Tube-O-Rama Lock-in The night's message is entitled, 'Tunnel Vision".  We discussed the nature of outside influences on what we believe as Christians. Purchase six inexpensive tractor tire tubes and center all of the games for the evening on them. Also needed: Tube socks with a ball of rice tied in the toe, Pool Noodles cut in half, 80 feet of 1 inch PVC pipe, sponsor packets, post-able youth schedules, 2-24" bungie cords, 3 flashlights, lots of mini marshmallows spread out a day ahead of time to dry out a little.     8:00  "TUBE" SOCK FLING Gathering in the Gym   9:00 TUBE RULES Your Limitations are as follows: * 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.  * 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 Center and the Gym only. - If you are in transit between these two locations you may not eat or drink. * Do not open locked doors - If you have to do anything to a door that is more than just gently opening it, you are probably attempting to open a locked door. * Stay out of the rafters & Respect the church property - 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    Expectations are as follows: * Participate as you can * Respect others * Listen * Clean up after your self * If you would rather sit out or go to sleep, let me know where you are going and what you are doing. * Have a Blast   Turn in your cell phone till morning or go home now.   9:15 TUBE TUG This is a physically exhausting game that can be lots of fun. Mark a large square in the field and place a stack of six inner tubes in the center of the square. Divide the group into four equal teams, each one lining up on their side of the square. Number the players on each team from one to however many players are on each team. Have the girls be only even numbers and the boys odd. The object of the game is to get as many inner tubes as possible across your team's line. Call out several even or odd numbers. The players with those numbers run to the center and start dragging the inner tubes to their lines. There may be several players tugging on the same tube. Each tube successfully pulled across a team's line is a score (one point) for that team.   9:45 Youth Center Groove Tube BREAK Time to Dance!   10:15 TUBE, CROSS, CRASH Good name for this game. Be very careful- if you don't use good safety precautions this could result in injuries. Divide your crowd into two teams, each team in two groups for a relay. Line the teams up in four corners of the playing field, each team diagonal with its partner team. Give each group 3 tubes. The first team member must step into the tubes, pick them up (so they look like a Michelin Man) and strap their ankles close together with a bungie cord (to keep their speed down) and run diagonal to their partner team. Of course their partner team and two apposing teams are running through the same intersection so look out! First team to switch all players across the diagonal one at a time is the winner.   10:45 TUBE JUMP THROUGH This is a simple relay where you give each team three tubes and they race to see who can get their entire team through their tubes first.   11:30 Youth Center Groove Tube BREAK   12:00 TUBE FOOD We used anything tubular! We had Twinkies, Tootsie Rolls, enchiladas, sanchos, hot dogs, cans of pop, bottles of water, onion rings, donuts, etc.    12:30 "Tunnel Vision" Junior high and middle school kids develop a strong desire to make their own decisions - "Tunnel Vision" . They start to feel more independent and are given more freedoms as they get older. But, they also face lots of decisions-with little decision-making experience. This lesson explores decision-making from a Christian perspective. Object Lesson  Start by gift wrapping some items in different paper. Include a variety of different items, such as something valuable (gift certificate or five dollar bill), not valuable (a rock or a plastic cup), ugly or strange (like a white elephant gift), and so on. Announce that one package contains something that they'd like, another contains something worthless, and at least one other has nothing at all. Divide them into the same number of groups as the number of packages. Then they must decide which they would like to have. They cannot touch the gifts before deciding. Once they've made up their minds, decide (by drawing straws, picking numbers, or flipping a coin) which group gets to choose first, second, third, and so on. Before they open the gifts, ask them how easy or difficult it was to decide? Why or why not? Then let them open the packages and see if they made good choices. Use the "Discussion by the Numbers" below, as the youth work through these questions. 1. List three big decisions (I mean BIG!) you must make for your future.   2. Place an X next to the two most difficult decisions to make.       Doing homework or going to youth group       What video or movie to watch       What to do after school       What kind of music to listen to       What to eat for dinner       What clothes to wear to school       When to pray       What to do on Friday and Saturday nights       Who to go out with       What to spend money on       How much time to spend on the Internet              Now put a check next to the two easiest decisions.   3. Jesse loves to skateboard, but his parents don't like it because the other guys who skate seem like they're up to no good. He disagrees with his parents and decides to skateboard with his friends anyway. What do you think of Jesse's decision?   