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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 7/29/2009 11:04:42 AM
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Ok so me and my friend just started taking on the junior ministry at our church! We have been at it for a couple of months and are currently in the process of remodeling our room to accomodate more middle schoolers. I guess what I'm really looking for is some advice or experiances that could be helpful to a newbie like me! Also ideas that have worked for you pertaining to games, events, and lessons that have been successful.
-Terry B.
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Forum Guru
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Last Login: 2 days ago @ 8:57:42 PM
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It has amazed me how versatile Jr. Highers are. They love doing activities and such, but what most of the guys like to do (dodge ball, steal the bacon, high energy stuff), is not always the same as what most of the girls like doing (word games, puzzles, low energy stuff).
Many times it can be tough to keep their attention, but i don't know how many 30-45 minute lessons (straight study) they were able to sit through & keeping their attention by being interactive. Doing things like going through the spiritual armor by dressing volunteers in oversize armor, asking stupid questions that make them think (what is love anyways?, why can't i ..., so why did Jesus have to die?).
Also, this is an excellent age to work on theology (who is God?, what is creation?, is the Bible true? what is sin?, what's so important about Christ?, what is salvation?, who is the Holy Spirit?, what role does He play in the church?, etc).
Our group really seemed to enjoy question days. The students would write a question (or 3) on a 3x5 card and the same or next week the leaders would go through and answer their questions. They came up with so many really good questions that really made us think.
Small groups can be an excellent tool to connect with the Jr. Highers. Once they know you love and appreciate them, they will open up in amazing ways. Keep in mind, Jr. Higher's tend to be sponges soaking up whatever you say or do. They can tell fake from real really well, so be honest and real. If you don't know the answer to something important, tell them and let them know you will try to find the answer.
Wow, i could go on and on about Jr. Highers, but that's a great start.
Masterpiece in Progress - Building masterpieces one person at a time.
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 7/27/2009 2:38:40 PM
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| Looking for good indoor games to play with youth high energy games. Faith
God Bless, Faith
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 7/29/2009 11:04:42 AM
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| glow in the dark capture the flag was a huge hit for us. What you do is get those glow in the dark rings for the kids to wear and set up some black lights or what we did was use the blue and red stage lights to give a dim (but safe) lighting. the rules are the same as capture the flag. they seem to really enjoy anything we do that may seem silly like a dance off. We also did a race where they had to put on articles of clothing. They would run down put on a full out fit then run back to the starting point shed the outfit and the next person would put it on run down and back, etc. this game was a big success. Little stuff like that has seemed to work! -hopes this works!
-Terry B.
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Forum Guru
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Last Login: 11/18/2009 7:13:05 PM
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Dear Terry:
This forum is a good place for you to start. Many of the members are very experienced and have websites to visit. Group magazine is a totally awesome resource as well as youthministry.com
My favorite game is Baby Food Barf:
Buy four to six tiny bottles of baby food (make sure they’re all the same size). Choose fairly good flavors like Banana, except for one. Add a real gagger flavor like Tapioca/meat. Put all the jars in a paper bag and set in the middle of the group. Have an assistant play music while the kids pass a hat. When the music stops the kid holding the hat has to reach in the bag (without looking) and select a jar. With a clean spoon they must take a big swallow. Play for as long as they want. Play with the kids so you're taking the same risk they are. It's tons of fun. You'll have graduated to the ranks of the elite when a kids barfs over one of your games (just kidding).
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