NERF or Nothin’
Spring Break Lock-in
Supplies Needed: snacks, drinks, 6 Sponsor packs, 4 post-able schedules, 4 roles of wrapping paper, about 4 roles of tape and, 4 pairs of scissors, a P.A. system, “Cat Walk” music, darts and projectile launchers for everyone (at least 2 multi shot Nerf guns), blindfold, 4+ pool noodle nubs, 2 ½ pool noodles, note paper to make a list of who is next in line to be the church, Despicable Me II
9:00
Gathering
Set up a check in table, collect money and Nerf guns in a tub for later
Wrapping Paper Cat-Walk
Needed: 4 roles of wrapping paper, about 4 roles of tape and, 4 pairs of scissors, a P.A. system, “Cat Walk” music
As youth arrive, form 4 teams. Give each team one-two full roll of wrapping paper, scissors, and wrapping tape. All teams start to make an outfit within a 10 minute time frame, whether it is a dress or a suit, or whatever. At the end of the time limit, the models wearing the wrapping paper walk though the room with some kind of back-ground music playing. Use the P.A. system for one of the group members to say something about what the models are wearing. The winner can be judged by judges or by simply by the volume of the applause.
9:30
Rules & Expectations
- Any tag is considered a tag, even a graze or a caught dart. The only non-lethal dart is one that bounces off of something else first.
- 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 Gym and Youth Center only.
- Do not open or go around locked doors. If you find yourself climbing through a wall, window, 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 and upper cabinets. 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.
- 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 Center.
- Respect the church property. Stay out of the Sanctuary. Do not touch or hide under the drums, piano, any musical instrument, 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 or Gym don’t mess with it.
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.
9:45
Nerf Games I
Frenzy Dart
Needed: darts and projectile launchers (1″ x 18″ PVC blow guns for anyone without a NERF gun)
All the players line up in front of the caller in the Gym, the caller gives everyone ten seconds to scatter. Next, the caller calls out a base and a name of a player. When the caller calls a name, that person has to run from everyone and all the other players have to tag that person with their one dart to get him or her out before they reach the base. But, the caller doesn’t have to wait until the person is out to call the next base and name. The caller can call another base and/or name before or after a person is tagged, it’s up to the caller. The caller will stop play occasionally to allow time to reload. If a player makes it to a base they can continue to play without being a target when a new name is called. Tagged players sit on the wall behind the caller. The same player’s name can’t be called again until at least one other has been called. Play until there are only two players left. The remaining two players must go to a designated area for a duel. They begin about 20 feet apart and at the count of three turn and fire as many darts as needed. They may not move their feet after they turn. The last one standing is the winner.
Note: It’s good to use a microphone to do the calling. It can get really loud.
Ring of Fire
Needed: Blindfold, boundary markers, 2 multi shot Nerf guns
Choose someone to be the shooter and blindfold them so that they cannot see. Set up a circle with chairs as boundaries. Place the shooter in the middle of a circle of players. Spin the shooter around a few times and then have him or her try to shoot the players in the circle using only the two guns and ammo loaded. If a player is shot they are out of the game and sit in one of the boundary chairs. Have players try and get other players out by standing behind someone and saying something. Not only will players have to move around a lot, but they will also have to watch their backs from other devious players. Pick one of the Youth who have not been shot to be the next shooter.
10:30
Free shoot
Gym Only
Use the next 15 minutes to play however you want with your Nerf guns and targets.
10:45
Free Time
Youth and Center & Gym Only
No “shooting” anything at this time.
11:15
It’s Nerf or Nothin’ Lesson
After showing the clips about people causing doubts for Christianity…
Say: What type of Christian are you ? Are you “Non-Expanding Recreational Foam”. That is, a sedentary simple minded person or are you “Never Ever Really Fearful”. Tonight, you’ll leave here thinking – “It’s NERF or Nothin’”
Break into small groups
Say: Doubt is something all Christians experience. When bad things happen to us, we wonder why God isn’t there making it all better. We become fearful. When people ask us questions about God that we can’t answer, doubt rears its ugly head. How do we overcome doubt and believe in what we can’t see? It’s first important to understand what causes a Christian to doubt God. Perhaps the primary cause is worldliness. Just as God, Jesus and the angels work in a spiritual realm to draw us heavenward. Worldliness works to drag us away. One of the weapons of evil is to plant seeds of doubt and increase or fear. When we doubt the existence of God, the power of God, the love of God or the Sacrifice of Christ, we give the enemy a foothold in our minds. Once worldliness has a foothold, it’s like an invitation to work away at our mind. We’ve given the world permission to do so by agreeing that there is cause for doubt. At this point, we have a choice, to go on agreeing and be pulled away from God or to seek help in pulling out the weeds of doubt. Spiritual instability will cause the weeds of doubt to bloom. To combat this, we must be diligent students of Christ. Just like the disciples, we must follow Christ, learning His teachings and learning His ways if we are to ever become Never Ever Really Fearful in our faith.
