More icebreakers for small groups

Icebreakers4 Another 7 simple-to-use icebreakers for your small group. Use these mixer games to build friendships and encourage co-operation. Create a positive rapport with leaders and promote participation for your discussion, bible study and teaching time.

NAME THAT PERSON

Divide into two teams. Give each person a blank piece of card. Ask them to write five little known facts about themselves on their card. Include all leaders in this game too. For example, I have a pet iguana, I was born in Iceland, my favourite food is spinach, my grandmother is called Doris and my favourite colour is vermillion.

Collect the cards into two team piles. Draw one card from the opposing team pile. Each team tries to name the person in as few clues as possible. Five points if they get it on the first clue, then 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. The team with the most points wins. (Note: if you select the most obscure facts first, it will increase the level of competition and general head scratching!)

ADD WORDS

Simple, completely ridiculous and a lot of fun. The first person says a word, for example 'The'. The second person says the first word and ADDS a second word of their choice, and so on. At the end you might have a complete sentence! For example, 'The aardvark spiralled into the puddle of custard clutching his skateboard while whistling his favourite Bjork melody.' The fun thing is putting twists in the sentence so that the others have a hard time coming up with a word that fits. ADD WORDS can be played a few times without being boring.

ONCE UPON A TIME (V.1)

Invite one of the group to begin a story with a sentence that ends in SUDDENLY. The next person then has to add to the story with his own sentence that also ends in SUDDENLY. The story usually becomes more and more bizarre as each young person adds their sentence. Keep going until everyone has added their sentence. Tape it and play it back. For example, 'Yesterday I was walking my dog in the woods when SUDDENLY..!

ONCE UPON A TIME (V.2)

Ask each young person to think of either the name of a person, a place or a thing. Invite them to share this with the rest of the group. Select one of your group to begin a story. However, within 10 seconds they must mention the person, place or thing they have thought of. After 10 seconds (use a stopwatch or kitchen timer) the story is continued by the next person who must also mention their person, place or thing within the 10 seconds. Continue until everyone has made a contribution. The stories can get really weird, but that's part of the fun! Tape the story for playback at the next parents meeting :-)

THE HUMAN CHAIR

Invite everyone to stand in a circle shoulder to shoulder. Each person then turns to the right to face the back of the person in front of them. Ask them to place their hands on the shoulder of the person in front. On the count of three they slowly begin to sit down on the lap of the person behind. As long as everyone is helping the person in front of him or her to sit, then everyone should be supporting the weight of everyone else. Of course, should someone slip, the game becomes 'human dominoes.' :-) It might take a couple of attempts to complete the challenge.

PEOPLE BINGO

Great for new groups. Make a 5 by 4 grid on a piece of card and duplicate for everyone in your group. Supply pens or pencils. Each box contains one of the statements below. Encourage the group to mix, talk to everyone to try and complete their card. If one of the items listed on the bingo card relates to the person they are talking with, have them sign their name in that box.

End the activity after 10 minutes and review some of the interesting facts the group has discovered about each other. You can add your own statements appropriate for your group.

Has brown eyes
Has made the longest journey
Has eaten the weirdest food
Plays Tennis
Is wearing blue
Speaks a foreign language
Knows what a muntjak is (it's a small deer)
Plays a musical instrument
Has 2 or more pets
Has been to the most foreign countries
Hates broccoli
Has 2 or more siblings
Name begins with an 'S'
Loves Chinese food
Loves to ski
Knows what a quark is (A quark is a tiny theoretical particle that makes up protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus. So there!)
Loves soccer
Likes to get up early
Someone who’s favourite TV show is CSI
Someone over 6ft tall

MOVIE STAR SCRAMBLE

Divide the group into pairs, each with a paper and pen. Ask them to visit the cards you have previously prepared and placed around the room. Their goal is to unscramble the names of 20 famous movies stars i.e. SHRIN FOR ROAD (work it out yourself!) Points are awarded for each correct answer. Alternatively there is ANIMAL SCRAMBLE, TV SCRAMBLE and so on. Anyone for OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET’S SCRAMBLE?

FLAGS

FLAGS is a get-to-know-you activity, helping young people express what's important to them or more about themselves. Provide large sheets of paper, crayons, markers and paints. Ask each young person to draw a flag which contains some symbols or pictures describing who they are, what's important to them or what they enjoy.

Each flag is divided into 4 or 6 segments. Each segment can contain a picture i.e. favourite emotion, favourite food, a hobby, a skill, where you were born, your family, your faith.

Give everyone 20 minutes to draw their flags. Ask some of the group to share their flags and explain the meaning of what they drew.

SUBSCRIBE

Every week I add more youth ministry resources and personal reflections on youth ministry and leadership. May I encourage you to subscribe to INSIGHT and you won't miss a thing.

4 Comments

Wonderful icebreakers can you do some about the Bible example on 1 John chapter 1 or Ephesians etc. So weekly we can use them. I know I can used these and make them my own but the biblical studies would be awesome mostly for children. Thanks

Posted by: Camekia | 28/01/2017 at 18:16