Monday, November 27, 2006

Junior Youth Lock-In at my Home Church

This past Friday from 8:00 p.m. to Saturday 8:00 a.m. we held the annual Junior Youth Lock-In at my home church. It was loads of fun; we got about four hours sleep that night. Below are pictures of some of the night's activities.


Tag Football



In this activity, the youth were paired up. Each was given a stocking with a foam ball in the bottom end. They then put the stockings over their heads and twirled it around until the stockings got entangled. The goal was to be the first person to pull the stocking off the other person's head.


Flyswatter Ping Pong Hockey



The pastor and some of the youth



Bible Study Time



The boys and turkey dressing time



The girls and turkey dressing time



The picture above and below are from the Lifesaver game. Lifesavers are scattered up front on the platform in the auditorium. The youth compete to get as many Lifesavers as possible without being spotted by the youth sponsors. The youth have to start at the back of the auditorium, sneak through or around about fifteen benches, take one Lifesaver at a time, and get all the way to the back of the auditorium again. If they are spotted and the sponsor calls out the correct name, the youth has to put the Lifesaver back on the platform and begin again at the back of the auditorium. The youth often get quite creative in this game putting on different clothing at times that they brought especially for this game to disguise themselves.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. We'd love one of those gyms in our house!

:) Mikaela

Shionge said...

Sure looks fun and hey I think it is healthy to have such bonding with the youth. Singapore must learn from you :P

Katie said...

Looks like the kids had a great time. so important that adults offer them such opportunities. And those pics in previous post are just the best. I'll be coming back to look at the one of brown/red color with reflection again. You have a wonderful eye and photo talent too. Thanks so much for sharing. I took your walk too.

Murf said...

I recently spent 5 hours straight in a Presbyterian church...and it wasn't a lock-in. I wonder if I looked like I was having as much fun as these kids do. :)

sage said...

Tim, good photos and it looks like a good time.

Murf, I'm sure if you were locked in with a bunch of the faithful for five hours, someone would have busted the doors open.

San Nakji said...

That lifesaver's a great game. We call it spotlight. I loved playing it as a kid.
That stocking game looks good!

Anonymous said...

I don't know, Sage, some of these people seemed to like me. I know you find that hard to believe. Maybe Presbyterians just fake it really well. :)

11/28/2006 01:15:05 PM

photowannabe said...

Fun nite for all...the games look great. I will have to tell our youth pastor about the stocking foam game and the lifesavor ones. I'm sure they will go over big here too.

Murf said...

I hope those were clean stockings!

Anonymous said...

Some interesting games.....You seem to be a blessing to your Church.....and the youth.....

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Your pastors & youth ministers are very creative!!! Those games sound like so much fun that it almost makes me want to be young again. The youngsters in your church are very lucky to have all of you participate with this lock-in.

I bet they have a ball with that lifesavor game.

Tim Rice said...

Thanks, mikaela. Wouldn't we all love to have one of those gyms at our personal homes? Except they might be too much upkeep, at least too much cleaning anyway. :)

Hi, shionge. You honor me with your comments. And I do strongly believe in the value of intergenerational friendships.

Thanks, katie. Glad I could share my walk and my time with the youth with you. I love to tell stories that way with my photos of our lives. And the blessings I receive from spending time with the youth cannot be quantified.

Hi, murf. What was the occasion that you spent that much time in church at one stretch? I think I commend you for it. And of course, murf, the stockings were clean. I know the sponsor who provided would not have done otherwise.

Thanks, sage. It was a good time. Our junior youth are great kids.

Thanks, san nakji. I'm glad my photos brought back some good memories for you. And that stocking game was fun!

Thanks, photowannabe. I'm gratified that you want to share some of these activities with your pastor for your youth. Our youth certain did enjoy it.

Thanks, judypatooote. I try to be blessing to my church and our youth. And in turn I reap many more blessings many times over.

Thanks, abandoned in pasadena. You are right; our pastors and youth sponsors are very creative people and we love them. And that lifesaver game, the youth request every year.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a fun time.

Ginnie Hart said...

I declare, Tim. Those are some of the most creative games I've ever seen or heard of!

Anonymous said...

w-o-w looks like loads of fun! and good exercise too!...umm...can i join? ;))

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh. I LOVE youth group games. And I love youth group kids. I was a "sponsor" for a couple of years in my early twenties and it was one of the best times of my life.

Can't wait for my kids to be that age.

And I'll never forget the stuff-your-mouth-with-marshmallows game. I gagged.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the games!

mreddie said...

Looks like a great time was had by all involved - those kids will remember that for a while. ec

Anonymous said...

It looks like everyone had a good time. The stocking game would be gobs of fun to watch!

Annie said...

This looks like great fun. There should be a lock in for adults too )but we'd likely get a full 8 hours sleep, now that I think of it).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your latest comment, mate. Blogonymous.

Cergie said...

It seems to be fun to be young (and less young) in your town
All these different games !

Ash said...

Looks like fun!

Murf said...

Tim - It was a combination of things: the hot minister and the fact that I showed up on a day that they were serving brunch between the two services. :)

Anonymous said...

I was watching that thing with the socks. If they pull really hard, will their heads slam together?

Looks like fun:)

... Paige said...

How fun! It would have been nice to have had a church like this when I was a youth. Now I'm young a heart and the middle of age.

Deals On Wheels said...

Fun! I did one of these once when I was a kid. When I got home the next day, I slept until dinner time and then went back to bed. So much fun...so exhausting!

Tim Rice said...

Thanks, chad oneil. It was a fun time. :)

Hi, ginnie. I think so, too. I give the youth sponsors credit for that.

Hi, I*IcheI*I©. This was loads of fun. As for joining, are you a sixth through eight grader? ;) Or would you be a youth sponsor?

Hi, pioneer woman. Glad I could bring back such good memories for you. Thanks for coming by.

Hi, kevin stilley. Glad you appreciate it. That makes it all worthwhile. :)

Thanks, mreddie. We try to provides them with times to remember long into adulthood.

Thanks, faye pekas. The stocking game was fun to watch and maybe even more fun to play judging by the participants enjoyment.

Thanks, annie. You don't think adults could stay up all night???

Hi, blogonymous. Glad you came by.

Hi, cergie. It always fun to be young at heart. :)

Thanks, ash. The kids enjoyed it tremendously.

Ah, murf. Food, that explains it. :)

Hi, choochoo. I doubt it. ;) Anyway, no heads got slammed together during that game.

Thanks, paige. I sometimes think the same thing; but at least I get to enjoy it now with the youth. :)

Hi, deals on wheels. You're right. It can be exhausting; but the fun makes it worth it all.