If you’ve talked to me more than three seconds, you’d know that I like sharing ideas. Actually, that’s not being very honest.

I LOVE SHARING IDEAS.

In fact, I was on a short skype call this morning with a youth pastor that I meet in Oklahoma last week. Part of the deal was, we can talk about wufoo (an online form system we use) for a few minutes, IF you share your best crowd game with me.

Deal.

I told him what I would be doing tonight. A great game we played at the Middle School Ministry Camference called Ping Pong Palooza.
The way Kurt explained it to me, and the way we played it goes like this…

Everyone gets a ping pong ball. Everyone writes their name on the ball with a sharpie (first and last). There’s a bullseye drawn on paper on the stage or at the front of the room. On the leader’s count, everyone aims for the bullseye and tosses their ball. Closest to the pin wins (you can use a pin if you want or a sharpie marked circle on paper–we went with the paper). The closest three participants get to line up, put the ping pong balls in their mouths, for a one at a time launch to see who is closest. Prizes are lavished on both winners.

Brett Armstrong works at a church named after one of my favorite cars–Mustang Nazarene (how cool is that?) and he shared this epic crowd game with me. Some of the best games we know came from coaches, team building experienced, campy types of people. This is one of those–learned from a basketball coach at a camp he attended as a kid.

It’s called:

FOLLOW ME

Put your phones away-we’re not talking twitter. It’s a game where you ask your students to ACTUALLY follow you.

Here’s what you do (according to the mustang nazarene rule book).

Leader explains:

I’m going to do one of three things. You follow me in everything I do, except for one thing.
If I clap. You clap after me.
If I raise my right hand, you raise yours.
If I put my right hand down. You put yours down.
If I put my left hand up. YOU DO NOTHING.
Got it?

You clap. They clap.
If they clap late, they’re out.
If you put your right hand up and tell them to put it down (while your hand is still raised) and they follow you. They’re out.
If you put up your left hand and they put up their left hand (the only exception). They’re out.
If you turn around and put up your left hand (giving some the indication it’s your right hand) and they follow you. They’re out.
You can also pretend to start clapping but stop short. If they clap when you didn’t…they’re out.
Keep playing until you get down to one.

I’m thinking this game will require some practice on my part. But I’m sure it’s going to go over great. I can’t wait to have fun with the students tonight. Maybe you needed a game like this just in time! Go for it and let Brett know how it worked for you.

We love our jobs. It shows when we can play and pray in ways that are creative and memorable. Keep sharing the ideas and have fun tonight peeps.

Game on.