A Celebration - The Ten-Foot Ice Cream Sundae

I read somewhere that every youth pastor should keep a journal of how their activities went. I have yet to do it, but here is a recap of our activity from August 25, 2012. We built a Ten-Foot Ice Cream Sundae and the students had a blast.

We began the activity with some social time. After getting everyone settled, we watched two videos. The first was for a new series we will be doing in Awakening (our youth group service) called "Life in 6 Words." This series is a break down of the gospel and is designed to help students learn to share their faith. The second video was a promo for See You At The Pole. My prayer is that we will have a large number of students from our church participate and I am pushing it as much as I can.

After watching the videos, I spoke for a few minutes, using Acts 17:26 as my text. It is my desire for my students to see school as a mission field and I urged them to understand that, based on that verse, God chose this time and this place for them to live because of the awesome plan He has for them.

While we were watching and talking, the adult leaders were putting out the ice cream. I purchased a rain gutter from Home Depot and five gallons of ice cream from Wal-Mart. The leaders filled the gutter with the ice cream and the students then put toppings on the ice cream. Everyone then grabbed a spoon and dug in. Some students used chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and lots of cherries. One student brought bacon bits, but we gave him his own bowl.

Overall, I think the event was a success. We had about 20 students participate, including 11 of our students, 7 visitors (some unchurched, some from other churches), and 2 graduates saying goodbye to the student ministry program. I shared the gospel and will continue to pray that hearts are changed. I am looking forward to doing this event again in the future.

Here is a picture of the aftermath of the ice cream when all of the students were finished eating.

Youth Ministry Games - Mystery Meat

To be honest, this game has absolutely nothing to do with the delicious canned meat product known as Spam. I just used the picture to get your attention. Clever, huh?

Mystery Meat is actually a game designed to get your students up and moving around. The goal is to have all of your students find their partners as quickly as possible.

Here are the items you will need in order to get the game going:

• Note cards
• A black marker
• Tape

On the note cards, write the name of a fast-food restaurant (McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, Burger King, etc.) and an item that is specifically found at that restaurant on another card. For example, one pair might be McDonald's and Big Mac or Chick-Fil-A and waffle fries.

Have the students line up and tape a card to each student's back. When the signal is given, students may walk around and ask Yes or No questions about their cards, but they may not look at the cards. Questions can include, "Am I served on bread?", "Am I opened on Sundays?", or "Am I made of beef?".

Continue the game until all pairs have been matched.

Youth Ministry Games - Blind Pudding Cup Challenge

When I was in college, I remember the campus pastor telling a story about a youth group game that he did where he blindfolded some students and had them feed bananas to each other. There was a serious point to the story, but I don't really remember what it was. Anyway, that story gave the idea for a great game. It is called the Blind Pudding Cup Challenge.

Here is what is needed for each team:

• Two players
• A chocolate pudding cup (other flavors can be used)
• A plastic spoon
• A blindfold

The players line up front to back. The student in the back puts his arms through the student in the front's arms. The student in the back is then blindfolded and handed a cup of pudding and a spoon. When the signal is given to begin, the student in the back must use the spoon to feed the pudding to the student in the front. Hilarity will ensue when the pudding ends up everywhere but inside the front student's mouth.

It might be a good idea to provide the students with aprons or shirts to keep their clothes from getting covered.

Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night Video

Our youth group will be hosting a Spirit Night at the local Chick-Fil-A in Ranson, West Virginia. The agreement that we worked out with the manager is for us to receive 15% of the money that comes in during our time. I believe this is a pretty standard policy. It is a great way for us to earn some money for our youth group without having to do a ton of work. We get to have a delicious dinner and enjoy each other's company while earning money. Our plan is to use the funds to help defray some of the costs of the summer's activities.

In order to promote the Spirit Night, one of my leaders, her daughters, and I shot a video. I need to give props to my friend Josh Evans for the idea of the video. We shot the video on my camcorder. I then took the footage and edited on Windows Movie Maker Live and added a few features.

You can watch the video below.

The Eight-Foot Ice Cream Sundae

One of the youth activities that I have done in the past and hope to do again in the future is the Eight-foot Ice Cream Sundae. With such an intriguing title, you are guaranteed to have a large number of students who want to participate.

To begin, you will need an eight foot piece of a rain gutter. Be sure to wash it out because even though there has never been any leaves or rain in it, there may be dirt and dust from the hardware store. Next, find a table big enough to support the rain gutter or you can use saw horses if you have them.

Begin to make your sundae by filling the length of the trough with scoops of ice cream. In the past, we chose to use Neapolitan ice cream (the vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry kind) because this gives all of the students a choice. After putting in the ice cream, we placed sliced bananas along the sides of the trough and covered the ice cream and bananas with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. The final step is to put on the cherries and the sprinkles. We stay away from peanuts because so many students have peanut allergies that they are best avoided.

When it comes time to eat, each student is given a spoon and told to find a place around the trough. We saved a spot at one end for those students who did not like the idea of the "community" bowl. This way there was a place to scoop ice cream out for the bowls. Otherwise, the students just dug in and helped themselves.

Like I said above, the idea of eating an eight-foot ice cream sundae can be a real draw for students. It is a great activity, lots of fun, and an easy way to have your regular students invite their friends to a ministry event.

What is the craziest food event you've done with your youth ministry?