All NexGen Pro articles – Page 124
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IssuesBridging the skills gap
As shocking as it may sound, no children’s ministry team is perfect. No matter how brilliant your group, you’ll be missing... something. This is where resources can be invaluable, filling some of these gaps...
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Blog
Ready-to-use Discussion : Breaking the Habit
I don’t know about you but I watch some rubbish on TV. I get addicted to the latest series of Masterchef, watch average quiz shows that I’m barely enjoying and I don’t even want to think about how many times I’ve watched each episode of Friends. This kind of lazy approach to our viewing habits is as terrifying as it is dull and perhaps tells us something about life in the 21st century…
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games + Icebreakers: Breakfast Games
Each month I attempt to suggest a theme for the games, or - at the very least - some kind of nominal link between them. This month’s is almost certainly more tenuous than ever. The connecting theme between them is: things you use at breakfast time. (I can only apologise.)
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IssuesReady-To-Use Games + Ice Breakers:TV Games
In 2002, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers sang, ‘Throw away your television’. Well, it’s 2016 and it looks like this campaign wasn’t very successful. Newsflash – TV is here to stay! With that in mind, here are some games inspired by shows from the best / most damaging (delete according to your mood) form of communication. (And as TV is a format that demands quick, punchy ideas, rather than writing out these games in great length, we’ve explained them as quickly as possible, with some illustrations.)
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games: Ice Breakers - Food Games
As Jane Austen (might) have said: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a youth worker in possession of a plate of food must be in want of a youth group’. Food is, and has always been, a real crowd pleaser (see the feeding of 5000 and manna and quail in the desert for proof) and the combination of food and games is, quite simply, a one-way-ticket to success-ville.
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BlogReady-To-Use Games + Ice Breakers: Water Games
On our wonderful British Isles we are not often short of water in the summer months. Here are some ways to utilise the blessing of water with youth games! You will need water balloons, gym balls, dog bowls, bed sheets… the list goes on. What could possibly go wrong?
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Christmas Games
Hark! Christmas approaches: the wonderfully quiet and easy-going period of the calendar, with plenty of space and time to organise elaborate and complicated events. Possibly. Either way, there’s very little chance that your group will be ignoring it – so why not jump on the Christmas bandwagon with this collection of Christmas games.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Pool Games
Ah the pool table, a youth club tradition older than the tuck shop, messy games and having to break up fights. While young people can obviously be left to their own devices, sometimes a communal game around the table can offer a bit of variety. Here are some of our favourites:
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Dodgeball Games
Everyone knows the five Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and… dodge. What you may not know is that there are also five distinct ways to play dodgeball, and here they are...
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Group Work Games
Working together is obviously the kind of thing we want to encourage as good, holistic, community-building, life-affirming, kingdom-growing, adjective-embracing youth workers. Admittedly most games have some sort of collective vibe to them, but these ones have a particular emphasis. They are essentially the antithesis of solitaire.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here!”
You may presume that ‘I’m a teenager, get me out of here’ is similar to a famous TV programme. You would be absolutely right. These games can be used as a whole hour of entertainment or you could use one game a week to build up the tension. Collecting stars is the aim of each game and at any point of any game those taking part can shout: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here” to stop the game. It would be a good idea to pre-warn the young people that they should bring some clothes that they do not mind getting messy, and a plastic bag to put them in, ready to be washed by indulgent (or mildly annoyed) parents.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Christmas Fun
Yes, it’s happened. Somehow we are already in the run-up to Christmas. While we try to get our heads around that, here are some games to include on Sundays, Christmas parties, or even around the Christmas table.
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games - Ice breakers: Who, what, where, why Games
At the heart of the human experience we find a host of questions: Who? What? Where? Why? As good, holistic youth workers we don’t want to ignore these primal urges of our young people. We don’t want to trivialise them with pat and trite answers - so here are some games. No, wait, that doesn’t sound right...