GOD vs. DOUBT
Break into as many small groups as there are sponsors.
Find a reader/leader or read it yourself
READ: The setting; a college classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson…’Let me explain the problem science has with religion.’ The professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. ‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?’ ‘Yes sir,’ the student says. ‘So you believe in God?’ ‘Absolutely.. ‘ ‘Is God good?’ ‘Sure! God’s good.’ ‘Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?’
ASK:
- As if you were answering the professor, can God do all things? (Get a few answers.)
READ: ‘Are you good or evil?’ ‘The Bible says sometimes I’m evil.’ The professor grins knowingly. ‘Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment. ‘Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?’ ‘Yes sir, I would.’ ‘So you’re good…!’ ‘I wouldn’t say that.’ ‘But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.’
ASK:
- Why do you think God doesn’t help those in need?
- How do you get to be on God’s “I’ll help you” list?
READ: The student does not answer, so the professor continues. ‘God doesn’t help, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?’ The student remains silent. ‘No, you can’t, can you?’ the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. ‘Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?’ ‘Er..yes,’ the student says. ‘Is Satan good?’ The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. ‘No.’ ‘Then where does Satan come from?’
ASK:
- As if you were answering the professor, where do you think Satan came from? (Get a few answers.)
READ: The student falters. ‘From God’ ‘That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?’ ‘Yes’ ‘So who created evil?’ The professor continued, ‘If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.’
ASK:
- Have you ever thought that your works define you? That is, the things you do make up who you are.
- Do you agree with works as a defining measurement of who you are?
READ: Again, the student had no answer. ‘Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?’ The student squirms on his feet. ‘Yes.’ ‘So who created them?’
ASK:
- How could God have created sickness? Immorality? Hatred? and Ugliness?
- If God didn’t create them, then how can you say that God created all things?
READ: The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. ‘Who created them?’ There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.
‘Tell me,’ he continues onto another student. ‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?’ The student’s voice betrays him and cracks. ‘Yes, professor, I do.’ The old man stops pacing. ‘Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?’ ‘No sir. I’ve never seen Him.’ ‘Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?’ ‘No, sir, I have not.’ ‘Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?’ ‘No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.’ ‘Yet you still believe in him?’
ASK:
- As if you were answering the professor, how can you believe in something you cannot even senesce? (Get a few answers.)
READ: According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son? Nothing, the student replies. I only have my faith. Yes, faith, the professor repeats. And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith. The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. Professor, is there such thing as heat? Yes. And is there such a thing as cold? Yes, son, there’s cold too.
No sir, there isn’t. The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. ‘You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called “cold”. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.
You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. Silence echoes across the room. If a pen were to drop in the room it would probably sound like a hammer.
What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness? Yes, the professor replies without hesitation. What is night if it isn’t darkness? You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness is only a word. If it were really a thing, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you? The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. So what point are you making, young man?
ASK:
- What do you think the point is?
READ: My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed. The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. Flawed? Can you explain how? You are working on the premise of duality, the student explains.
ASK:
- What is a premise of duality?
READ: You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even really explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but is never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.
ASK:
- Is there a Christian principal in the statement, “Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.”?
READ: To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean. The student looks around the room. Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain? The class breaks out into laughter. Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelt the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So, if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?
Now the room is silent… The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.
ASK:
- How would you define “faith”?
- Is “spiritual fear” simply the absence of “faith”?
- What are some other things that we can’t sense but know they exist? How?
READ: ‘Now, we both accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,’ the student continues. ‘Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?’ Now uncertain, the professor responds, ‘Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.’
To this the student replied, ‘Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light or fearful doubt that comes when faith fails.’
ASK:
- Are doubts about God normal?
- If you doubt God, does He love you less?
- Why does God understand and accept our doubts?
- Does fearful doubting mean a person is losing faith?
- Is it possible to have no spiritual fear and still have faith?
