Underground Church

4 shiney stars

This game has been submitted by Joshua - thanks Joshua!

This is a game that I used to play in youth and my students have a blast playing it now! It is very detailed, but I promise that once the students get it, they will love it, and learn a lot too!

I always open the game by sharing with the group that in many countries, it is against the law to openly admit to being a follower of Christ. In these countries, being identified as a believer can result in imprisonment and/or death. Because of this, many bodies of believers are forced to meet in private.

The game consists of the following:
1 person as the local pastor.
1-2 people as the police.
The remaining players are town members.

The object of the game:
Secretly gather all the church members.

To prepare the game, go around the facility and make sure you close off any areas that you do not want students to go into. Turn off most lights, but make sure the students have areas they can see.

In the start of the game, have everyone in one central place (with us, it is the sanctuary). When everyone is together, have the pastor go find a room/area that they want to designate as the church and hide there. After giving a few minutes to the pastor, let the towns people try to find the pastor. Keep the police in the central area for about 30-45 seconds before releasing them.

The towns people are to find the pastor to find out where the church is. Once the church is found by a member, they hide in that area. The goal is the students want all the members to make it to the church at one time.

continued below.....

 


 

However, the police are out to find them. If the police finds someone on the run, they can scream halt and the runners/hiders have to freeze. Once the police have found a town member, they can take up to 2 at a time (one per hand) and place them in jail. Jail is a room of the polices choosing that will hold the captured towns people. Only towns people can be arrested, the pastor cannot be thrown in jail. While in jail, towns people are not allowed to talk. In order to get out of jail, the pastor must find where the jail is and escort up to 2 members at a time (one per hand) to the church. This is a full escort, not just leading them half way and giving instructions.

In the event that the jail is found by the preacher or the church is found by the police, the pastor/police may change the location of the church/jail, but it has to be the pastors decision.

The game ends when ALL the towns people are in the church or when ALL the towns people are in jail.
This game can easily take a very long time, so it may be a good idea to put a time limit like 30 min. per round.

I didn't come up with this game, nor do I know who started it, so feel free to make changes to rules and added roles for fun!

 


Features
  • Free / Low Cost
  • Night
Objectives
  • Ice breaker
  • Discipleship / Bible
  • Team Building Teamwork
Space
  • Indoor
  • Large area
Age
  • Teens (Age 12-15)
  • Teens (Age 16-18)
  • Young Adults

Group Size
  • Small Groups (1-9 people)
  • Medium (10-29 people)
  • Large groups (30+)

Duration
  • Longer (30-60 mins)
Submit your vote:



Share

          

Comments

There's another version where no one knows who anyone else is, and so the police have the opportunity to pretend to be Christians and work undercover to get the Pastor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, there is no advantage or disadvantage to either side.
There's also an angel, who can break the Christians out of prison. The game ends when the police find the pastor, or the majority of Christians, the angel and the pastor raise their hands and shout HALLELUJAH.
- Jaz (10 Feb 2013)

Also known as Romans vs. Christians if you want to get a little historical!
- Rev. Talitha (30 Jan 2016)

Post your own comment

Name:
Email or web site:
Anti-spam check
To prove you are human, what traffic light color means stop?(Hint: 3 letters, beginning with R)
Comments:
Note: comments may be edited and will not appear until approved


Icebreakers

9 Icebreakers that will leave your Group Buzzing

We've compiled a list of icebreakers which are fun and easy to run!



Team Building Activities

8 Fun and Effective Team Building Activities

Team Building Activities are a great way to strengthen relationships amongst your group. Here are 8 activities that will do just that!


Youth Group Names

Youth Group Names

Looking for a good name for your Youth Group? Check out our list of Youth Group Names.