Youth Ministry Curriculum and Resources

It’s fall, it’s wild, and it’s time to squad up! Squads – Fall Edition is the ultimate autumn showdown where students have to think fast, move faster, and act their hearts out. Each round, the screen shows three different fall-themed activities like “3 jumping in leaves,” “2 trick-or-treating,” or “4 sitting by the campfire.” Students must quickly form a group with the correct number of people and act out the chosen activity. But here’s the twist—only one of those combos will be eliminated each round. If your group picked the eliminated one… you’re out! Whether you’re pretending to roast marshmallows or diving into invisible leaf piles, this game is full of laughs, energy, and fall vibes.

How to Play:
Split everyone into one big group. When a round begins, show the screen with three different activities and group sizes. Students must quickly form a group of the exact number listed and act out one of the options. After about 10 seconds, reveal which group/activity is eliminated. Any student who chose that combo is out! Keep playing until only a few remain—and crown the last ones standing as the fall squad champions!

Batter up! Total Survival – MLB Edition is the ultimate baseball showdown where your only tools are your gut, your game sense, and your ability to guess higher or lower. From insane home run totals to unbelievable strikeout stats, you’ll see one number at a time and have to decide if the next one is higher or lower. Guess wrong and you’re out. Guess right and survive to play another round. It’s fast, fun, and full of surprises—just like baseball itself!

How to Play:
Display an MLB-themed question on the screen with a number as the answer. For the next round, show a new question—but only the question, not the answer. Students must guess if the correct answer to the new question is higher or lowerthan the previous number. Students who think it’s higher move to the left side of the room; those who think it’s lower move to the right. After everyone chooses, reveal the correct number. Anyone who guessed wrong is out. Keep going until one student is left standing—or see who can survive the longest!

Welcome to Total Survival – College Football Edition, the gridiron guessing game where only the sharpest fans (or luckiest guessers) survive! Whether you're a college football fanatic or just here for the fun, this game will test your instincts as you try to figure out if each new stat is higher or lower than the last. From rushing yards to penalty flags, every round is a new challenge—and one wrong move will send you to the sidelines!

How to Play:
Start by showing a college football–themed question and reveal the number answer. Then display a new question—without the answer—and ask students to guess if the new number is higher or lower than the previous one. Students who think it's higher move to the left side of the room, and those who think it's lower move to the right. Once everyone picks a side, reveal the answer. If you guessed wrong, you're out! Keep playing new rounds until only one student remains—or see how many can survive the whole season!

You’ve seen them driving by—those clever, cringey, and downright confusing church signs that try to grab your attention. But can you tell the real ones from the fake? Show Me a Sign is the hilarious survival game where each round you’re shown a church sign phrase… and you have to decide if an actual church really put that on their marquee or if we made it up. Some are inspiring. Some are ridiculous. All of them will make you second-guess everything.


How to Play:
Show a phrase that may or may not have appeared on a real church sign. Students must guess if it's real or fake by moving to one side of the room—left for real, right for fake. Once everyone has picked a side, reveal the correct answer. Anyone who guessed incorrectly is out. Keep going with new phrases until only one player remains standing!

Get ready for a fast-paced, color-coded challenge that will test your instincts and knowledge! Primary Colors is the ultimate elimination game where every answer is either Red, Yellow, or Blue—but don't be fooled, it’s harder than it sounds. Contestants will dash to one of three sides of the room based on their answer, hoping they picked the right primary color. Think fast, move fast, and don’t get caught out!


How to Play:
Display a question on the screen where the answer is one of the three primary colors: Red, Yellow, or Blue. Players must quickly choose their answer by running to one of three predetermined zones—Left for Red, Middle for Yellow, and Right for Blue. Once everyone is in place, reveal the correct answer. Anyone in the wrong zone is out and sits down. The game continues with new questions until only one player remains standing. That person is crowned the Primary Colorschampion!

Students compete to name 10 iconic trios on the screen. They race to be the first to shout out their names correctly. This challenge inspires quick thinking and friendly rivalry. Whether it's cartoon characters or movie legends, identifying the trio fosters both memory and teamwork.

