Gifts to Serve Game

This past weekend we had a 7th grade confirmation retreat.  As part of this event, we spent some talking about the marks of discipleship, including service.  To get students thinking creatively about ways they might use their gifts to serve the church, I created a game called Gifts to Serve.  You may recognize the format follows a popular fruit to fruit game. 

Here's how it works.  I created green cards with service opportunities using the pdf you will find below.  I tried to keep them fairly generic so they can be used by a variety of contexts.  If any don't fit your context, feel free to toss them out.  

I then made a big stack of red cards, enough for each student to have 5 each.  As a group, brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe people and gifts they might have.  Things like loud, tall, young, funny, musical, coordinated, organized, smart, etc.  I encouraged them to not go negative, but honestly a couple on the slightly negative side did make for comical pairings.  

In groups of 5-10, have one person be designated at the judge for that round and select a green service card.  Each student chooses a red "gifts" card of theirs to pair with the green "service" card and tosses it into a pile face down.  After all red cards are laid, the judge flips the red cards over and picks the pairing they like best.  They might pick a funny one, a serious one, or the one that is the most unlikely.  It us up to the judge!  The person who laid the selected red card, keeps the green card.  The laid red cards are mixed up and redistributed at random to the players.  The round 1 winner becomes the round 2 judge and play continues!

Get the PDF of game cards here!

I hope you have as much fun with the game as we did.  We are already looking forward to playing it again.

Martin Luther Game

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we are doing a rotation unit on Martin Luther for Sunday School.  Here is the lesson plan I created for our games rotation.  I hope it can be helpful to some.  I'd love to hear how it worked for you if you use it at all.

Bible Zone-Games Rotation

Main Goal – The students will read a book and play a game to get a good overview of the life of Martin Luther

Prayer

Begin with this or a similar prayer – “Dear God, thank you for your Word, which we have come to study this morning. We thank you for people of all times and places who are willing to stand up and preach the good news of your love for us. Help us to learn more about the Reformation during our class today. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.”

Story

The story for today will be presented by reading the book, MartinLuther: A Man Who Changed the World by Paul Maier. The story will be read in segments as they students play along with the accompanying game.

Lesson

Print the game board, laminate strips and lay out the board (in numbered order, but arrangement you like).  Have the class work as one team, but allow them to take turns navigating the Martin Luther Playmobil figure to move along the game board.  Begin by rolling a die with the options of 1 2 or 3 only.  (Create one by taping over the sides of existing die.  Consider using a large version.  For extra interest use printed out LutherRose seals in lieu of dots.)  When Luther lands on a square with words, read the square aloud and move the figure accordingly.  Each time Luther lands on a “Story Square” read the accompanying pages in the book, Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World Iand.   After reading the listed page(s), re-roll the die to resume play. 

Wrap-up

When the students have finished the game, discuss what they learned, found surprising, etc.   Review the pages of the books, looking at the illustrations to guide you.

Closing

Close with a prayer thanking God for sending brave people who will preach God’s message of love even when it is difficult for them.