YouthESource

Game: Olympic Size Meal

With the dawn of the school year upon us, this may be a great time to start thinking about a larger, more elaborate gathering, allowing the group time to mix and mingle and get used to the “new group”. Try this idea.

Type/Purpose: Event/Activity, Food/Messy, Mixer, Off-Site

Use this activity both as a way to draw excitement from the Olympics, and also as a tool to introduce your group to other members from the church community.

Materials: A variety of food

Ideas for Implementation:

  • Identify different members in your congregation who come from different Ethnic/Cultural backgrounds, and ask them to prepare a dish from their home country/region, etc.
    • When meeting together, ask the preparers to describe a bit about what they made, and give some background to it.
  • Ask members from different Ethnic/Cultural backgrounds to come up with ideas for simple snacks/meal ideas from their region.
    • When the group meets, have different workstations for the participants to learn how to prepare different foods.
  • Ask different members to “Host” various small groups, and have an “Ethnic” progressive dinner.
    • Include an appetizer, two small courses, and dessert.
  • In all scenarios, make sure to have time for discussion at the end, when the large group meets together.

Teachable Moments:

  • Describe what it was like to sample the different foods.
  • Describe what it was like to hear some of the stories from different members.
  • Why or why not might it be important to “branch out” and try different things?
  • How might this apply as we think about this upcoming school year?

First published on the youthESource on August 27, 2012.

About the author

Sean Cramer graduated as a DCE from Concordia University, River Forest and served as a Program Assistant/Associate at Camp Lone Star in La Grange, TX. After moving back to his hometown near Rockford, IL, Sean currently works with Developmentally Disabled individuals. Aside from awaiting a Call in professional ministry again, Sean enjoys volunteering, reading, playing games, exercising and observing his dog be absolutely resistant to any new tricks.
View more from Sean

Related Resources

Job: Our Wise Friends Devotion

Job: Our Wise Friends Devotion

Job understood what it meant to suffer. The wisdom provided in the book of Job helps us to understand God's presence in struggle.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

How do I know if our youth ministry program is healthy and properly caring for our teens?

Discover how you can enhance your youth ministry and serve the youth in your church with Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry.

Share This