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youth ministry open sky:
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One of the best ways to convey a clear, concise message is with a simple skit. Your youth may be listening, but are they learning? Are they involved? Are they following you? Try some of these ideas aimed at getting youth involved in the actual planning and hands-on workings of weekly youth meetings and Bible studies. Ideas to Get You Started:Try This! Include a skit in your youth meeting or Bible study. You can begin the lesson with a skit or use it as a discussion starter following the Bible reading. Arrange to have a few kids come early to prepare the skit. You'll find that they are more than willing and abundantly gifted at working up a great skit! Try This! Form a drama team that is responsible for preparing skits for your youth group meetings. Your team can meet before or after a regularly scheduled youth activity, or you can meet with them once a week during their lunch hour at school. Try This! Turn the Bible lesson into a melodrama, western, or modern version of the original story. You'll be amazed at how much fun you can have acting out the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den with a few cowboy hats and an old western drawl. You're the brains in this outfit. Your kids are the workhorses, or perhaps just showhorses! As you narrate the story, simply grab volunteers to act out the parts. Watch as your budding actors and actresses ham it up to their heart's content. Choose one of these story settings or create your own: popular sitcom, popular teen television show, popular movie version, the friendly version, the mean version, sumo wresting style, surfer dude style, old English, rock/metal band, cartoon style, farmer style, opera style, prehistoric, etc. Try This! Instead of simply reading and discussing the Bible lesson, divide your youth group into teams of five or six to act it out. Give each team the task of creating an original skit based on the lesson. Even better, have each group create a skit that applies to a real-life scenario based on the lesson. Give them 10 minutes to prepare their skits for presentation to the group. Try these scenarios: a first date, family night out, dinner at a friend's house, Friday night with the gang, parent-teen conflicts, a weekend slumber party, peer pressure at school, at a party, etc. Try This! Invite some parents or adults to your youth meeting. Beforehand, have them prepare a skit that is based on the lesson from an "older and wiser" perspective. You could also surprise a few parents during a "Parent Night" by picking them for a part in a spontaneous skit. Its amazing how crazy some of these parents actually are. Try This! Have your youth committee or student leaders organize and lead an evening Bible study. Help them choose a theme that incorporates a scripture lesson, skit and discussion topics. This could be a regularly scheduled responsibility of your youth committee, perhaps once a month. Try This! Start a cross-town or cross-country relationship with another church youth group via videotape. Plan an evening in which you will videotape the entire meeting. Include a greeting. Show your group playing one of their favorite games or activities. Videotape the Bible study and group discussion. Include a scripture reading, skit and discussion questions. Close in prayer and send the tape off to your sister church. When they get the tape they can have the same Bible study and discussion after watching the video. |