Friday the 13th
Back to School Lock-in
Supplies Needed: 6 Sponsor packs, 4 post-able schedules, team signup sheets, Scary people sheets, "Fear Not" bible verses, Scare score sheet, table discussion sheets I-4, 10- Friday the 13th cards, 50 Camp Crystal cards, free weights, backpack, 40 empty balloons, 400 red cups, 10 yoyos, 10 big spoons, 10 small bottles of bubbles, 10 decks of cards, 10 full pop cans, 10 blue cups, 10 water bottles filled approximately 1/3 full, 20 pencils, 10 glass glasses, Christian CD, CD player, colored paper, 10 rolls of toilet paper, 10 unopened tissue boxes, movie - Freaky Friday, FOOD! and drinks.
9:00 Form team Tables
Choose a team of 6 and sign up at that team table:
Omens Fearless
Black Cat, Ladder Bold, Brave, Daring
Mirror, Toad, Chill Courageous, Impervious
9:15 Rules & Expectations
Your cell phone is only good as a paper weight for this lock-in. If you can't limit its usage turn it in. You don't have any other friends beside the ones here tonight and your parents are glad to get rid of you. They aren't calling. Oh yea, don't use your phone for a light.
No swearing/profanity - Believe it or not this category includes inappropriate sexual discussions.
No "extra curricular" activities permitted. For example, no sucking face with anyone.
No roughhousing. Yes, this includes keeping someone else's property from them by force, sneaky-ness or running away from them. (Keep your mitts off other peoples phones and stuff.)
Do not leave the Church. If the area you are in is not climate controlled you are outside the church.
No cheating. If you are looking for a way around a rule, you are probably about to cheat and had best not attempt any deviations until you reach saint hood.
Snacks and drinks are allowed in the Youth/Activity Centers only.
Do not open or go around locked doors. If you find yourself climbing through a wall, window, non-door opening or have to do anything to a door that is more than just gently opening it by the knob, you are probably attempting to go around or open a locked door.
Stay out of the rafters, organ loft. If you have to climb to get where you want to go and then you feel yourself having to balance on a beam high above the floor, chances are you are in the rafters.
Sleep only in designated sleeping rooms. No hiding, food or drink in designated sleeping rooms.
Go only where you are asked. No sneaking off to do your own thing. If we are playing a game and you're just sitting and watching/talking alone with a friend or friends, it better be in the Youth/Activity Center.
Respect the church property. Do not touch the Drums, Piano, any musical instrument, spot light, or electronic equipment in the building. If it looks like it might be fun to play with and you are not in the Youth Center, Activity Center or Gym don't mess with it.
Do not dangle, hang or jump off of anything. Why do I even have to say this&ldots; Oh yea! Because someone will do it if I don't.
Expectations are as follows:
Participate as you can
Respect others and Listen
Clean up after yourself
The leader may randomly unlock a door from time to time.
9:30 Intro and How to Play
FEAR NOT!
Supplies: Free weights, backpack
Say: I hope today you took your usual level of care when going about your daily activities. If you weren't careful, you could turn a superstition into a self-fulfilling prophecy by thinking yourself into accidents. Psychologist Richard Wiseman warns against buying into the superstition and "creating your own bad luck". It's a day like any other day and it's important to exercise all normal precautions when driving, crossing the road, using sharp objects, etc. And it's also important not to make the day out to be what it isn't.
While there are many "bad luck" associations with the number thirteen, (Triskaidekaphobia) the fear of Friday the 13th as a combined date of the month and day of the week was most likely created during the middle ages, when on a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested, tortured and then murdered the revered Knights Templar.
Before that, there are Biblical references to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper. It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Trusting in God helps us free ourselves from the things that cause anxiety-the fears of embarrassment, of being unpopular, not being attractive, bad grades, and a myriad of other things. Only around 10 percent of modern day Americans believe that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, yet it is still a well recognized superstition, causing people to joke about it and be perhaps a little more cautious than usual. Friday the thirteenth falls between one and three times a year, providing us with a good excuse for having some fun with it and perhaps, even for facing our fears about it.
Illustration
Gather some weights from a home gym and a backpack.
Say: I need a volunteer.
(Chose someone that's not too strong or too weak)
Worry is a heavy burden. It zaps energy and robs a person of spiritual closeness with God. To illustrate this, I have some weights from a home gym. Each of these items represents worry, such as cheating, not getting along with parents, or problems with friends.
(Put all the weights into the backpack while it's on the volunteer's back.)
Say: Worry is like the backpack-an unnecessary burden that you don't have to carry. What removes this burden? Prayer and a better understanding of what God can do for you. Praying to God and giving him your worries, doubts, and troubles, will help you organize your thoughts and help you remove the burden.
(Ask the volunteer to gently remove the backpack and place it on the ground. As they do so they will dip to the ground to set the bag down.)
At just the right moment Say: God doesn't want Christians to carry around extra weight. When you dip toward the ground as you set down your worries, why not go all the way to your knees and ask God to help you with your burden?
