Description
In I Cor. 9:24-27, Paul compares the Christian life to a race. Any runner will tell you that the most important piece of equipment for the runner is his shoes. Shoes are very personal things. You can’t run the race in someone else’s shoes. In the same way, in the body of Christ we each must run the race. Everyone needs his own set of running shoes. And while we all need shoes, our shoes will be different as we run the race ahead.

What to do

1. Sit the youth in a circle and ask them to remove their shoes, and place them in the middle of the circle.
2. Divide the group of youth into two or more teams and give each team a piece of paper with the following the following 2 tasks on them.
   • List as many features as possible that the shoes in the middle of the circle have in common.
   • List as many features as possible make each pair of shoes unique.
3. Have the teams of youth read out their lists.
4. Next, have everyone close their eyes and grab two shoes from the pile in the center of the circle.
5. Once everyone has a pair of shoes, they must put them on if possible. If their foot will not fit, just put their toes in the shoes.
6. Then, wearing the shoes, ask them to run a relay race to the other side of the room and touch the wall and come back.

Discussion

• What was it like wearing someone else’s shoes? Do you think they helped you or hindered you in your race?
• What are some of the things that we have in common as part of the body of Christ?
• What are some of the things that make us unique?
• When it comes to running the race of life, what lessons can we learn from this activity?

Bible Scripture References
1 Corinthians 12; I Cor. 9:24-27

Our “Destined to Win” series is a great follow up for youth who are new Christians or to emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum / Small Group Study has a sports theme and is great for athletes and works well as a tie in to what’s going on in the NBA and the current Linsanity.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Youth Olympics Sports Logos Freeze Frames!
Can you imitate the people in the logos and be the first to complete all the Youth Olympics Sports images?

Description
Participants will try to copy the poses of athletes in the various Youth Olympic Sports as shown in the Logos for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

Resources

• For some great photo opportunities have a few cameras available!
• You can get the sports logos as individual images from the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympics website
• They are also shown as a single image at the top of this post. Here is a list of the 26 sports included in the first youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
  1. Aquatics
  2. Archery
  3. Athletics
  4. Badminton
  5. Basketball
  6. Boxing
  7. Canoe-Kayak
  8. Cycling
  9. Equestrian
  10. Fencing
  11. Football
  12. Gymnastics
  13. Handball
  14. Hockey
  15. Judo
  16. Modern Pentathlon
  17. Rowing
  18. Sailing
  19. Shooting
  20. Table tennis
  21. Taekwondo
  22. Tennis
  23. Triathlon
  24. Weightlifting
  25. Wrestling
  26. Volleyball

Preparation

1. Cut out the images and mount them on colored pieces of construction paper or notecards.
2. To make it more fun, you may want to add additional photos from the specific sports with people midair and in crazy positions.

What to Do

Divide the group into teams. You can play with this in a variety of ways:

• Randomly draw from the logo images. Have all groups imitate the same image. The first group to get in the same pose as the chosen image gets a point. To make it more difficult, allow only one participant from each group to see the image and then they must go back and form their group into the correct pose.
• Randomly deal the images to the groups face down so they cannot see them. Provide a judge for each group that will decide if the group is close enough to the original image before moving on to the next. The first group to complete all the images first wins.
• Make it a relay race, where group members must run to the other side of the room, grab an image and then emulate it before the next person from the group can go. The first group to have all persons go wins!
• Give each group a camera and make it a photo scavenger hunt. Give each group a collection of photos involving props, positions, and even locations that they must duplicate with the group. The first group to complete the assignment and return with the most correct photos wins!

Variations

• Make props available for each of the sports. Teams must also include the props.

Taking it to the Next Level


For good and for bad, we often imitate others in life. Sometimes this can be a positive thing when others have qualities or traits that we wish to develop in our own lives. At other times it can be stifling as we try to fit into roles and expectations instead of being the person we were created to be.

• Are there people in your life you would like to imitate? Name some of your role models.
• Who are the people you aspire to be like?
• Is it important to have role models? Why or why not?
• How do you draw a balance between being the unique person you were created to be and expectations that society expects us to conform to?
• What are some of the qualities you would like to imitate from a role model? How can you develop these qualities?
• If you don’t have a mentor or role model, who is someone that has the qualities, skills or experience to help you in your personal development?
• Is there an area of your life where you have simply been conforming to what is expected rather then expressing your unique self? If you were not concerned about other people’s expectations and what other people think, what is something you would change about yourself?

Application

• Choose a trait or quality you want to develop and find a role model or mentor to help you develop that in your own life.
• Choose a trait or quality that you have stifled because of expectations that you can begin to develop and learn to express in a positive way.

Possible Scripture References:

Psalm 139:14ff, Ephesians 2:10; Deuteronomy 18:9; 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 13:7; 3 John 1:11, 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; 2 Kings 14:3; John 13:15; Philippians 3:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:7; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Peter 2:22-24

Go for the Gold

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Introduction
Announce that today we are going today we are going to have some grasshopper Olympics.
Whoever wins will be crowned King of the Grasshoppers!

Materials
Masking tape and a few jump ropes.

Preparation
Tape two 4-foot strips of masking tape to the floor, 12 to 15 feet apart to use as goal lines for the following special relays/ jumping competitions. You may wish to get the youth to warm up doing a few jumping jack exercises.

Grasshopper Competitions

1. High jump (Mark the jumps on the wall with a piece of tape)
2. Number of consecutive skips using a jump rope.
3. Greatest number of people jumping successfully at the same time using a single jump rope.
4. Most spectacular trick using a jump rope
5. Long jump from a stand still – line them up along the line and let them jump forward.
6. Least number of jumps to reach the opposite line
7. Running long jump… allow to run and jump from the line without crossing over the line.

Take it to the next level

Award the King of the grasshoppers with a crown of grass! Then ask:

• Is being compared to a grasshopper a good thing or a put down?
• Read Numbers 13:33

In this story, the Israelites saw themselves as grasshoppers. They saw the Guinness World Record breaking inhabitants of the land and in comparison saw themselves as small little grasshoppers. Their focus was on their own limited abilities instead of God’s great promises. When we focus on ourselves we often get the wrong perspective on things. We need to learn to see things from God’s perspective. A king of the grasshoppers may be insignificant, but the King of Kings, God with us, can accomplish anything God desires. God promised the land to the Israelites. His promises never fail. All they needed to do was trust Him and follow in obedience. Instead they ran away in fear.

1. What is it in your life that you need to trust God for?
2. What promises of God are applicable to that area of your life?
3. How can you claim those promises and walk in obedience?

When you do, God will replace fear with victory in your life!

Go for the Gold

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”