Church youth icebreaker games

On the count of 3, everyone grabs a shoe from the pile that is not theirs. Then they have to try and find out who the shoe belongs to, but they don't return it yet.

To do this, they have to find out three things about the person. Once everyone has found out who their shoe belongs to, have them sit in a circle. Go around the room and have each person say who's shoe they had, and three things about that person.

To get this one rolling, you will need the names of famous people on individual name tags. Make sure that you pick people that the group will know. Then explain that they will have to go around the room asking people yes or no questions to help them figure out who they are. Once they figure out who they are, they can take off their name tag.

The game ends when everyone has had a chance to answer some a few questions. This is a fun one and is good for larger groups. Gather some interesting facts about the participants and makes a bingo sheet, 5 rows across and 5 rows down. In each square except the center one write an interesting fact about someone. Make copies for everyone, count to 3, and let them go around and find out who matches each square. This game requires a little bit of thinking, but it's easy, fun, and you can really find out a lot about the players.

That person will say 2 true things about themselves and one thing that isn't true. The group then has to guess which one is the fake one. This game works well for larger groups of people that don't know each other. It would work well for a new youth group leader too.

To start, put the blanket on the floor and divide the kids into two groups. Have half of them sit on one side of the blanket and half on the other. Take some time for everyone to introduce themselves and tell the group a little something about them.

Then one group at a time, have them cover themselves with blanket and decide, without making any noise, who should leave the blanket first. The chosen one stands up that the group that wasn't under the blanket tries to remember that person's name. The person who was named then sits out the rest of the game. It continues until everyone has been named. Just like it sounds, this is a team building game where participants really have to break the ice.

Get a few old big t-shirts and some bowls that are all the same size. Put a shirt in each bowl and fill with water. Then freeze the bowls. Having everyone start at the same time, have the groups figure out how to get the shirts out of the ice.

The kids will be getting to know each other in no time as they try to figure out what to do. Form two circles of chairs, one circle inside the other, with the chairs facing each other. Have participants pair up and sit across from each other. Give them a question that they both have to answer. Once they are done, have the students on the inside ring move one chair to the left and the ones on the outside ring move one chair to the right. Ask another question. Repeat as long as you want to play, asking different questions along the way.

This game is simple but effective, and a lot like "Would You Rather". The main difference is that instead of longer questions, "This or That" is simple one word options. The youth are given sticky notes and a pen and are instructed to write down 3 facts about themselves, without writing down their names on the paper. The papers get collected and posted on a wall. Then a volunteer gets the ball rolling by going up to the board, choosing one of the notes not their own , and reading out the facts.

The group then tries to figure out who the person is. The first one to guess correctly as long as it isn't their own gets to choose the next note. This game is a good conversation starter and kids find out a lot of interesting information about each other. Designed to get kids talking, this one is good for older kids, but can easily get out of hand depending on the dynamics of the group. This is probably my all-time favorite small-group get to know you game.

I highly recommend this get-to-know-you icebreaker game! It also gets kids moving and mingling. Bonus: This game is a good way to form random groups or pairs at the end of the game. Players are moving to different seats and sitting next to different people throughout the game. What other get to know you games do you enjoy playing in your youth group? Share ideas in the comments below!

This article originally appeared here. Store Subscribe. Sign in. Forgot your password? At once the victim must place their card on their forehead and remain silent and cannot talk the rest of the round. If they both correctly identify the killer the killer is out, and a new round begins.

However if the youth with hands raised both say two different names even if one of the names is the killer they are both out and the game continues until the killer is correctly identified or everyone is dead. Also, the game will not work if someone pretends to be the killer hen they are not! Instructions: Youth assemble in a circle and pass an imaginary ball around the circle. Detailed instructions found here.

Particpants needed: 6 or more. Instructions: Have the youth group form a circle around the youth leader. Continue around the circle trying to trip up the youth until only one remains!

Divide the youth group into two groups on opposite sides of the room and line up in order. Call the first participants and give them the thing they will act out, instructing them that they cannot talk. They run back to their group to act out their selection, and as soon as someone guesses, the next in line runs up to get their new thing to act out. This continues until the list of ten items has been completed. Instructions: Have youth come up with an acronym for their initials, then share it with the group.

Supplies: 12 sheets of paper for each month of the year, optional small prizes like fun-size candy. Instructions: Assemble in a room that has enough space and place the pieces of paper with each month of the year throughout the room. Have the youth assemble and tell them to go to the month they were born and write down their birthday and stay in their month groups. At this point, you can ask questions to the entire room to interact with the groups.

It will require a little interaction to get the youth to answer questions. You can award prizes optional to students who can best fulfill the roles of the questions. Instructions: Have each youth use their phone to look up what national day their birthday is and have them share with the group. There are fun days observed on every day of the year. You can find a link to all the national days here. Instructions: Split the youth group into two teams and have each youth write down anonymously facts about themselves, things most people do not know.

The groups have to try to guess who each list belongs to. The winning group is the one who guessed correctly the most. Instructions: Have each member of the youth group come up with a biography for their life using only 10 words. Once finished, have them share with the group. Instructions: Have youth get into pairs and give them a moment to observe each other. Then tell everyone to turn around, to not face their partner, and have them make 3 changes to their appearance.

For example, they might roll up their sleeves, or pull their hair down, or remove an earring or take off shoes. Then when they turn to face their partner, they both must identify the differences. Instructions: Have youth form in lines of 5 people. Each line is racing against the others to be the first to accomplish various tasks.

The leader will ask different questions for each round, like:. Instructions: Quietly or silently give each youth a number between 5 and Tell the youth group they cannot speak, but they must form a numerical line in order and must find silent, creative ways to express their number without writing.

For example, they can tap out their number, making minimal noise. Instructions: Have each youth think of a destination they have traveled to. Next, they have to come with with three clues to present to the whole youth group for where they have been while everyone tries to guess.

Instructions: Have the youth break off into smaller groups. Give each group a piece of paper and a pen. Tell them they can only have 5 things on a deserted island, what will they be? They must agree as a group. Once finished have them present their options to the group and why they chose each item. Instructions: Have the youth group break into groups of three. The task of each group is to find 5 things in common besides obvious things like gender and age. Give them minutes to do so and when everyone is done have all the groups share their findings with the rest of the youth group.

Instructions: Have the youth group assemble in a circle. Next, they go through the alphabet assigning a different food to each letter. Have the pairs interview each other with the following questions. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of new posts by email.