A scrambled word appears on the screen, and students race to unscramble it into its proper form. The first person to shout out the correct word wins the round and earns a point. Each word is harder than the last, keeping students engaged and on their toes!

A Spanish word appears on the screen along with four multiple-choice English translations for students to choose from. Players must think quickly and select the correct meaning. Each correct guess builds confidence and sharpens vocabulary skills in a fun, competitive way.

Test out your students geography knowledge with "FINISH LINE." The question slides with show a letter(s) and the goal is for the students to name at least 5 countries that END with that letter. Whether your students work in teams or as individuals, this game is great for building connections and introducing students to places they might not know!

See how well your students can name these baby animals. Students will race to give the correct name for the baby version of the animals shown. 

A scrambled word appears on the screen, and students race to unscramble it into its proper form. Each word is a name, place, or book in the Bible. The first person to shout out the correct word wins the round and earns a point. Each word tests player's Bible vocabulary, keeping students engaged and on their toes!

Random objects will appear on the screen. Students are racing to be the first to produce the items shown. Whether it's an item they may have brought for bible study, or a trusty waterbottle they never leave at home, these game keeps students engaged and energized.

Think you can spot a tall tale—or sell one? In Tell Me More, players spin wild stories or true confessions while their opponent asks for more to dig deeper, and then makes the ultimate call: real or made-up?

What if your favorite cartoons stepped out of the screen and into real life? In this game, you'll see real-life versions of beloved animated characters — and your job is to guess who they originally were! Can you recognize the cartoon behind the transformation? NAME THAT TOON!

Start a wild conversation as students hold up their fingers or move from one side of the room to the other to share how sad random situations in life would make them. Don’t worry, though – most of these aren’t heavy but rather frustrating circumstantially. It’s the perfect way to break the ice and engage your whole room as a mixer or a primer to a message on feelings!

Which celebrities grew up with parents who were in ministry? See if your group can guess at who comes from great roots. Vote thumbs up or thumbs down to show your answer!

In this edition of our “multi-views” series, the chapters are authored by a group of youth ministry thought leaders. We asked them two key questions: What are the problems youth ministry currently faces? And what is the pathway forward? Each chapter represents a thoughtful, practical, and challenging viewpoint. At the end of each chapter, there is a sidebar from an in-the-trenches youth worker whose ministry is currently living out the future the chapter’s writer foresees.

Halloween just got spooky competitive! Beat the Screen – Halloween Edition is a fast-paced twist on Rock, Paper, Scissors where everyone plays against the screen at once. Students will choose to act like a vampire, werewolf, or zombie — but only one will survive each round. It’s quick, it’s chaotic, and it will have your whole group howling with laughter!

How to Play

Have everyone stand up and face the screen. When the countdown ends, students must strike one of three poses: Vampire (arms up like a cape), Werewolf (hands as claws), or Zombie (arms out like a zombie). Then reveal the screen’s choice. Vampire beats Werewolf, Werewolf beats Zombie, and Zombie beats Vampire. Anyone who loses to the screen’s choice sits down — winners stay standing and play again. Keep going until only one player remains — they are the Halloween champion!

Imagine a school where Bigfoot made the attendance list and Frankenstein definitely ran for prom king!

This is that Monster High School Yearbook, and your group gets to vote on each creature's ridiculous "Most likely to...." superlatives! They simply hold up 1, 2, or 3 fingers to vote.

The real win? You get to decide how the game turns out!

• You can use the answers provided
• You can elect a judge who gets to decide the answer (ideally with his/her back to the audience, holding up his/her number)
• You can use it as a fun mixer
• You can turn it into countdown slides

If a player picks the right one, the get points or avoid elimination (you pick!). If they pick wrong? Well... let’s just say the Scarecrow’s looking for new stuffing.

It’s freaky and fun, and filled with classic monsters we got to pose just for this game!

Let’s find out who really knows their classic creeps… and who just came for the candy!

Material: Elastic, 2-sided polyester stretchy band

Material: Elastic, 2-sided polyester stretchy band

Size: 2"x3.5"

Material: Elastic, 2-sided polyester stretchy band

Material: Elastic, 2-sided polyester stretchy band