Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources
Kristen Lascola from North Coast Church gives weekly insight and tips on how to grow the size and health of your Youth Ministry! With over 20 years in Student Ministry, Kristen shares her knowledge and experiences and frequently features guests from various ministries, churches and leadership roles so that you can use proven strategies to increase your impact from your leadership role. This podcast will help you grow your leadership skills, enhance your youth group, learn new youth group games, put on impactful youth ministry events, build a thriving volunteer staff, grow your influence and create a healthy environment so that you can help take the ministry God has you in to the next level. Hit subscribe and get ready to advance your youth ministry!
https://www.growyouryouthministry.com/
Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources
4 EASTER GAMES for Youth Ministry + 8 MORE Easter Youth Group Games!!
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**FOR A PDF OF THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR EASTER YOUTH GROUP GAMES - EMAIL US AT MinistryCoachPodcast@gmail.com - and put in the subject or description "EASTER GAMES" and we will send it over to you!** In this episode, we discuss 4 Super fun, super easy Easter Games for your youth ministry! Email us to get 8 MORE Easter Games which can work for a variety of youth ministry sizes! SHOPPING LIST BELOW...
***If you are looking to GROW your youth ministry, check out the Youth Ministry Growth Accelerator!
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We love hearing from you all and we do our best to provide powerful and insightful youth ministry content on a weekly basis to be that coach and mentor you may not have, but desperately need.
If you have an episode idea, please E-Mail us at MinistryCoachPodcast@gmail.com!
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If you have it on your heart to support this ministry, please consider going to our Patreon page at: www.patreon.com/ministrycoach
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Shopping List:
REVENGE OF THE RABBIT:
Blindfolds: https://amzn.to/3UHfSKP
Bandanas: https://amzn.to/42MV1I8
Soccer Style Socks: https://amzn.to/3lfcS4N
Plastic Easter Eggs: https://amzn.to/3SYQqPL (You can probably find these cheaper at your local dollar store)
Bulk Candy: https://amzn.to/3wkGYNJ
Jelly Beans: https://amzn.to/49wXE2P
Painter's Tape: https://amzn.to/3OLc2wx
Cones: https://amzn.to/2BtSp9K
Easter Baskets: https://amzn.to/3wkiKDm (these are small and would work if you want each student to have one, you can probably find comparable ones at the dollar store)
Bunny Ears: https://amzn.to/3wivgTQ
GRANDMA'S EASTER EGG HUNT:
Blindfolds: See Above
Bandanas: See Above
Plastic Easter Eggs: See Above
Bulk Candy: See Above
Jelly Beans: See Above
Easter Baskets: See Above
BUNNY IN A BASKET:
2 Stuffed Animal Bunnies: Dollar Store is your best bet
Laundry Basket or Plastic Crate
EGGASAURUS REX:
Painter's Tape: See Above
Plastic Easter Eggs: See Above
Bulk Candy: See Above
Jelly Beans: See Above
Easter Baskets: See Above
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Easter Games for Youth Ministry
Speaker 1Today we are giving you four easy and super fun Easter games that you can play with your youth ministry.
Speaker 2Welcome to the ministry coach podcast, where we have a special episode today brought to you by youth ministry growth accelerator. If you're looking to grow the size and health of your youth ministry, make sure you check out grow your youth ministrycom for more information. Alright, today, this is an awesome episode. I'm really excited about it. Easter games for youth groups.
Speaker 1Is this your Easter shirt?
Speaker 2Yes, I went pastels. Wow, that's the official Easter team colors.
Speaker 1This is not pastel, this is like neon.
Speaker 2Oh, I was thinking pastel.
Speaker 1So I went pastel, and you are.
Speaker 2This is as close as to pastel as my wardrobe gets.
Speaker 1Okay, this looks like summer camp vibes, but it's fine.
Speaker 2Yeah, for those of you watching on YouTube, your retinas are burning. Sorry about that.
Speaker 1My name is Jeff Lascola.
Speaker 2This is. Kristen Lascola Alright we're going to rip through four really fun Easter games that you can play in your youth ministry. But if you want to email us at ministry coach podcast at gmailcom, we're actually going to give you a full dozen. See what I did there, like a dozen, a dozen eggs and if you are already a member of the youth ministry growth accelerator program, we're actually going to give you two dozen games Eggs games I'll just say eggs, but I meant I meant games.
Speaker 1Okay, I see why that was confusing.
