It's always a little tricky to come up with a creative, popular theme for the annual back-to-school lock-in....one that we will enjoy putting together as much as the kids will enjoy being a part of it. This one, this one was fun!
Obviously, the lock-in was not based on the popular movies or books on Hunger Games trilogy. Naturally, we didn't want kids running around wielding weapons at each other! We simply used the theme for the decorations, snacks, and Bible-based activities. Here are a few examples of what we did:
Food:
- Water bottles, straight from the spile of course!
- Little Caesar Flickerman's Pizza
- Mellark bakery Cheesy Bread
- Caesar Flickerman Salad
- Mockingjay Wings
- Target Cupcakes
- Trackerjacks (Cracker Jack)
- Nightlock Berries (assorted berries)
- Cornucopias (Bugle chips)
Then came the reaping, where we paired ZG and S.T.O.M.P. boys and ZG and S.T.O.M.P. girls together as tributes to participate in training, and ultimately to battle in the arena!
Scripture Tie-In:
Revelation 3:5 - The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
- What is the Book of Life?
- How do we get our names in the Book of Life?
Of course, our tributes had to dress for their district (one of the 12 tribes of Israel) and pose for pictures!
Scripture Tie-In:
Galatians 3:27 - for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Romans 13:14 - Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
- What does it mean to be clothed with Christ?
- What do you think some of those clothes are/look like?
Then onto the training! Each of the following activities earned sponsor points that could be used in the arena during the final Hunger Games face-off at the end of the evening. Some of the activities were plain silly while others held a deeper Biblical lesson that we presented to the tributes as they participated in them.
- Knot-Tying: The youth had 5 minutes to tie as many of the knots listed on a knot-tying chart as they could.
Scripture Tie-In:
Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
- What do you think this verse means in relation to our fellowship with other Christian friends?
- Arrow Shooting: Points were earned for cans shot off of a table or arrows shot through hanging hula hoops using a bow and arrows.
Scripture Tie-In:
Psalm 127:4 – Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
- If we are the arrows and our parents are the warriors, what do you think the target is that they are aiming at?
- What things can change the course of God’s children (the arrows)?
- How can you guarantee that you will stay the course you have been aimed at?
- Hand-to-Hand Combat: 2 youth at a time dueled with oranges balanced on plastic mixing spoons. The first to knock the other youth’s orange off their spoon without losing theirs was the winner.
Scripture Tie-In:
Proverbs 25:21 – “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
- This form of combat is often referred to as “killing them with kindness”. Why is this weapon a more effective and efficient one than arguing, fighting, or getting revenge on someone?
- Give some examples of ways people have angered or wronged you and how you could have used this kind of combat to diffuse the situation.
- Blow Darts: Youth had 5 minutes to get as many mini marshmallows in point-valued cups as they could to earn the highest score possible. We gave them 10" PVC pipe "dart"-blowing guns to decorate first!
Scripture Tie-In:
James 3:3-9 - When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
- How can the tongue, which is one of the smallest members of our bodies, bring about so much trouble?
- Give examples of how you can use your tongue for destruction.
- Give examples of how you can use your tongue for God’s glory.
Use the blow darts exercise to train your mouth for God’s glory and teach it to aim at His righteousness.
- Hunter Eyes: When you’re in the arena don’t get spotted. This was a silly game, but fun anyway. Everyone huddled around in a circle arms over the other’s shoulders. Everyone put their heads down and on the count of three looked up at another player. If two people found that they were looking at each other, then they both screamed and fell down dead. They were out and the next round began. They kept playing until only two players were left.
Scripture Tie-In:
Hebrews 12:1b-2 – And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
- If we are runners in a race and we turn to look back or to the side and take our eyes off the path in front of us, what will happen?
- Why is it so important in our Christian walk to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus?
Hymn:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
- Target Practice: 2 Youth at a time used Nerf guns to shoot ping pong balls balanced on top of 2-liter bottles off. Points were earned for each ping pong ball shot off.
Scripture Tie-In:
Matthew 6:33-34 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
- What happens when we take our eyes off the target and focus on ourselves or the worries and circumstances we have?
