This was originally used with K-5th grade but can easily be adapted to all ages. Best played outside in an open grassy area.
Talk about themes in the Great Commission and how Jesus wants us all to be disciples. Say there is a mission for the group today. Not all groups have achieved this mission. It can be quite hard at times. Use other examples to describe how its sometimes very hard to be a good disciple of Jesus Christ.
There are five games for the group to play to illustrate five ingredients for making a disciple. (These can be adapted in any way, shape, or form.)
Ingredient #1: Quick feet – spread message to lots of people
Running Relay: Break into two teams and create any kind of relay (running, skipping, crawling, etc.). Anything using quick feet.
Ingredient #2: Bold voice – can’t be too shy
Sing Jesus Loves Me (or other appropriate-age group song) at the top of their lungs
Ingredient #3: Helping hands – help others
Use the classis “Pretzel” team-building game. Small groups cross arms and grab hands across the circle. The group must then work together to untangle without dropping hands.
Ingredient #4: Humility – put others first
Create any kind of normal race. At the end recognize the person who came in last. Cheer for them, lift them up on shoulders, etc. Celebrate that we don’t need to be first at everything in life.
Ingredient #5: Love – love people and meet new ones
Hook-On Tag: Entire group splits into pairs in wide open space. Each pair hooks arms. One pair is the chaser and the chasee. Student #1 chases Student #2. Student #1 hooks onto one person in a pair. The person on the other side (Student #3) has to unhook arms and is now being chased by Student #2. If Student #2 tags Student #3 then #3 is now it. The game continues until you choose to stop!
Hook-On Tag is a great time-filler and it releases a lot of energy!