- Do you think if left alone and unrecognized, doubt will become disbelief?
CLOSE
SAY: Once spiritual fear has a foothold, it’s like an invitation to work away at our mind. We’ve given the world permission to do so by agreeing that there is cause for doubt. At this point, we have a choice, to go on agreeing and be pulled away from God or to seek help in pulling out the weeds of doubt. Spiritual instability will cause the weeds of doubt to bloom. To combat this, we must be diligent students of Christ. Just like the disciples, we must follow Christ, learning His teachings and learning His ways if we are to ever become Never Ever Really Fearful in our faith.
PRAYER
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; and where there’s doubt, faith in you. O Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
12:15
Nerf Games II
Buzznub
Needed: At least 4 pool noodle nubs – about 6 inches of pool noodle and 2 ½ pool noodles
Make two teams and set up team boundary lines. One person from any team can cross the other teams’ boundary line at a time. Once across the line they have to make a BUZZ sound the whole time in one breath. They try to tag as many players as they can without running out of breath. The players that are tagged are out of the game. If another player from an opposing team “fly swats” the buzzing player with a large pool noodle or they run out of breath the buzzing player is out of the game.
Master Blaster
Needed: Lots of Nerf projectile launchers
A player is selected to be the “Master Blaster” and takes a position in the center circle of the gym with a projectile launcher and one dart per “MB”. The other players then run or walk from one side of the playing field to the other. The “Master Blaster” tries to blast someone with one dart as they switch sides. Anyone who is blasted by the “Master Blaster” joins him or her in the center circle. The game should progress quickly, beginning with 1 then 2, 4, 8 and then 16 “Master Blasters” etc. Play until there’s only a few or one left.
12:45
Free shoot
Gym Only
Use the next 15 minutes to play however you want with your Nerf guns and targets.
1:00
Food
Num, Num! – Pizza
1:30
Nerf Hockey
2:15
Underground Church
Needed: pool noodles, note paper to make a list of who is next in line to be the church
The players are: Christians, Church, and Guards.
All gather in one spot to begin the game. The Church is picked (one or two people) and is given a set amount of time to go and hide. The Guards will become the Church for the next round.
The Guards, (1 or 2) must carry visible pool noodles when they are moving. No other light sources from anyone are allowed (No electronic device glowing light). The Guards primary job is to try to keep the Christians from getting to the Church. If a Guard tags a Christian, the Guards take him or her and tosses them into “Jail”. (The Youth Center is the Jail. Keep only 3 Christians at a time. When the 4th is caught and brought to jail the 1st gets out.) If a Guard happens to stumble on the Church the round is over and the Guards win.
The Christians try to find the Church without being tagged by the Guards or giving away where the Church is. Once the Christians find the Church, in order to win, they bring other Christians to it. When the Church grows to include 1/3 of the total Christian players possible the round is over and the Church has survived!
4:00
Nerf Games III
Squirrel Darts
You need players to be trees, players to be squirrels and a few players to be darters. Have the youth pair off. Pick one pair to be the darters. Assign half of the other pairs to be squirrels. This will create the problem of not enough trees (non-separated pairs) for all the squirrels. The darters (with one dart for ammo at a time) try to Nerf dart any loose squirrel. The trees go out into the game field first. Two people become a tree by standing face to face and holding hands. Once the trees are into position you send out the squirrels to find a home. A squirrel must stand between arms to be in a tree. If a squirrel has no home he goes to another squirrels home. That squirrel must leave his home out the other side of the tree and find a new home. Give the squirrels a few minutes of establishing a cycle of tree swapping. Once this has been done, send in the darters to Nerf Dart any loose squirrels. When darted, squirrels and darters trade rolls. After a few minutes have the squirrels and trees trade roles. Play a few rounds with shorter times between switching.
The Wounded Soldier
Similar to the regular game of tag except the one who has been tagged with a dart must place his right hand on the spot where he or she has been hit, whether it is on the arm, chest, back, ankle, etc. Then they must chase the other players in that position until they have darted a new person to be “it”. If you have a large group, divide into two playing fields and groups with similarly skilled players in each.
4:30
Free shoot or Free Time
Gym and Youth Centers Only
Use the next 15 minutes to play however you want with your Nerf guns and targets.
5:00
Movie Time
Despicable Me II
Rated PG for rude humor and mild action. 98 min.
6:45
Clean up/Wake up
7:00
Go Home