Author: Stephen Benefield
Using games is a great way to help information stick with your students. That’s probably why so many Sunday school teachers, youth pastors, and other people who work with kids and teens use Bible drills. In addition to helping people to become more adept at finding passages in their Bibles, they can also generate some excitement in a particular class or gathering. Here in Cambodia, we use a variety of games and activities with all ages (even the adults) to keep people involved, learning, and smiling.
But one of the problems with games is that if they are overused, people will lose interest. If you have quit using Bible drills because they seem too old and stale, here are three fresh versions which may liven up your next class, youth meeting, or even family devotions.
1. Grab-the-Object Bible Drills
The basic idea: The first person to find the verse, identify the object in the verse, and grab the object from a table in front of the room wins the round.
The details: Find verses which have easily obtained objects in them. (For example: a cross, a stuffed animal sheep, a key, a candle, a Bible, bread, etc.) When you call out the verse to the class, instead of standing and reading the verse, they have to look for what object is mentioned in the verse, and then run up to the front of the class and grab the right object. The first person to grab the correct object wins that round and obtains a point for their team. In order to keep the students guessing, put many items out on the table which are not found in any of the verses.
2. Elimination Bible Drills
The basic idea: When a player wins a round, they get to eliminate a player of their choice from the other team, until one team is out of players.
The details: This version of Bible drills needs an equal number of players on each team. If your have a large class, it is best to only play with a few selected players so the game doesn’t go too long. We always have people who are new and don’t really want to play, but they enjoy cheering on their side or their team.
Ask each side for volunteers to represent their team. We usually use 4 players per team, and it takes about 5 minutes to play. If you have the space, it is fun to have the players from each team sit in the front and face the audience. If you don’t have the room for that, just leave them in their seats. Proceed to call out the Bible drills in the traditional way, but each time a player wins a verse, they get to select a player of the opposite team to eliminate from the game. This goes on until one team has lost all of their players.
