Youth Group Game: Summer Slam
If you’re looking for a fun summer game for your youth ministry, you’ve hit the jackpot!
This crazy game involves water, dodgeball and pool noodles.
Play it just for fun or use the lesson that goes with it on “How to Treat Others” based on Philippians 2:1-4.
Hope you have a great summer!
– Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Youth
Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the…
SET APART – New 4-week youth ministry series about being holy (or set apart) in order to identify with God and live differently than those around us.
Youth Group Game – Summer Slam
Topic: How to Treat Others
Bible: Philippians 2:1-4
Use this free summer game in your youth group, youth ministry or sunday school. It’s perfect for a summer event or youth camp.
Supplies:
- 2 kiddie pools or very large containers to hold water
- 8 five gallon buckets
- 20 pieces of pool noodles that are cut to 2 feet long each
- Colored tape or markers to mark buckets
- 4-6 dodgeballs
Note: Supplies are adequate for about 30-40 students. If you have a larger group, then additional supplies will be needed.
Directions:
- Divide students into 4 equal teams with 8-10 players in each team. If you have more than 40 students, break into more than four groups.
- Fill the pool noodles with water and place them in the pools.
- Mark the eight buckets with four different colors – two buckets with each color.
- Assign colors to each team.
- Place buckets in a line about 20-30 feet across from the pool. You want them to be far enough away so students will have to run to them.
- Make sure no team’s two buckets are directly next to each other in the line.
- On go teams will send one member at a time down to the kiddie pool to grab a noodle filled with water.
- They can only use their hands to hold the water in the noodle.
- Once they reach the buckets they need to dump the water into another team’s bucket.
- As players are running to fill up the buckets with water, have leaders (or other students) throw dodgeballs at them. If hit, they have to empty the water in their noodle, fill it up again, and dump it into another team’s bucket.
- Once they return the noodle to the pool, another team member can grab a noodle and go.
- Once both buckets from a team are filled they are out.
- Continue playing until only one team has one or more unfilled bucket and wins.
After the game, say: Wow, wow, wow was that crazy. You all looked like you were having a great time, well until both your buckets got filled to the top. To the winning team congratulations and great job. As I was watching you all run around and fill each other’s buckets, I began to think about a book you may have read before. It is called – Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
The concept is really easy. Wwe all have this imaginary bucket of feelings we carry around with us. When the bucket is full we are happy and feel great. When the bucket is empty we are sad and depressed. Where other people come into play is we all can have an effect on other people’s buckets. When we say something nice or do something for someone we are helping fill his or her bucket. We become bucket fillers. But when we talk about people, make fun of others, pick on people, and just do mean things we are emptying their bucket. We become bucket dippers.
Ask:
- What does it look like in your lives to be a bucket dipper?
- How do you respond when someone is dipping your bucket?
- Do you think you are a bucket dipper?
- What are things you do to fill people’s buckets?
- Is there anyone you know that is a great bucket filler?
- Are there things you need to do to be a better filler?
Say: It can be a great feeling when we do something to make someone happy. And the opposite is true when we do something to make someone sad. When we do things for God we make Him happy, and He is smiling as we are filling His bucket. When we sin we are dipping His bucket and making Him sad. So what do we have to do to stop being God’s bucket dipper? By having a Christ-like attitude.
Read Philippians 2:1-4:
“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
You see in the game you worked hard to fill the buckets to win the game. Do the same in your life; work hard at filling God’s bucket. Live by these verses and watch how much God’s bucket overflows with love and joy in your lives.
Close in prayer.
Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the…
SET APART – New 4-week youth ministry series about being holy (or set apart) in order to identify with God and live differently than those around us.
Want another free game? Check out this…
2 Replies to “Youth Group Game: Summer Slam”
Nick Diliberto
Sorry for late response on this. They can stand a few feet from where students are running. Enjoy!
Jim Burt
An alternate game for a small Sunday School class would be to divide group into small teams. Give each team a small empty cup. Have a large cup or pitcher of water capable of filling all the cups. Give each person a straw. The team to fill their cup up first using only the straw wins. A person can only put their finger over the end of the straw to transfer water and cannot use their mouth. The teams can take water from the main cup or one of the other team cups. It takes a little strategy but is a lot of fun.