Speaker 2Yeah, well, things are difficult for me.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's okay. And PSA warning before we get started Don't play chubby bunnies this Easter Not allowed to do that. And maybe you're of the generation who doesn't even know what chubby bunnies is Good, because that's a very tempting Easter game. It is and then maybe you're like oh, we won't use marshmallows, We'll just use peeps. No, those are marshmallows.
Speaker 2Okay, I wouldn't even let's. Let's move on from that. I don't even want to discuss marshmallows or that game. I don't want to get in trouble for any of that.
Speaker 1Don't do it. It's bad Bad news. We're not going to get in trouble, we're warning.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1Okay, so the first.
Speaker 2Let's hop to it. I just thought of that. That was good, that was puns. Really good, dad. Sorry, here we go, dad too.
Speaker 1Number one Okay, Number one we just named this 30 seconds ago because you know what I said naming games. That's how we do it. It could go one of two ways. I think this one's a, I think this one's a bop, a hop bop I mean.
Speaker 2what does a bop even mean?
Speaker 1We got to move on. Revenge of the rabbit.
Speaker 2I love it.
Speaker 1I love it so much. Okay, so this game is a hoot Now. In previous episodes we have talked about the sock weapon that has been developed. You're going to need that sock weapon for this game.
Speaker 2Yeah, which is essentially the soccer style super long tube socks.
Speaker 1Yeah, so you take a long sock.
Speaker 2Two, two long socks.
Speaker 1Well, okay, fine, two long socks. Then you take another sock and you wad it up and you put it in the very bottom, the toe part of the sock. Now, if you want to get them all nice and stretched out, feel free to whip them around for a while. People are going to be like, what are you doing here? Say, I'm a youth pastor, this is my job. I whip socks to stretch them out. It is a professional move. Okay, so you've got your weapon and then you're going to create a box out of tape on the floor in your room or wherever you're going to play. If you decide to play it outside, you could just cone off a little area. Now, when I say little, I mean little like three by three.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 1Three feet by three feet, and then you are going to sprinkle the floor of that with candy. Now you can do this one of two ways. You can just leave the candy out there, like little fun size packs of jelly beans or gummy bears chocolate whatever you want. It should be wrapped, though. Or you can put the candy in Easter eggs. It's up to you, obviously, if you put it in Easter eggs, it feels more Easter-y.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1So you sprinkle the floor of that.
Speaker 2It's inside the box you're sprinkling it, or outside the box? Yes, inside Okay.
Speaker 1It's like going to be protected by the rabbit. So you get two teams. For me it's easiest to always do boys versus girls, but you could do grades, you could split it up however you want, and then they get in line. You know, single file line, right. You have one person who is the rabbit. They stand in that box of candy and they are blindfolded, but they are armed. Remember, we talked about the sock weapons. They have got them. You can give them one, you can give them both, you can do Whatever. I think sometimes it's fun to start with just one and then, as the game progresses up the ante, by giving them two. Yeah, ninja, it's also fun to put a pair of ears on them too. You know, go to Dollar Tree very easy, just get some bunny ears, put it on them. They'll only add to the hilarity.
Speaker 1I guess, but very important, they need to be wearing a blindfold blindfold yes a Solid, good blindfold where they can't see people obviously and if you know a junior hire, you know they cheat yeah and they will try to peek and Maneuver that blindfold so that they can see.
Speaker 1So when the round starts, the first two people in line from each team Well, the first person from each team, so that'd be two people Run to the box and they have to stealthy without getting hit because the bunny doesn't know where they are right has to Get on the ground and maneuver and grab an egg or grab a piece of candy and run back to their team. If they get hit, their turn is over and they have to put it back and go to the end of the line and then the next person will get to go. You could do a different. Well, obviously, the most candy or eggs wins. You could do a variation when you could maybe give a time limit. So say you have a smaller group and it's just a few kids. You know they could have however many you can collect in 30 seconds without getting hit.
Speaker 1You could also do that style for like an icebreaker, you could put it on stage and it just let people watch it if you don't want to do a relay, you know you could just pick the volunteers and say, all right, the first person yet the most in 30 seconds Go and it could just be kind of a fun pick game to watch. So what I've noticed with games that I would learn online or read about, I would just take the general Concept and then tweak it for my group, my style, our vibe, whatever. So this gives you enough of a foundation, and all of these games will, that you could tweak it for your Group.
