Games for Leaders of the Church

Icebreaker Games

• Encourage members of a new church leadership group to get to know each other through icebreaker games. When a new group of people come to know each other in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, they are able to bond more quickly and learn to communicate more effectively. An indoor scavenger hunt is an activity that will encourage people to work together and help them to develop communication skills. Hide items around the church facility and make a list of items that must be found. For small groups, allow everyone to work together as a team to locate items. If the group is large, divide the group into two or more teams.

  Another effective icebreaker is a game called, "Two Truths and a Lie." Each participant says three things about himself, but only two of them are true. Other players try to decipher which statement is the lie. This game can segue into a discussion on morality and lying.

Team Building Games

• Teamwork is important in Christian leadership. Use teamwork games to build a camaraderie and bond members of a leadership team, committee or missions team.

  Have leaders stand in a circle. Hand a ball of string to one person in line and ask her to tell a little about herself. Have her hold the end of the string and pass the ball to the next person who must also tell a little about himself. Only the person holding the ball is allowed to talk. When the ball has made it all the way around the circle, the leader of the group can reinforce to the group that they are all now "connected" and that the actions and words of one person will affect the rest of the group.

  Another team activity is to give each member words of encouragement. Have each member write his name on the top of a piece of paper and then pass the paper one person to the right. Each person has 30 seconds to write a positive thing about the person whose name is on the paper before passing it to another person to write on the paper as well. If the group does not know each other well enough to write about positive traits, have them write encouraging scripture verses or phrases.

Evangelism Games

• One of the main roles of church leaders is evangelism. Use role playing games to practice sharing the faith. Have leaders come forward in pairs. Let one person practice witnessing to the other. Reverse the roles and let the other person try witnessing. Give the players different roles to play -- one is a student, another is an old man -- and different situations, such as being in a laundromat or at the grocery store.

  Another game about evangelism shows how witnessing to even one person can make an impact. The leader says "Jesus loves you" to two people and hands each of them a handful of plastic beads, which represent the gospel. Those two people each say "Jesus loves you" to two more people each, keep one bead and divide the remaining beads into two handfuls, giving one to each person. This goes on until everyone has been reached. This illustrates how sharing the Gospel with one or two people can multiply and make a real difference in the world.

Other Games for Leaders of the Church

• Other church leadership games help reinforce biblical knowledge. Engage leaders in a game of Bible trivia. Let the leaders play individually or play in pairs or teams. Bible crossword puzzles or word finds are good filler games to have in case there a class or meeting runs short.

  Encourage leaders of a church to support each other in prayer. Put everyone's name in a bowl. Each person draws a name out of the bowl. The person who draws the name must agree to pray for the person he draws. The game can be played at every meeting.