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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Adventist Youth Program Ideas

Having been thrown into AY leadership at the age of 15, with virtually no leadership education and no idea what to do, I basically know how it is to dread Adventist Youth Programs that I have to plan as leader.

So here are a couple of ideas that I hope will help leaders out there to make programs interesting and educational without taking away the sanctity and solemnity of a Sabbath afternoon. Both these ideas are centered around an exploration of the Bible, with the congregation working in small groups. Groups can be made according to the seating arrangement, age levels, gender, existing grouping, or whatever works for you.

Program Idea #1


MY BIBLICAL BODY

Materials: White Board and Marker (or Chalk board and chalk), Eraser, several Bibles in each group, pen and paper

Mechanics: Have groups look up Bible verses that mention different body parts and how these parts are supposed to be used to glorify their Maker. Give a few examples. Allow about ten minutes for this. After ten minutes, have a representative of one group come up front to read their collection of verses. Another group member will be assigned to draw on the board the body parts they found verses for until they can complete a whole human being. When all the groups have had their turn, check to see who has the best and most complete drawing. Close by reading Psalm 139:14, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, Matthew 18:8, 9.

Important Note: Take care to clarify to the groups that the verses must not only mention a body part but also contain a message on how that body part is to be used or not used or how it is to be taken care of. For example, Daniel 2:32-34 isn't valid because it only mentions the body part but there's no message on how that part can glorify God. Also make sure that they look up verses that refer to HUMAN body parts. One group in my church used Genesis 1:2 which mentions "FACE of the WATERS."

Examples of valid verses:  
Job 31:1 I have made a covenant with mine EYES...
Psalm 51:15 O Lord open thou my LIPS; and my MOUTH shall show forth thy praise...
Ephesians 6:15 And your FEET shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace...
Psalm 144:1 ...which teacheth my HANDS to war and my FINGERS to fight...
Revelation 2:7 he that hath an EAR let him hear...
Ezra 9:5 i fell upon my KNEES...

How the drawings turned out at my church. Thanked God for designing me. :)



Program Idea #2


BIBLE STORIES FROM NATURE


Objective: To refresh the congregation's minds about Bible stories and to help them see objects around them as reminders of our God's power and our Biblical heritage.

Mechanics: Have each group choose an object of nature (e.g. soil, rock, flowers, tree/branch, leaf, water, etc) obtain a sample of such object. Each member of the group must now recall one or two (depending on the number of members and the time available) Bible story/ies that involved that object. Give the groups 7-10 minutes to list down the stories. At the end of time given, have one group come to the front with their sample. The first member holds up the sample and recalls a Bible story involving the object, beginning with "This is the rock/flower/soil/water/etc....". The sample is now passed on to the next member who also shares another story and so on. Have the other groups do the same.

Example: Water
The group can bring a glass of water.
Member 1: This is the water that Jesus turned into wine at a wedding in Cana. (passes the glass to Member 2)
Member 2: This is the water that Elijah poured over the altar he made for God in Mount Carmel. (passes the glass to Member 3)
Member 3: This is the water that Jacob drew from a well to feed Rachel's animals. (passes the glass to Member 4)


I hope these ideas help somehow. If you have more ideas, please do share.

37 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:58 PM

    Thanks so much for sharing these ideas! May God continue to bless your youth ministry!

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  2. Anonymous10:58 PM

    Great ideas! Keep up the good work.

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  3. Anonymous1:59 AM

    Awesome! thank you so much. im also a very young sub director, im actully younger than u were at the time you were talking about your service to the youth group. im always looking for fresh ideas for youth becuz they r my friends and i knoe church seems boring thanx for the ideas. they saved me ..twice! <3 :)

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  4. thank you for visiting and for the comments. i'll be posting more ideas and would very much appreciate if you could share yours too. how do you keep your AY programs interesting?

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  5. Anonymous7:56 AM

    Awesome Ideas! Thanks for sharing!! The first ideas relates to my theme. I couldn't find any that related, so I prayed and God lead me here. I am the AY Programs leader at my church and I'm 16. May God Bless your ministry.