4. Which of the following would help you make wise decisions? * Asking your parents for advice * Praying about it * Waiting a few days before deciding * Reading your horoscope * Asking a friend * Thinking about the consequences * Deciding as quickly as possible * Flipping a coin * Going along with the crowd's decision * Letting someone else decide for you * Finding Bible verses that give direction * Going with what feels right * Asking in an online chatroom * Other- The discussion, by the numbers  1. Have the kids share the big decisions they anticipate making. On the whiteboard, make a list of all the decisions that your kids are making and will need to make. Find out which ones the group has in common. Then go through the most common ones and brainstorm different ways to make this decision. What consequences or results could come with each decision? When will they need to make these decisions? Which ones are more important than the others? Use this activity to point out how important good decision-making is. 2. Ask the kids to share the toughest decisions and the easiest. Why are some more hard to make than others? Ask them to come up with any that weren't listed. Sometimes kids don't want to hear what adults have to say. They don't realize that parents and other adults have faced the same decisions that they do. You may want to include some other adults in this discussion, including some older high school, college, or post-college adults. Present decisions (from the list above) to each one and have them share how they would decide. Give your kids the chance to ask questions about why they made the decision. Use this time to build respect for others ideas and opinions. 3. What advice do they have for Jesse? Use this attention-getter to discuss the importance of listening to adult advice. Help kids try to understand the parents' point of view. Why would the parents be concerned? Does Jesse have the ability to decide for himself what he can or can't do? If not, when does he have that right? Have the group brainstorm ways to get parents to listen to them and to arrive at a compromise. 4. Use this item to talk about the practical how-tos of making decisions: (1) gather all the facts, (2) consider the alternatives, (3) get some good advice, (4) pray, (5) think of every consequence possible, and (6) choose the best possible option.   Wrap It Up Big decisions are really a combination of little decisions. The choices you make today will set the foundation for your future. Tonight I encourage you to start making wise decisions about little things- that way you'll be more confident when it is time to make important ones. It's wise to seek good advice and think about the consequences of decisions. Stop and ask your self, "How will this decision affect others around me?" "How will it affect my own life?" And sometimes there's no right or wrong decision. God may not have an answer for you-he'll force you to make the choice because both may have a positive impact in the end. But, be careful not to think you can make all choices by yourself. Stay away from "Tunnel Vision". Bring your decisions before God and ask for His wisdom.   1:00 SMALL GROUP "Tunnel Vision" What do these verses have to say about making decisions?       Matthew 6:22-23       John 14:15-17       Romans 13:11-14        Galatians 6:7-8 How do these verses apply to practical situations in your lives of today? Think about God's perspective when making decisions. How will your decisions impact others?     1:15 MICHELIN MAN WRESTLING  This is basically Sumo Wrestling for poor people. Two players battle each other, each holding 3 tubes like a belly. Use center court for a small circle that they try to bump each other out of. Don't let them run at each other! Start them back to back.   1:45 BUMPER TUBE TAG Mark one half of a basket ball court as your playing field. Find one volunteer to be "it" and have the rest of the youth form a line across half court. "It" stands in the middle of the playing field with a tube. On go all the youth run from center court to the opposite side of the court while "it" tries to roll, fling or bump the tube into someone. If "it" is successful the person tagged is also an "it". Continue tagging until all six of our tubes are in play then as more are tagged they take over the tube and the old "it" sits out till the last person is tagged. Make the field thinner if the game takes to long.   2:15 Youth Center Groove Tube BREAK   2:45 UNDERGROUND CHURCH  Guards use noodle tubes (Pool Noodles) UNDERGROUND CHURCH has been a tradition for the youth of West Heights for many years.  It is an exciting game of tag-hide-and-go-seek-sardines-in-the-dark.   The Game Players are; Underground Church, Followers, or Guards. There is one "Church" (usually a group of three).  The church is given a set amount of time to go and hide.  The Church should become the Guards for the next round. There are "Guards" (number depends on the size of the "Church").  The Guards try to keep the church from growing.  If a Guard tags a Follower the Guard and the Follower must go to the jail. The jail is the court yard. The Guard takes the Follower to any door leading to the courtyard and sends them out. One of thirteen doors will be open for the Follower to come back in and try to find the Church. The open door will change every now and then. The "Followers" try to find the Underground Church without being tagged by the Guards or giving away where the Church is.  If a Guard finds the Church the round is over.  But, if the Church has 9 new members the Church wins and the round is over, the UNDERGROUND CHURCH has survived!   4:00 MARSHMALLOW TUBE WARS We're using marshmallows blown through 1" x 2' PVC tubes for a "paint ball" style game of steal the bacon. Form two teams and set up identical obstacles/barriers using tables around the perimeter of ½ of the basketball court. Teams start at their base and on "Go" try to capture the other team's flag. Players may not enter the court and must battle their way to the other team's flag and capture it with out getting hit. Once you're hit you're out for the round.  HINTS: clean up after each round. Smashed marshmallow is hard to get out of the carpet. Leave the marshmallows out overnight if they are a little harder they won't gum up the tubes so much.   5:00 MOVIE & Youth Center Groove Tube BREAK   7:00 GO HOME!