Posts by Young Life Leader
The Corn Drill Game
It’s ‘Games Week’ on YoungLifeLeaders.org One new club game a day, all games submitted by you! If you have a game to share, submit it here. Today’s post is from Katie McClung in Arvada, Colorado. We’re doing Redneck Barn Club next week and using this one for sure. Thanks for passing it along…
Read MoreThe Apple String Game
This week I’m posting one new game a day on the blog. All games were submitted by you! If you have a game you’re willing to share, submit it here. Today’s post is from Lindsey Gipson in Suwanee, Georgia and a perfect game for the fall club season. Materials Needed Whole apples with stems, string, blindfolds, peanut butter…
Read MoreInsta-Club: Where YL & Instagram Collide In Hilarity
This week I’m posting one new game a day on the blog. All games were submitted by you! If you have a game you’re willing to share, submit it here. Today’s post has a bonus feature, entire club plans for Insta-Club! Kyle Eberth sent in the Insta-Mixer game below, just in time for us to use…
Read MoreBanana Slap: A Bizarre Mixer
This week I’m postingone new game a day on the blog. All games were submitted by you! Today’s game is a mixer called ‘Banana Slap’ and was sent in by Chad Borgestad. Thanks Chad! Materials Needed A bunch of bananas; you can usually get 3 peels per banana. If you have 60 kids at club,…
Read MoreYoung Life Games Week On the Blog
There were over thirty game submissions that came in this week and most of them are AWESOME NEW games I can’t wait to share. Each day this week I’ll post a new game on the blog. I numbered all the entries and randomly selected three numbers to win the ‘Merica shirts. And the winners are……
Read MoreFast Songs To Play As Kids Enter Club
It never feels easy to find a fun, fast, clean song to play as kids enter the club room each week. Below are some suggestions you shared with me on Twitter. Thanks to everyone who pitched in ideas. I haven’t listened to all of these yet so make sure you preview a song before actually…
Read MoreCreative Ways To Divide Into Teams For Mixers
For large group mixers we often divide the large group into smaller teams. Below are few different ways to creatively do that. If you have any other ideas, please comment or email me. If You Need 12 Teams Birth-month (Everyone born in January go to that corner…) If You Need A Random Number of Teams…
Read MoreA Gathering of YL Friends & Family Featuring Andrew Osenga: October 6,Greensboro, NC
If you’re in driving distance of Greensboro, NC, you’re invited to a gathering of Young Life friends and family on Sunday, October 6th. The evening will feature YL musician Andrew Osenga. Work Crew/Summer Staff reunions. High School friends reunite. YL leaders from across the southeast come together for a night of community and celebration. Andy O has been playing…
Read MoreA New 'Club Games' Section On YoungLifeLeaders.org
How To Win A ‘Merica YL Shirt I’m working on building a new ‘club games’ section on the site and need your help. What games/mixers have you done/seen that have worked really well? If you email in a submission you’ll be entered to win one of our YL shirts, and yes, it does have…
Read More3 Roles We Offer Seniors In Young Life
In the past we’ve basically had one way to be involved in Young Life as a senior, by being a ‘Senior Leader.’ Senior Leaders are 12th graders who help run club, lead freshmen campaigner groups, lead freshmen cabins at camp, and essentially serve as ‘officers’ for Young Life. It’s become the ‘popular’ thing to…
Read MoreReverse Charades: An All-Club Mixer/Game
Materials Needed Pre-made powerpoint slides with charades words, stopwatch, buzzer, game show music, scoreboard. Potential Skit Characters Drama teachers, mimes, game show hosts, or you can run the game with your weekly run-on characters. How To Play Call 1 guy and 1 gal up front to compete. Divide into two teams, guys vs gals. Instead…
Read MoreWhat To Say When When Your High School Friends Lose
I’ve spent many evenings watching a high school game, only to wait around after the loss to be ignored by a fifteen-year old in a bad mood. I don’t blame him. I’ve been there too. It’s always more fun to watch your middle and high school friends win. When they win, you can celebrate together,…
