05
Games without rules
Set up two goals and provide a soft ball. Tell the group that the object is to score as many goals as possible, throw the ball in and shout go. It won’t be long before someone asks for the rules or claims that people are cheating. Say that it’s impossible to cheat as there are no rules. Stop the game before it breaks down completely and ask what went wrong. With no rules it might be dangerous, weaker players get left out and it becomes boring.
Get the young people to consider: — What rules would they introduce to this game? God’s Rules – Whilst they were in the Desert, God gave the Israelites rules (Ten Commandments) as guidance to live by. — Do the Ten Commandments still apply today? — How hard is it to obey God’s rules?
DISCOVER RESOURCE
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06
Who Would Be Your Leader? Moses was a great leader; this activity is all about getting the young people to think about the role and qualities of a leader. Give each young person a piece of paper and a pen. Explain that everyone needs to imagine that they are taking part in a variety of expeditions – for each expedition they can choose one famous person to be their leader and one person who is present in the room as they do the activity to also be their leader. They are only allowed to use each person once (famous and friend), so they must think carefully who would be best for each of the following:
Across the polar ice caps
Across London using the Underground
Across the Sahara desert
Through the tropical rain forest
Around a new school or college
Disney World
Share their answers and comment positively on the choices they made within their own peer group.
The Answer’s Out There
For this issue we asked the following... “We’ve been running a successful Company Camp for as many years as we can remember, but have gradually been seeing numbers dropping. A few years ago we started going to camp with other Companies, but even that is now a struggle. We don’t want to not have a Summer Camp, but equally realise it’s not working. We’ve started to consider what else we can do, invite more Companies, lower age to incorporate Junior Section, etc. Has anyone else experienced similar issues and found a solution?”
In response to this a number of leaders have shared their thoughts.
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“Think strategic. If there is no likelihood of numbers increasing - you could of invite BB Companies from further afield. However our work is relational. So if we invite YP from miles away and the next time we will see them is the same time next year - then if we are seeking to be relational in our work - is that the best way to do things. Maybe we should partner with other Christian youth work. So are there Youth Groups who are on the same page as you locally? You could partner with them - but also continue partnering going forward over the year.”
“Historically, most if not all the Boys looked forward to camp. However over the past few years, we experienced a downturn in numbers. This got us looking at reasons - who better to ask than the boys. Up until then, we operated a traditional camp usually based in a farmer’s field with basic facilities including dry toilets, outside wash basins and whose previous occupants were invariably herds of cows. The consensus of opinion was that they are used to regular showers, proper toilets, dish washers, electricity etc. We looked at what we could do to meet some of the boys’ aspirations. We looked for a campsite with more acceptable facilities. This looked more like “glamping” than camping, but we had eleven attend camp last year, opposed to six the previous year. I am happy to report that we have twenty attending camp this year. Happy Camping!”
Richard Barker, 2nd Bournemouth
Walter Williamson MBE, 2nd Bo’ness