The theme was i-Lock-In and was based on all of the Apple apps out there that have so engrossed the kids these days. In our age of technology, we figured if we can't beat 'em, then join 'em right where they're at! Besides, even Angry Birds can be used as an object lesson, right? We had several things we wanted the kids to get out of the lock-in this year. We wanted them to learn about God's truths through creative means that would interest them and grab their attention. We wanted to build them as a youth group and help them bond, as they are still adjusting to the new kids in ZG and having said goodbye to some of our founding kids. And lastly, we wanted them to have fun!
We started out the night with a pizza dinner and we also celebrated Brandon Carpenter's 11th birthday with cake and ice cream. Oh, and we were all asked to come dressed as our favorite app!
Here are some of the other things we did to meet our lock-in goals this year:
- We had a world map on the wall for Google Earth. We gave the kids colored dot stickers. They put their initials on some of the dots and then stuck them to wherever they have traveled in their lives so far. We discussed Matthew 28:19-20 and our commandment to go and make disciples and the opportunities God gives us to do just that wherever we travel to.
- We hung a Pinterest poster on the wall and encouraged the kids to write all over it their interests and likes and then pointed out how different we all are, but how we have one thing in common...we are all sons and daughters of the One True God.
- We had a large tree poster and Twitter birds for the kids to tweet on and hang on the tree. We discussed Scriptures that teach us about using wise words and words that build others up and don't tear them down. We talked about the small tongue that can start so much big trouble. (Prov. 21:23, Eph. 4:29, James 3:2-10, Psalm 34:13, Matt. 12:33-37)
- We had a time of just plain old dancing and crazy fun at the iheartradio station while listening to the Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Cotton Eyed Joe, Gangnam Style, and the Chicken Dance.
- We played a life-size version of the memory game with app icons and talked about the importance of memorizing God's Word above all else we desire to remember in our hearts. (Psalm 119:9, Eph. 6:17, Psalm 119:11)
- We played Scramble with Friends. We wrote letters on the bottoms of the kids' feet and separated them into two teams. We gave them words using the letters on their feet and the team to re-arrange their feet in the correct order to spell the word first won! This called for some serious teamwork, as some of our kids can't read...let alone spell!!
- We had our own version of Temple Run with a churchwide scavenger hunt and the kids broken into 3 teams of 4. Again, teamwork as some of the kids know the church building better than others.
- Draw Something was our version of Pictionary and again, we split into teams for this one.
- Words with Friends was a gigantic crossword puzzle on poster paper on the wall. The clues were all interesting facts or questions about each of the ZG kids or past ZG experiences that required the kids to get to know each other better in order to answer.
- Angry Birds was just that. We set up pyramids of soda cans for the kids to knock over using angry birds stuffed animals. Then we put a painter's tape line on the floor and split the kids up into two teams, one on each side of the line. We split the Angry Birds stuffed animals between the teams. On "go", the kids threw the Angry Birds across the line at one another. At the end of 3 minutes, the team with the most Angry Birds on their side was the loser. Then we discussed Scriptures about our anger and how it does not glorify God or bring about the righteous life that He desires. (James 1:19-20, Prov. 15:1, Prov. 22:24, Prov. 30:33, Eccl. 7:9, Eph. 4:26)
- Yahoo Sports was a good old-fashioned game of stick ball...best of 3 innings.
- Send and Receive was played in a circle using Chinese Pictionary. It's similar to Rumor or Telephone. Someone starts off by drawing a picture. The person next to them looks at their picture and tries to draw their own just like it. They pass the notebook and the next person tries to draw the same picture just by looking at the picture the person before them drew...not going back to the original picture. At the end, we compared the first and last pictures. We discussed how our communication skills have changed from talking to each other face-to-face to texting and e-mailing and how that can change our relationships with each other as well. We also discussed how easy it is to fall into the sin of gossip and how dangerous that can be to our friendships. (Eph. 4:29-32, Col. 3:12-14, Prov. 27:17, Prov. 11:13, Prov. 16:28, Prov. 26:20).
- We also made a YouTube....stay tuned for that one!
- We had a table where kids could dig deep and come up with their own app ideas. What would they do? How would they work? Who would they be designed for? The kids even drew their own icons to go with their apps. We let all the kids use smiley face stickers then to go around and "like" each others' apps.
- We had another table that had Settings icons made from paper plates on it. Psalm 139:13-15 was on one side of the icon, as well as the name of one ZG member. Each youth then went around the table and wrote one character trait they appreciated or liked about each person on the backs of their paper plates. We discussed how God made each one of us unique, but still in His own image and how we all need to embrace and appreciate our differences respectfully.
- In Icomania, we tested the kids' memories of past ZG lessons. We had a huge banner with all of the year's past lesson pictures printed on it. Below each picture were blank spaces to fill in the titles of the lessons. We did give the kids the words to go in the blanks, but they were all mixed up on the floor in front of the banner and the kids had to work together to remember the lesson titles and fill in the blanks with the correct words.
- For Instagram, we printed out extremely up-close pictures of things that might or might not be obvious. We passed them around one at a time and asked the kids what they thought each picture was of. Then we showed them the whole picture. We discussed perspective and how ours can sometimes be skewed because we are too close to a situation. God's perspective is always the bigger picture though and we reminded them of Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. We also looked at Psalm 30:5, Romans 8:18, James 1:12, and Hebrews 12:2.
- Candy Crush was simply an Angry Birds Pinata filled with candy...appropriate for what was to come next...
- Fandango - We went to our respective sleeping quarters then...the boys in the sanctuary and the girls in the youth building. There we wound down, watched movies, painted nails, hung out, chatted, and just made some fun memories.
