YouthESource

Game: How Much is That?

Stewardship has been on my mind lately. Our church, and I’m sure many churches, has kicked off a short series regarding giving. Additionally, I have been participating in a six-week food drive benefiting our local food pantry. With every charity-benefiting athletic event I participate in, every fundraiser meal I partake in, and every knock on my door from a youth with a wagon and a commodity, the idea of giving and stewardship is constantly on my mind. The ideas following can be used to begin discussions of serving and stewardship within your group, or they can be used as stand-alone, fun ideas:
Type/Purpose: Miscellaneous

Materials:

  • Loose change
  • Cups, jars, etc. to hold the change

Set-Up: Divide the participants into groups of 3, and give each group a container of change.

Play:

  • Ask each player to reach into the container of change, grab 4 coins, and hold them tight. When you say “go,” they are to dump their coins in the middle of their small group, and whoever can correctly add all the change together and shout it out wins the round.
  • Play a few rounds, then rotate groups.

Extra Ideas:

  • Do this in partners, and go best of 5 rounds, then have a “How Much is That?” tournament.
  • Have participants grab only 1 or 2 coins, or in contrast, have them grab a big handful.
  • After small groups have played a few rounds, have them merge with another group, so that they are in groups of 6, then merge to groups of 12, etc. until you have one large group.
  • Have participants grab change, then, upon dumping, yell only a certain denomination for them to count (such as quarters, pennies, half dollars, etc.)

Published October 27, 2011

About the author

Sean Cramer graduated as a DCE from Concordia University, River Forest and served as a Program Assistant/Associate at Camp Lone Star in La Grange, TX. After moving back to his hometown near Rockford, IL, Sean currently works with Developmentally Disabled individuals. Aside from awaiting a Call in professional ministry again, Sean enjoys volunteering, reading, playing games, exercising and observing his dog be absolutely resistant to any new tricks.
View more from Sean

Related Resources

Engaging New Icebreaker Games

Engaging New Icebreaker Games

It can be important to have icebreaker games as a way to get your youth building community and encouraging joy together with your youth. This can be particularly true after Covid. Here are some encouragements and ideas for icebreakers.

Emotional Jug: A Listening Interaction for Youth

Emotional Jug: A Listening Interaction for Youth

Many teens spend time interacting with friends over the internet, and that can lead to feeling nervous our unsure about face to face interactions. In the same way, they may not feel like youth ministry is a place where they can be honest and share their thoughts and feelings. This activity helps you to practice having healthy discussions about their lives and feelings within the Christian community that can offer both Law and Gospel with a sense of warmth, challenge, and grace.

Balance of Play in Youth Ministry

Balance of Play in Youth Ministry

Healthy youth ministry should strike a balance between developmentally appropriate activities, time to build relationships, and study of God’s Word, prayer, and other spiritual practices. This article considers some of the important balances a healthy youth ministry needs to strike when it comes to play!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

How do I know if our youth ministry program is healthy and properly caring for our teens?

Discover how you can enhance your youth ministry and serve the youth in your church with Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry.

Share This