Say: Tonight we are going to have a number of small group discussions. Each time we begin a "Team Competition" your group will begin with a discussion at your competition table. When done with your discussion, everyone will wait at their team table before continuing the round. Rounds begin with six "fate" cards spread face down in the center of the table. One will have "Friday the 13th"on it. At "Go", from the Youth Dude, all players at all tables grab a card and leave it face down. At "flip", all players flip their cards face up. The player with the "13" card will compete for their team against the other teams "unlucky" contestants.
10:00 Team Competition I
Round 1
Supplies: Table discussion sheet I, 6- Friday the 13th cards, 10 empty balloons, 50 red cups, 10 yoyos, 10 big spoons, 10 small bottles of bubbles
Have someone at your table ask the following question to your group.
ASK:
What's the difference between worry and concern?
(After discussing the question use the following definitions for reflection.)
Worry is thoughts and images of a negative nature in which mental attempts are made to avoid anticipated potential threats.[1] As an emotion it is experienced as anxiety or concern about a real or imagined issue, usually personal issues such as health or finances or broader ones such as environmental pollution and social or technological change. Most people experience short-lived periods of worry in their lives without incident; indeed, a moderate amount of worrying may even have positive effects, if it prompts people to take precautions (e.g., fastening their seat belt or buying fire insurance) or avoid risky behaviors (e.g., promiscuousness or cliff diving).
Concern (plural concerns) That which affects one's welfare or happiness. (Mark's health was of great concern to Connie.) The expression of solicitude, anxiety, or compassion toward a thing or person. ( He placed his hand on his sister's sunburnt legs with great concern.) A business, firm or enterprise; a company. (The employees' attitude is really hurting the concern.)
Say: To be worried speaks of negative emotions such as anxiety and fretfulness. To be concerned can also mean that, but it has a more positive meaning-to be responsible for or interested in something.
Below are some possible teenage worries. As a group, put a C next to the ones a person would have some sort of control over and an NC for those one would have little or no control over.
__ Dying
__ Getting acne
__ Parents divorcing
__ Living with alcoholic parents
__ Flunking a test
__ Having stress
__ Being unpopular
__ Being a victim of school violence
__ Being in a car accident
__ Breaking up
__ Enduring parental abuse
__ Living through a war
__ Not making a sports team
__ Being pressured to succeed
__ Getting in trouble with the police
__ Dating
__ Abusing drugs and alcohol
__ Becoming pregnant
ASK:
If problems can be prevented or dealt with in some way, why do teenagers still worry about them?
Which ones do you have more control over? Why or why not?
Say: Problems are inevitable, but worrying about them is a choice.
(Leave this sheet on your table and remain seated until all are ready)
Round 1 Games
This Blows
Players blow up a balloon and use the air in the balloon to blow 5 cups off of a table. The balloon can be blown up as many times as necessary. First player to complete the task wins.
Bottoms Up
Players knock 2 cups off of a table with a yo-yo. The yo-yo is attached to a spoon and hangs down the back side of the players after tucking it in their waist bands. The players use body momentum to swing the yo-yo to knock down or pull each of the 2 cups. First player to complete the task wins.
Bubble Trouble (Mega Bubble Challenge)
Players blow bubbles (Using children's bubbles) and move one across the room by blowing on it. The game is won when one of players gets one bubble from point A to point B and on to a chair first. This is not as easy as it sounds as you have to keep blowing bubbles until you have one that is dense enough to move across the room. If the bubble is blown to high in the air, it cannot be controlled and more bubbles must be blown.
10:45 Free Time
Youth or Activity Center Only
11:15 Team Competition II
Round 2
Supplies: Table discussion sheet II, 6- Friday the 13th cards, 10 decks of cards, 10 full pop cans, 400 red cups, 10 blue cups, 30 empty balloons
ASK:
If you had absolute control over the troubles in the last session, would you still worry? Why or why not?
Would you worry if you knew that God has complete control over all problems?
What does "choice" have to do with Gods control?
Why does God let us make bad choices?
Check out Psalm 112:7-8.
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
ASK:
What do these verses say about a godly person?
__ A godly person never has problems.
__ God will solve all my problems before any real damage is done.
__ I don't have to fear problems even when they come.
__ Problems will come, since it talks about triumph coming at the end.
ASK:
How does this affect your beliefs or how you handle situations in your life?
(Leave this sheet on your table and remain seated until all are ready)
Round 2 Games
Don't Blow the Joker
Stack a full deck of cards on a full (dry) soda can, with a joker on the bottom of each stack. The object of the game is to blow all of the cards off of the bottle except the last card which is the joker. If you blow too hard, you blow the whole deck off. If you don't blow hard enough, nothing happens. First player to complete the task wins.
Moving on Up
This is a simple game that requires 39 large plastic cups of the same color, (like SOLO 32 oz cups) and one cup of the same style in a different color. Stack the 40 cups with the odd color on the bottom. The object of the game is to move each of the 39 cups to the bottom of the stack, which will move the position of the odd colored cup, using alternating hands and then the odd color cup back to its original place at the bottom. First player to complete the task wins.
Defying Gravity
Contestants blow up 3 balloons then tap them to keep them off the ground for the longest. At "Go", players releases all 3 balloons into the air. Players may not hold balloons, allow them to rest on the body, or hit the ground, or their game is over.
