🌎 Read This Post In: English | Español 🇪🇸 | Português 🇧🇷 Disclaimer: These ideas aren't all my own. Most are from past fun activities I have been to, all of which have been team efforts. I hope all my current and former leaders know how much I appreciate everything they planned for us. So... A year of activity ideas!! Pin your favorites. 📌 👉Want these in a PDF? Check this out in the shop. INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES 1. Cook for the missionaries Choose a target dish for the youth to learn to make. Bring supplies and tell missionaries dinner's on y'all for that night. Instruct them on making, serving + setting up the meal. Add time limits for suspense! 2. Photography night A photographer in the ward shared her tips on posing, selfies, lighting, group pictures, cameras, and more. It ended with a big photo shoot for practice. 3. Paint night One of our young women was close with her art teacher, so we brought the supplies and the expert showed us how to use them. So much fun that we've done this several times. You don't need anyone good at painting to lead the activity, though -- Pinterest and YouTube have so many tutorials as well! 4. Outdoor survival night We split into teams in the church parking lot and had to "fight to survive" through three stations: making a lean-to with a tree, rope, and tarp, building a fire without matches, and using a compass to find hidden treasure, and enjoyed s'mores. 5. Cake decorating night A sister in the ward is a professional caterer + baker and she showed us all the different icing and frosting mixing and piping techniques! It was sweet. 😉😋 6. Traveling Etiquette Dinner We went to three houses with different lessons and food at each one. First, we had appetizers and a lesson about dinner behavior, then we drove to the next house where we had dinner and talked about place settings. Finally, we went to the last house and talked about dating while having dessert. 7. International Foods Night Our youth group is so diverse and we have a lot of amazing girls that have joined us from different countries around the world. We set this up to let them teach us about their culture...and yes, to have lots of amazing food. It doesn't get better than that! 8. Friendship Bracelet Night We all wished we knew how to make friendship bracelets but felt intimidated by complicated techniques. So we learned to make them soooo easily, with cereal boxes!! All credit goes to this blog from Pinterest, we enjoyed using her tutorial. 9. Iron Chef Competition This was so fun it became a ward tradition. Gather mystery ingredients. Missionaries make great judges. The teams have an hour to make a master meal with what they have, learning resourcefulness and cooking from the older kids along the way. 10. DIY flip flops Relief Society tablecloth flat lay 🤣🤩 Cheap, useful, and cute. We bought $1 flip flops for each Young Woman, and decorated them with fabric ties, as per here. The goal was for everyone to have a pair of inexpensive flip flops they didn't have to worry about getting dirty at girls camp. 11. Tie dye night Everyone brought a white shirt and we folded and dyed them. Pretty easy and quick, try the tutorial here. We bought tie-dye colors but I've seen food coloring used before, from Pinterest ofc. 12. Band night Our bishop got each of the members of his band to teach a different "clinic" based on each instrument - voice, piano, guitar, drums, etc. The youth signed up for which instrument they wanted to do in advance. Instruments were borrowed. We all learned the different parts to one song and had a performance in the gym. 13. Time capsules night I've made printables for cute individual time capsules! What would also be so cute is a group time capsule - each class could make one with group photos of them, positive things they write about each other, their favorite church things, etc. 14. The Game of Latter-Day Saint Life We brought a Game of Life board and played, pausing for devotionals from different people at each spot (college or work first? marriage? kids? home ownership? money?) You can also make a custom Latter-Day Saint themed game board or a life sized game of LIFE. 15. Babysitting skills night A bunch of primary kids were invited. We were given a babysitting lesson before, and then put our knowledge into action as we played with the children. 16. Make-up Know How In a group of young women and their leaders, people qualified to teach makeup techniques it won't be scarce. This was fun for the younger yw who were just getting into makeup and for the older yw who could show off their talents. 