Pushups

One person (probably youth pastor or speaker) has a small item to offer to everyone in the group. But before he can give it to them, he has to “pay” for it by doing a certain number of pushups. The idea is to do enough pushups per person so that he is struggling about halfway through, but is still able to get through everyone. Certain people in the group will be designated to reject the gift, but the person doing the pushups can say, “That’s okay, I’ll pay for it now, and if you decide you want it later, let me know and I’ll give it to you.” The idea is to represent what Jesus did for us on the cross, and it’s a really powerful message. The Bible speaker did it at a camp I worked at this summer, and he offered everyone a plastic bracelet that said “HOPE” on it. Some campers were crying and hugging each other afterwards, and it provided opportunities for the counselors to have some great discussions in room devotions with their groups of campers later that night.