You can learn more about how to do this well in this article about developing an annual teaching strategy. PLAN YOUR TEACHING CALENDAR: Before you dive into planning your games for the year, start by planning what you’ll teach throughout the year, including series titles, primary passages of Scripture, and any recurring phrases, visuals, metaphors, or themes that will tie each series together.SCHEDULE A PLANNING MEETING: Before the school year starts, have an annual planning meeting with anyone from your ministry who wants to help you - especially with games.DOWNLOAD THE GROW GAMES & ICEBREAKERS APP: You know those 500+ free youth group games we mentioned? This is where they live.That sounds pretty serious, but it doesn’t need to be time-intensive. So let’s talk about how to be more strategic with the limited time we have to plan and prep our games, shall we? EVERY YEARĮvery year, we recommend having a system for choosing and evaluating the games or activities you play. No matter how much you love games, you really do have better things to do. (Most of the time.) No one has time to Google “church games for youth group” every single week. ![]() Great! But let’s be honest - with so many other important things to do each week, most of us don’t want to spend hours and hours researching, inventing, testing, or prepping for new games all the time. ![]() Maybe you’re already convinced fun youth group games are important in ministry. Connecting them with their peers and trusted adults, which makes it even more likely that they will engage in conversations that help them discover and apply truth together.Helping them feel known and loved - because when you take the time to find the kinds of games that connect with your students, you let them know you want to spend time with them on their terms.Breaking down emotional walls that prevent students from really hearing what is taught and discussed.The fun stuff ultimately helps teenagers learn by… So, no, a time of fun and games doesn’t distract from the “more important” stuff - the fun actually prepares students to receive what you want to teach and discuss! They work hand-in-hand. When the average teenager walks into your program, they’re probably not asking, “What am I going to learn about Jesus today?” (Although some will, of course!) Most students are probably asking… That’s because, for many teenagers, the biggest barrier keeping them from learning isn’t cognitive or even spiritual - it’s emotional. But the truth is, the process of learning should begin before the sermon ever begins. And the right game can be one of the things that helps with that. When we think about how to teach teenagers about Jesus effectively, we probably jump immediately to what we might think of as the “most important” stuff, like what we’re going to say in our sermons. ![]() It’s challenging enough to teach adults, but to teach teenagers whose brains are in different stages of development than our own is a challenge most of us were never really trained to do. But let’s be honest - it’s not always easy to get students to care about what want to teach them. That’s why we got into youth ministry - not because we wanted to be professional obstacle-course-makers. We all want to teach teenagers about Jesus more effectively, of course. BUT AREN’T GAMES JUST A DISTRACTION FROM THE MORE IMPORTANT STUFF? No, youth group games aren’t mandatory to youth ministry, but having fun definitely is. Youth group activities and games are simply one way to grow your relationships by having fun together. That’s because having fun with your students will lead to better relationships - and quality ministry can’t happen without quality relationships. Having fun with your students should be a pretty important part of your youth ministry strategy.
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