Speaker 2Yeah, and another thing to add to is the bunny. The rabbit needs to stand and can't move their feet. So they have to have their feet planted and they can be swinging, but they can't duck down to try and hit lower. You know, the socks are long enough. They should be able to hit basically the ground anyways, but they can't like lower themselves or move around within the box, they have to be just station yeah, because you they're gonna step on the candy.
Speaker 2Not only that is if you're, if you crouch down, you can just swing sideways and you're gonna hit somebody. Yeah almost every single time. Yeah, it has to be a little bit more difficult for the rabbit.
Speaker 1Yep, okay, number two is Grandma's each drag hunt. But we're just girls, okay. Well, grandma has a tough time seeing these days.
Speaker 1So here's what we do. This game, I think, is the most fun, played outside in a big grass field and Prior to your service or your program, you go out and fill, obviously, them with candy. Nobody wants an empty Easter egg Right lame. You put the candy in the eggs, scatter them. You don't have to hide them, so you just scatter them, which makes it super easy on you around the field. Then Everyone gets a partner. One partner is blindfolded that's grandma, she can't see and the other partner is going to be giving verbal directions. So you say ready, set, go and you give each team a bag and the person basket.
Speaker 1Well, bags are cheaper, so that's what I would have used dollar is everyone a basket?
Easter Games and Peep Preferences
Speaker 1No way, jose. So they go around and they're like okay, go like one foot to your right, you know, and they can stand, they can crawl, they can do whatever, but again you time it. The pair that gets the most Easter eggs within 60 seconds wins. If you want to redo it, or they didn't get all the eggs, the partners can switch. Yeah, and you can play the round again. Be warned if you're playing with junior hires. Like I said before, they will cheat.
Speaker 2Yeah, use good blindfolds.
Speaker 1You got to really use those blindfolds. I like using Bandanas, I think they are. You're able to get tighter than blindfolds and you could use two. So if you do one, fold it into a triangle and then put it around their face, and then the next one roll it more Like thin, like a actual headband looking thing, and then put that one tighter over their eyes, that is the best non-cheat method because sometimes you're like you're going straight for the egg.
Speaker 2I know you can see. You don't need a partner to tell you.
Speaker 1Yeah, so the whole point is helping grandma find the eggs, and it's a lot of men.
Speaker 1Yeah, okay. So number three this is one of our favorites. This is called bunny in a basket. Basically, you're going to have your group sit in chairs in a circle and you're gonna start passing Two bunnies around the circle, so kind of is like hot potatoes, so you can start them at separate ends of the circle and they just go around. You start the music. Unfortunately, there's no Easter music, so it's hard to theme this one. I mean worship music, right, yeah, but it doesn't translate the same way. Maybe Peter Cotton tale there's a trap remix.
Speaker 2I don't know, I hope not.
Speaker 1I hope so. If you find it, please link it below. So then the music stops. The two people holding the bunny have to get it in the basket First. So whoever gets it in first gets to stay. Whoever does not get it in first, it has to take their chair and leave. And you know, it gets like smaller and smaller circle as you go, and then you play until there's.
Speaker 2Two left.
Speaker 1You really can, I mean yeah, we play till two left, and so then they just throw it back and forth to each other and then try to get it in first. So students can either try to shoot it like a basketball and try to make it in or dunk it.
Speaker 1That's a risk because if you miss now you have to waste the time to now. I have to get up, find my buddy, put it back in, or they can just, yeah, try to dunk it, charge the basket and Slam, dunk it in. You can decide on this rule if the bunny gets in but bounces out. We've had that happen before. It was like technically your bunny was first but then it fell out because you, like it, knocked over the basket or something.
Speaker 1That's up to you if you want to say no, it was in or no, but it has to be right, you know, using the Dollar Tree baskets that are like really flimsy.
Speaker 2But if you want something more sturdy, use those like plastic crate style ones. Then you usually don't have that problem.
Speaker 1But it you have to be like don't use, like a home depot, five gallon bucket, because you need to be able to see through it, you know, to make sure which bunny got in there first. Also, use two different colored bunnies. That's also very helpful, like a pink and purple, because otherwise you're like wait, whose bunny was which it? Because it starts to go kind of fast. That game is so easy to set up, so fun, full of action and energy. It's a good. It's a good find. I was gonna say that it's a good time.
Speaker 2All right I am.
