Enlistment Tag

Friday: Enlistment Tag
Elementary Lesson: Prayer Warrior: We should be praying; prayer is effective. (Peter in prison)
Memory Verse: 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18
Preschool Lesson: Peter in Prison: God answers prayer.
Age Groups:
  • elementary
  • teens
Equipment Needed:
  • rope
Instructions:
You start out with one Recruitment Officer, who must attempt to enlist/conscript others by tagging them. The Recruitment Officer has a rope. When tagged, each person must grab hold of the rope (along with the Recruitment Officer and everyone else who has been recruited), and help to enlist others.
If everyone is enlisted while there's still a lot of time, start over with a new Recruitment Officer.

Hiding from the Bad King

Thursday: Hiding from the Bad King
Preschool Bible Lesson: The Blind Army: God is very powerful. There is none like him.
Age Groups:
  • preschool
Equipment Needed:
  • crown for the king
Instructions:
One adult will play Elisha, and the other will play the bad King of Aram. (Give the king a crown so the children can identify him.) The children will play the Israelites, and the bad King of Aram wants to attack them, but Elisha will keep telling the Israelites where the King of Aram is going to be, so that they can go somewhere else and avoid the bad king.
(So, for instance, the Elisha adult might say, The Bad King of Aram is going to look for us over by the tree. Let's all run over by the shed and get away from him!) The King of Aram should pretend he doesn't see the children and always go where Elisha said he was going to go.

CTF Wargame, Teen Version

Thursday: CTF Wargame
Bible Lesson: Good Soldier: We should endure the world's contempt when living our faith and when sharing our faith.
Memory Verse: Romans 1:16
Age Groups:
Equipment Needed:
  • flags or icons for each team
Overview:
Divide the teens into two teams. Each team's objective is to retrieve the other team's flag/icon/thing while keeping their own secure.
Rules:
  1. The field is divided into six sections, somewhat resembling a football field with endzones. Each team has a jail (in the back, furthest away from the other team's area), a flag zone (in front of the jail), and a main territory (adjascent to the other team's territory). The territory should be the largest area.
  2. Each team has one flag or icon, which is placed initially at the back center of the flag zone.
  3. Team members are forbidden to go into their own flag zone (except briefly to return their flag to its designated starting place if it has been stolen and recaptured) or their own jail.
  4. Team members are safe in their own territory, but in the other team's territory may be tagged by any member of the other team. Tagging must be done one-handed below the neck. When tagged, they must go stand in the other team's jail until tagged for rescue by one of their own team members. If tagged carrying the flag, they must surrender it to be returned to its original position, in addition to going to jail.
  5. When people in jail are tagged for rescue, they get safe passage to their own side but must return to their own side before they can touch the flag. (The person who tags them does not receive safe passage but is likewise not required to return to his own side.)
  6. First team to get the other team's flag back to their side wins. If nobody wins before time expires, the games leader will declare a draw.

CTF Wargame

Thursday: CTF Wargame
Bible Lesson: Good Soldier: We should endure the world's contempt when living our faith and when sharing our faith.
Memory Verse: Romans 1:16
Age Groups:
Equipment Needed:
  • flags or icons for each team
Overview:
Divide the children into two teams. Each team's objective is to retrieve the other team's flag/icon/thing while keeping their own secure.
Rules:
  1. The field is divided into four sections, resembling a football field with endzones. Each team has a flag zone (in the back, away from the other team's area) and a main territory (adjascent to the other team's territory). The territory should be the largest area. The flag zone should be along the whole end, like a football endzone.
  2. Each team has one flag or icon, which is placed initially at the back center of the flag zone.
  3. Team members are forbidden to go into their own flag zone. They can only guard the front edge of it.
  4. Team members are safe in their own territory, but in the other team's territory may be tagged by any member of the other team. Tagging must be done one-handed below the neck. When tagged, they must go stand in jail outside the playing area with the game leader. If at any point most of both teams are in jail, the game leader may release everyone to return to play.
  5. If someone is tagged while carrying the flag, the games leader will return the flag to its starting position.
  6. First team to get the other team's flag back to their side wins.
  7. If nobody wins before time expires, the games leader will declare a draw.

Soldiers' Relay

Wednesday: Soldiers' Relay
Elementary Lesson: Armor of God / Temptation of Jesus: Temptations should be resisted using God's word and the armor of God, not human reasoning.
Memory Verse: Ephesians 6:11
Preschool Lesson: David and Goliath: We should trust in God.
Age Groups:
  • elementary
  • preschool
  • teens
Equipment Needed:
  • Various articles of soldier clothing and gear (in pairs: for each item you need two, one for each team). Much of this can probably be borrowed. Ideas for stuff to use include canteen, plastic sword, shield, pack, (fake) IR goggles, breastplate, helmet, greaves, plastic firearm, compass, large boots, heavy belt, toy grenades, oversize cargo pants, ...
Instructions:
Divide the children into two teams. (You can use the red/blue teams if they are pretty even.) Explain to the children what marching is, and how it's different from running.
Each team member in turn must don all the soldier stuff (or items like swords and such may just be carried), march down to a designated spot, go around the chair/pole/tree/whatever, march back, and take off all the soldier stuff so the next team member can do the same thing.
The preschool can do the soldier dress-up relay but need simpler (or less) gear to wear/carry.
TThe teens can do the soldier dress-up relay, but you may need to complicate it with additional gear, a heavier pack, specific ways to carry things, cadence to recite, stricter enforcement of marching style, water balloon grenades to throw at a target, calisthenics to perform, or cetera.