Read MoreTalk Like A Pirate Day: Free Doughnuts At Krispy Kreme This Thursday
This has ‘Young Life’ written all over it. Thursday, Sept 19th, is the International Talk Like A Pirate Day. In honor of the parodic holiday, Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts. If you show up to a Krispy Kreme on Thursday and talk like a pirate, you get a free doughnut. Ahoy Matey! There…
Read MoreI’m Not The YL Leader I Want To Be
I often find myself re-reading this C.S. Lewis quote from ‘Mere Christianity.’ I’m drawn to it because I want to be a ‘new man’ and I know I’m far from being there. “Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognizable: but…
Read MoreA Must-See Movie for YL Leaders
This guest post is written by Nathan Goodroe, a WyldLife leader in Clemson, SC. I was searching through Netflix one night looking for something to watch with my father. I naturally headed toward the documentaries. I knew he might not be as excited as I was for a two hour long video on Alaskan bears,…
Read MoreHow To Earn A Parent’s Trust (As A YL Leader)
I look back at my first year leading YL in college and feel sorry for my poor Area Director, God bless you Bart Scarborough. I’m sure he received many phone calls from concerned parents wondering why he allowed me to represent Durham/Chapel Hill Young Life. Have You Ever… Got A Speeding Ticket With Kids In…
Read MoreA Strange Brand Of Happy: A New Young Life-y Movie
Hey YL leaders! There’s a brand new movie hitting theaters nationwide this Friday, September 13th, A Strange Brand of Happy. It’s a YL kind of movie and one you can take kids to without feeling like you’re dragging them to a cheesy religious flick. A Strange Brand of Happy has a quirky, indy, romantic comedy feel and…
Read MoreOver 150 Young Life Club Songs For The New Semester
Picking songs for club isn’t easy. Hopefully this ‘database’ below will help…but your best resource when picking songs is your middle and high school friends. We had our first YL band practice last night and it was awesome to see them take ownership and select songs for the first couple clubs. Here’s how we started a…
Read MoreBro Breakfast: A YL Tradition
Originally posted Aug 2012. Maybe it feels too early in the school year to start an official Campaigners group. If you feel like you don’t yet know kids well enough to dive into a Bible study, and you want to wait until after fall camp to kick it off, here’s an idea for you. Charlie,…
Read MoreJesus Wants The Rose
Being a Young Life leader is hard. As much as we love high schoolers, many of them are just difficult to love. Apart from Christ in us, it wouldn’t make much sense to love them. They reject us. They ignore our texts. They’re mean. They lie. They have terrible habits. They don’t listen. They’re filled with…
Read MoreThe True Tall Tell Of A Wilderness Ranch Guide Named Erin
This guest post is written by Erin Green, a junior at the University of Texas and a Young Life leader at McCallum High School. Erin just finished her first summer as a backpacking guide at Young Life’s Wilderness Ranch. You can find her blogging at Likewaterthesea.tumblr.com. This past month has been filled with more trials…
Read MoreAn Easy Way To Make Your YL Club A PAR-TAY!!
Get a high schooler to DJ pre-club and post-club hangout! Last semester one of our high school friends invested in some speakers/turntables so he could start DJing parties/weddings. The beautiful thing about it was that he was excited about using it at club as well! We always have a pre-club hangout with enos, cornhole, spikeball,…
Read MoreWin Kyle Tallman’s New Album: ‘Coming Home’
This weekend we’re giving away 5 copies of Kyle Tallman‘s new album, Coming Home. Each album also comes with a Kyle Tallman t-shirt! Winners will randomly be selected from those who leave a comment below or tweet about the new album. In your comment, leave your name and YL area. In your tweet, make sure…
Read More8 Ways To Give High Schoolers Ownership Over Club This Year
Originally posted fall 2011. One night after club our newest YL leader asked me how it compared with a typical club. “Was it better than normal, average, or not quite as good?” I turned to one of my high school friends and asked, “What do you think Chris?” His response surprised me, in a good…
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