In the Athens 2004 Olympics, with one bullet left to shoot, all Matt Emmons needed was a score of 7.2 to win his second gold medal of the Olympic Games. On his first nine shots in the finals, Emmons' lowest score was a 9.3. He took careful aim, fired... bull's eye. Only Emmons' shot pierced the wrong target — known as a crossfire — resulting in a score of 0. Instead of gold, Emmons, 23, of Browns Hill, N.J., was left trying to explain the rare mistake that left him in eighth place.
- “CINNA”mon Toast Crunch Eating Contest: Youth were given a serving of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal to see who could eat it the fastest.
- “Girl on Fire”: Who can eat a handful of flaming hot Cheetos the fastest.
- “PEETA” Flip: Boys put swim flippers on their feet and a piece of pita bread on the flipper. Then they flipped it up into the air and, without using their hands, tried to catch it with their face. Or their teammates could catch it with their faces to score points as well.
- This means Warhead: See how many sour Warheads they kids could put in their mouths without making a face.
- Mockingjay: We chose one person to be it and blindfold them. We had everyone else spread out – they were the mockingjays. They had to stand perfectly still. The blindfolded youth chose a simple tune, such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to hum. We had all the mockingjays hum back the same tune. We secretly chose one mockingjay in the crowd to choose a different simple song – like the "A-B-C Song". The object of the game was for the person that’s it to make their way to the youth humming the different song, using the mockingjays as guides.
Scripture Tie-In:
Matthew 13:16-17 - But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
- There are many different voices out in the world calling us to follow them. How can you train your ear to discern between those voices and the voice of the Lord?
Now it was time to put those earned sponsor points to good use. Let the Hunger Games begin!
The Hunger Games: The game was a modification of Capture the Flag with a flag football twist. The kids were grouped by teams (districts), with 2 youth per team. Each district had 4 team flags. The flags were worn hanging out of pockets or waist bands so they could be easily grabbed. When a flag was captured, the team who captured it turned it into us so that we could keep track of how many lives each team had left. If a team ran out of lives (flags), they could buy more lives with their team sponsor points that they earned throughout the activities and games leading up to this event.
We started with a “cornucopia” filled with all sorts of goodies: snacks, flashlights, water guns, candy, glow bracelets, and Bibles. These goodies were pretty much for fun because the only way to advance in the game was to steal a team’s flags. It was fun to watch the kids race for the goodies though and then scatter into the "arena", which we did not just limit to the one church building. We even purchased keepsake drawstring bags for the kids with the year and name of the lock-in labeled on them. What fun!
Capturing flags was not all that was required to win the Hunger Games though. Each team had to find specific scavenger hunt answers and turn them in at the end of the game, regardless of the number of flags they captured or lost. The clues to where they would find the scavenger hunt answers were found in Scriptures of course and so they had better have grabbed a Bible while in the cornucopia!
The district with the most flags and all of the scavenger hunt items at the end was declared the victor.
Scripture Tie-In:
2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
- Of all the things in the “cornucopia”, what one thing proved the most helpful to you in the “arena”? (Obviously, this was the Bible! In the arena of life, God's Word and truths are most helpful to us as we go about our daily lives, making decisions and trying to live lives that glorify God.)
In The Hunger Games, Katniss sacrificed herself to volunteer in her sister Prim’s place in the arena. Though you and I deserved to die for our sins and spend an eternity in hell for them, Jesus Christ stood up 2,000 years ago on that hill in Golgotha and shouted, “I volunteer!” Do you know what that means? Have you accepted Jesus’ sacrifice He made for you?
As kids finished their time in the "arena", they were given the opportunity to make either a necklace or a bracelet with some pony beads and a bow and arrow charm. We talked about how we choose by our actions and attitudes whose hands we place our "bow" in. The enemy of this world desires to aim us in the wrong direction towards sin and destruction. When we place our bows in God's hands however, He will aim us towards holiness and righteousness and an eternity with Him.
After all that running around, it was time for some chill out time. The kids donned their PJ's and settled in for some snacks and the God's Not Dead movie. After the movie and a quick round of Murder in the Mansion, we split for the night with the boys remaining in the sanctuary and the girls going into the educational building. As usual, this didn't mean sleeping was next! There was more movie watching, fellowshiping, nail-painting, and being just plain silly.
Praying memories were made and lessons were learned through this lock-in. We had a blast doing it and thank all of the parents who entrusted us with their awesome kids on this overnight adventure.
