Participation

Even someone who will refuse to participate in a service or invitation will unwittingly get involved in a game with your group.  That participation can be the first step in a young person’s participating in a decision for Christ.

1. Entertainment vs. Participation—Entertainment makes you compete with the world, the attention span of your teen, and the success of your past events. Participation is a success by itself.
2. Keep it close—Creative scoring keeps teams in the hunt and increases participation.  Graduate your score throughout your game, activity, or running competition.
3. Keep it fair—Competition can be a great tool that can easily turn into a tragedy. Eliminate distractions as a referee and keep things as fair as possible.
4. Keep it focused—Your youth group, especially your leaders, should know that competition is only a tool and not the goal.  If competition gets carried too far, it could be a distraction itself.

Teaching as You Go

Competition has natural lessons built into it.  It is a great way to find a teachable moment with a young person.  A game time allows young people to see other teens and their youth leaders in real situations.  From these situations, one can teach valuable lessons such as the following:

1. Honesty—in attitude and action, honoring the intent of the rulemaker or referee
2. Excellence—doing your best no matter what the outcome, winning or losing
3. Grace—in winning and losing properly, maintaining a Christ-like attitude
4. Respect—for others and authority who might make a “bad” call
5. Stewardship of my temple—proper attitude towards individual physical abilities
6. Teamwork
7. Communication
8. Leadership
9. Adjustment, Evaluation, and Planning

(This list could go much  longer.)

Fun

Keeping a game fun is a real art form.  But if your goal is participation, it is helpful to develop this ability.

Start big.  There is a difference between playing a game of Capture the Flag and being in the middle of a World War II covert operation.  Paint the adventure for your youth and watch the fun continue with ease. Read  Adventure Games:  Creative Outdoor Activities for Your Youth Group by Hopper, Torrey, and Yonkers from Youth Specialties.

1. Keep it simple.

• Simple in Explanation—Full participation will almost require a simple game. Your explanation and rules should be simple enough for your youth to catch on quickly.
• Simple in Play—Full participation will be more effective with a game that is geared not only for the athletic but also for the athletically challenged.

2. Keep it moving—Transitions can make or break the fun of a game. You will know it is a good transition when nobody realizes it is taking place.

3. End early—Leave them wanting more. This is one of the most overlooked, yet most important principles of running a game. The right time to stop playing is before everyone has played it enough.