12:00 Free Time
Gym Only
12:30 Food
Num, Num!
1:00 Team Competition III
Round 3
Supplies: Table discussion sheet III, 6- Friday the 13th cards, 400 red cups, 10 water bottles filled approximately 1/3 full, 20 pencils, 10 glasses
Say: You're talking to a friend who is worried about a situation. Using Romans 8:28 and Philippians 4:6-7 what advice would you have for him or her? Would your advice change if this person is a Christian? Why or why not?
Romans 8:28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
Philippians 4:6-7 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Say: Now we're going to brainstorm some fears you've experienced.
(List these on the back of one of your hand outs.)
ASK:
Which of these fears do you face most? Why?
Are some fears more prevalent (happen more often) or important than others?
How can fears freeze us from doing something we should do?
How can they help us to not do something we shouldn't do?
(Leave this sheet on your table and remain seated until all are ready)
Round 3 Games
Stack Attack
Players must stack 36 plastic cups into a perfect triangle-shaped structure. Once that's completed, player must get the cups back into a single stack. At "Go" players begin stacking cups into a pyramid shape. When the triangle is complete, with 1 cup at the top, 2 cups below it, and so on, the player then returns the cups into a single stack. First player to complete the task wins.
Stick the Landing
Players must toss a water bottle onto a table and get it to land upright. Use water bottles filled approximately 1/3 full. Set up a foul line 5' away from table. At "Go" players must use 1 hand to flip a bottle end over end to land upright on the table. First player to complete the task wins.
Speed Eraser
Players must bounce 2 pencils into glasses. Set up glasses in a row. At "Go" players bounce pencils into the glasses using only their designated throwing hand. Pencils must bounce off the table and land directly into the bottom of the glass with no interference in order to be counted. First player to complete the task wins.
1:45 Free Time
Youth or Activity Center Only
2:15 Team Competition IV
Round 4
Supplies: Table discussion sheet IV, 6- Friday the 13th cards, Christian CD or cassette, CD player, colored paper, 150 cups, 10 rolls of toilet paper, 10 unopened tissue boxes
Set up a circle of chairs like normal but short a few seats for everyone. When teams have gathered, play a quick game of musical chairs around the outside of the circle (a.k.a u-turn death chairs). Let the music run for only five to 10 seconds before you stop it. Crown a champion and then break into discussion groups
ASK:
How did you feel when you were waiting for the music to stop?
How are those feelings like the anxieties you feel in life?
What do you do about fears and anxieties?
Read: 1 Peter 5:6-7 Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.
(Give each person a piece of colored paper.)
Say: Tear your paper into something representing one source of anxiety in your life.
(Ask volunteers to show and explain their torn-paper symbols. Have the rest of the group suggest Christian ways they might lessen their anxieties. If your group members all know each other well, encourage everyone to share.)
Read: 1 Peter 5:6-7 again.
Say: Everyone exchange your torn-paper anxiety symbol with someone else in the group and then crunch it up into a ball leave it in the center of the table.
(Do it!)
Say: Because God is with us doesn't mean we won't have fears. But we can trust God to help us deal with our fears and overcome them. What did we just symbolize with the crumpled paper in the middle of the table?
Read: 2 Timothy 1:7 for God did not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
ASK:
What has God given us?
Why are so many people scared of new things?
Why are Christians sometimes scared of the world?
What things happen when we "hide" in church?
How do we engage the world without compromising our faith?
Round 4 Games
Chandelier
Players stack 5 levels of cups, starting with 1 cup on the bottom and finishing with 5 cups on the top, with a paper plate in between each level. (15 cups needed)
Dizzy Mummy
Players unwind a roll of toilet paper onto their body by executing a series of 360 degree turns. Have a teammate hold the toilet paper in one place but freely so that it spins. Players hold one end of the toilet paper in one hand and spin so that the paper collects over their body. If the paper fully tears off their game is over. First player to remove all the paper not glued on the cardboard roll wins.
Hanky Panky
Players use only one hand to open and remove all the tissue from a tissue box one tissue at a time.
3:00 Friday The 13th
Large Group Game
Supplies: Scare score sheet
The team with the most points becomes the "Scary Team". They pick two of their members to be the "Camp Counselors" these two go and hide. The rest of the team then attempts to scare the other teams to keep them from finding the "Camp Counselors". The "Scary Team" will have 1 minute to set up and 5 minutes per round.
The second place team becomes officials along with sponsors. Teams must stay together and always be walking at the pace of the official and where the official leads them. At least one official goes with each of the remaining teams and will judge if a scare happens. If a scare happens to any one member of the team, that is, they are obviously startled or scream, they must return to the FLC where the official will report the scare on a score sheet.
At the end of each 5 minute round or when the "Camp Counselors" are found the team with the lowest score wins the round and becomes the next "officials". Tie breakers will be decided by the nights overall score or if a team has found the "Camp Counselors". The previous rounds "officials" become the new "Scary Team".
5:00 Movie Time
Freaky Friday
7:00 Go Home