Speaker 1Number four is Agosaurus Rex. So we have played candy sorus Rex before, but we're gonna turn this into the agosaurus Again. Bunny ears would be super fun on the players for this game. This is more of an icebreaker, or if you have a smaller youth group, you can make everyone the agosaurus, totally up to you. But basically the kids need to put their little T sorus hands up.
Speaker 2Yeah, so that's just you know egg sorus hands up. Yeah well eggs, or is Rex egg Saurus Rex?
Speaker 1Yeah, we're just making up as we go.
Speaker 2Great like this, and then you tape around their body so they have the tiny little T Rex hand Stegasaurus Rex hands. There we go, I'll get it right, they got it.
Speaker 1I think they're good on what we mean, and then you put the bunny ears on for added effect if you want Paint little whiskers on this, I don't know. You can go as far as you want. And then you put the Easter eggs full of candy on the ground. They have to get down on the ground and try to scoop up the eggs with their tiny little arms.
Speaker 2Obviously whoever gets the most and they allotted time and then you have them have their own, their own Basket or bucket or whatever that they will have to run back when drop their tiny little arms into yep, yeah and this again.
Speaker 1And that's hard because they're getting up and down, up and down because, if they have, they can probably only handle one or two. Exactly then they have to like T Rex their way over to their basket, put it and go back.
Speaker 2This is another one where it's you're not looking to hide the eggs as much, as just scatter them, because it's hard enough Just to get them, you know, with their little arms.
Speaker 1Yes, yeah, so again. Put it all on stage, have the people watch it's your icebreaker, T Rex, everybody and put all the eggs on the ground and everyone plays. Whatever you're feeling, however you want to use it, whatever size of your group, there's obviously ways to change it up for you.
Speaker 2Yeah. So make sure you guys, if you want all a Dozen, a dozen, all dozen games, go ahead and email us at ministry coach Podcast at gmailcom and just put Easter games in the title and we'll send you all 12 games with instructions. And if you're part of the youth ministry growth accelerator program, we'll go ahead and email two dozen out to you that you guys can use. And again, if you want to check that out, go to grow your youth ministry calm for more information. And now we're gonna do a question of the day. This is for all of you to participate, especially those on YouTube who can actually comment back, but it is peeps.
Speaker 1I knew you were gonna say that pro or car. Oh my gosh, as soon as, because he didn't tell me the question ahead of time. He's like I'm not gonna tell you. I want your real reaction and as you were formulating the question, I was like he's gonna ask about peeps this is very divisive.
Speaker 2I okay number one letting the church unless I'm eating a s'more.
Speaker 1I have no space for marshmallows in my life. I don't like them, except in a s'more. Delicious peeps take the marshmallow and just Amplify it cheap in it. Oh, the color, the sugar on. I feel like just thinking about it. I'm like sugar coma, want to puke.
Speaker 2Yeah, yuck, no, no no, not even worth it. I'm the same with. I'm anti peeps. Also, were they supposed to be a little chick, because like they didn't even put much effort into making them, it was like here's just a blob of marshmallow.
Speaker 1We'll just kind of some of them are bunnies. Oh, that's true, I think our. But the truth peeps.
Speaker 2I know you would think they would have to be chicks to be called peeps. It's more just a slug.
Speaker 1That's the pastel and then it's bright, bright, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2It's gotta be so. Here's why.
Speaker 1I'm a chocolate person because most candy the color turns me off. I'm like I don't really want to eat anything hot pink I don't want to eat, unless it's dragon fruit. But like I don't want to match.
Speaker 2You want to eat something, it's naturally that color it doesn't entice my appetite when you know, like blue spaghetti, that wouldn't be good for you or anything.
Speaker 1No, but you're on to an idea Next there's gotta be a youth group game there spaghetti challenge.
Realtor and Youth Pastor Combination
Speaker 2Yeah, okay, all right, let's do a community comment of the day. This is from Pagonious legacy realtors who says I love your podcast, second year in youth ministry and I feel lost. You guys make me look like I got it all together.
Speaker 1Wow, wait, you're a realtor and a youth pastor.
Speaker 2Yeah, probably, probably by vocational, which is I like.
Speaker 1I mean that's a cool combo. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 2Well, thank you guys, so much for watching and listening and we'll see you next time. Welcome to the ministry coach podcast for a special episode of Easter games Easter, they're called.
Speaker 1Easter games.
Speaker 2Welcome to the youth. Nope, that's not it. Welcome to the ministry coach podcast, where every week we Great, I think that's that.