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  6. Very helpful, thnks. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hello Ms Smalling. Do you Kno of any program or programs on the AY Ideals

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  7. Thanks for sharing .. Good Ideas .. God bless!!

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  8. Anita3:23 AM

    I liked these ideas I tried them and they were enjoyable.
    One activity that we like to do is to have two volunteers. The two persons will sit beside each other facing opposite directions ( ie. one person will be facing the audience while the other will face a blackboard or white board whichever one is convenient). On the board you will write 3 words one can be a Bible character, Bible place, or Bible thing. You will have the person A face the board and describe each object without saying the name of it. Person B will then try to figure out what is being described. We normally time it to make it interesting.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing. Very helpful with our AY. GB

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  9. Love you ideas! May God continue to bless and use you for His glory..thank you so much for sharing.It's going to be my first time as an AY leader and I really did know what to do, you've helped a lot.☺����

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  10. June Alexander7:46 AM

    Thanks for sharing this is my first timed as AY leader. May God continue to give you wisdom knowledge and understanding to encourage others and to build His kingdom.

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    1. I've been ay leader for abt 5 years now and trust mi its a lot of work bt once u get a good grasp of ur duties and have a strong team u will be just fine

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  11. I did the second one at my church and I must say that it turned out better than I expected we had fun while learning about nature

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  12. These are some great ideas. Thanks for sharing. May God continue to inspire you

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  13. Using the alphabet ask person to use a letter and say what they are thnkin God for.centre AY around the theme thanksgiving

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    Replies
    1. nice idea. i'll try it in my church maybe soon. God bless you.

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  14. Anonymous3:07 AM

    Icebreaker:

    Host calls one letter of the alphabet at a time
    Groups are to state hymns beginning with the letter or a verse in a hymn beginning with the letter
    Or
    Groups are to state scripture verses beginning with the letter

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing this. I'll try it at our church and post here how it goes. God bless.

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  15. Anonymous3:21 AM

    MAIN FEATURE – CHURCH OFFICES
    In groups, each group will be given a church office.
    Groups are to discuss the importance of the office, its significance to the local church and the authority.
    Youth are to present points to church

    After each individual presentation, host reads excerpts from “Seventh Day Adventist Believe……”
    The what
    The Qualifications
    The Responsibility / Authority

    Admonission: Excerpt from Seventh Day Adventist Believe……

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    Replies
    1. very nice. thank you for sharing. i hope it helps churches grow. God bless.

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  16. Been appointed AY assistant leader for the first time. Ihad no idea what i was going to do so i did my research and came across these wonderful ideas.I did program #2 and it was awesome..Thank you and God bless.

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    1. That's so nice to hear. I pray that you continue to grow in the service of our Lord. Do share some of the things you do in your AY Programs as well. God bless you.

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  17. Anonymous9:46 PM

    Wonderful ideas.

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  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. Check out http://sabbathprograms.com where they send out weekly comprehensive Sabbath school and adventist youth programs and ideas to the mailing list for AY and Sabbath School Leaders. The programs provide engaging and Christ centered lessons designed to teach biblical concepts".

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  20. Anonymous8:27 PM

    Thank you.Very useful ideas for AY. Am sure it will add much life to our program.

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  21. Thanks a lot appreciate the ideas shared.

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  22. Thank you sooooooooo much the youth at our sda church enjoyed the program I would love if you could occasionally email me more idea to lead the youth to christ. tmuschette@yahoo.com

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  23. Anonymous2:10 AM

    These are great ideas. Anymore that is geared in getting the young people out for AY?

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  24. Very helpful ideas. Praise God!

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  25. Thanks for sharing...i will try this ideas in my church

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  26. Thanks for sharing...i will try this ideas in my church

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  27. Thanks for sharing...i will try this ideas in my church

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  28. Anonymous1:21 PM

    Thank you very much for these ideas. Our church is composed of 6 adventist youth and I;m trying to make programs that is suited to them. May these be instruments in strengthening their faith.

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  29. Anonymous1:58 AM

    Thanks for sharing.The ideas are interested

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