Bible Games to Play in Church

Serpents and Pyramids

• Create a game board modeled on the popular “Chutes and Ladders” board game. This game is a way for a small Sunday-school class to learn the order of a bible story while adding an element of game-play to keep their attention. You&'ll need a pair of dice, a game board, index cards and game pieces. To make the board, use a piece of cardboard, poster board or any other material of suitable size. Look at a "Chutes and Ladders" board for a model and draw out your board in a similar fashion. In the places where a picture of a chute or ladder appears, draw a serpent or a pyramid instead, to make a bible theme. The serpent is like the chute, and players slide down when they land on it. The pyramid is like the ladder and players climb up. Make the game pieces that will mark a player&'s spot, in different biblical-themed shapes from modeling clay. On each index card, place one verse from the same bible story. Try to choose a bible story that is at least 12 verses or more. Shuffle the index cards and at the beginning of the game, draw one and place it face-up above the game board.

  To play, one player starts by rolling the dice and advances the number of spaces he rolled. If he lands on a serpent or pyramid space, he slides up or climbs down to the space above or below. Any time a serpent or pyramid space is landed on, one of the index cards is drawn. The player picks a card and places it in the correct order with the other verses already drawn. Whoever reaches the end of the game board first is the winner.

Bible Charades

• Bible charades can be an amusing game to play for a change of pace with your adult bible-study group, teen youth group or Sunday-school class. Have a trunk full of costumes and props at hand. Write on individual strips of paper the names of bible characters or events that can easily be acted out. Place the names in a hat. Each person draws a name, gets a minute to look through the props and costumes, and acts out what is on the paper. Whoever guesses correctly gets to act next.

Bible Drawing Game

• A bible drawing game is an easy one to create and doesn’t require many supplies. You’ll need a watch or timer, list of cards with bible verses, characters and objects that are easy to draw, and a place to draw. If your church classrooms don’t have chalk or dry-erase boards, a large drawing pad on an easel works well. Divide into teams of two. The team that goes first picks a card. One person on the team draws the object while the other guesses what it is. A one-minute time-limit is enforced. If the teammate successfully guesses the drawing, the team gets one point. The team at the end of the game who has the most points wins.

Bible Clues

• Make a set of cards with a list of clues about a bible character on each card. Number the clues from one to five. Each clue gets progressively easier. To play, each person takes turns reading a card while the other players guess. Whoever guesses correctly gets to keep the card. The person with the most cards at the end wins. This game could be played by a Sunday-school class or creatively incorporated into a pastor’s sermon to tests the congregation’s bible knowledge.