nothing to chance.
End lesson.
If you like this game then be sure to check out this bundle, which includes a brand new Easter series:
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