17. Bread Making We learned how to make our own bread. We each had index cards to write the recipe on, but we did it step by step as the leaders demonstrated the process with us. Bread making can be intimidating, but thankfully Pinterest exists! Here's an idea to get you started. 18. Hairstyle night Learn to do Dutch, and French braids and have each girl bring her own brushes and hair ties so everything is sanitary. You can also go over curling and straightening hair, products everyone swears by, dos and don'ts, etc! 19. Modesty night We cut out paper dolls and made modest outfits for them with scrapbook paper. We discussed standing out from the world and being a light as we cut, pasted, and taped. A modest fashion show could also be fun! 20. Song night We've done this to prep for musical numbers, or to learn to sing a song. A way to make this more fun is to get a ukulele involved. Chances are that several of the youth know how to play (this has always been true for us at a given church activity) and gets them involved and everyone having fun. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 21. Sledding If you have the weather and location, enjoy some fun in the snow and then some hot chocolate back at the church building. 22. Youth Pool Party This one is a classic, along with a BBQ! 💦 The leaders bring the most essential items (burgers, buns, plates, paper utensils) the young women bring the kind of essential items (salads, desserts, appetizers) and the young men bring the items that won't be too unfortunate for us to miss (sodas, chips, condiments etc) and it always works out. 🍔 23. Yoga Night We did this one outside + got some low impact exercise + fresh air. Dual yoga is also fun! 24. Cultural Dance Night A dance teacher from the ward taught us traditional dances from different world cultures. 25. Nutrition Night We learned how to make healthy green smoothies. You could also expand this to healthy meal ideas. 26. Color run We got everyone white shirts that said "let your colors shine." Then we sprinted around the church parking lot while the leaders tried to make us as colorful as possible. 🎨 27. Outdoor/backyard games night We played kickball + Spud, but other outdoor games are, of course, fair game. Ideas include Mother May I, What Time Is It, Missionary Tag, Blob Tag, Ghost in the Graveyard👻, Werewolf/Mafia, Sardines, or whatever y'all enjoy. 28. Glow In The Dark Volleyball This is what it looked like during the activity! 👇 For the first fifteen minutes, everyone got glowsticks + put them together as necklaces, bracelets, anklets, etc. We put glow in the dark paint on our volleyball and really enjoyed this fun twist on a classic game. 🏐 See the glow in the dark dessert table below! 29. Church gym sports When nonmembers ask why we all have gyms, this is one of the reasons. Volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, soccer, and more are all easy to plan + play inside in those cold winter months. 30. Self defense skills night One of the young women does karate + invited a member of her dojo to give everyone tips on basic moves to defend themselves and stay safe if attacked. 31. Nerf Wars The young men thought this would be fun. Tie in doctrinally to "avoiding the fiery darts of the adversary" or the "Samuel the Lamanite" story. 32. Life Sized Games Our ward has played life size Hungry Hungry Hippos and Battleship.The latter was when we did life size Battleship. We split into teams, put up a blanket in the middle, and everyone lay in different areas on the gym floor. While lying down, we would throw a light ball at each other over the barrier and if someone was hit, they were out. I found so many other cute life sized game ideas on Pinterest y'all could try, including Foosball, Clue, Guess Who, Connect 4, Operation, Angry Birds, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Jenga, Pac Man, Scrabble, Tic Tac Toe and Kerplunk. Woah, 15 weeks of creative combined youth activities. 😉 33. Group bike route In my old ward, there were SO many of us (easily 30+) and I still laugh out loud thinking about this one bewildered man walking his dog who saw this procession of dozens of women and girls zooming by on their bikes, and was like "who is this?" Having enough bikes for everyone can definitely be a challenge, but if you can round up a lot of extras or consult with parents first before planning, you could make it work! SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES 34. Watch Face2Face Addresses We always do this whenever they come out because our time zone has them dropping at 10 pm on a school night. You can even do this with old ones they've made. Give one of these a try. 35. Scripture canvas bags These are great for when your youth need to have + transport their heavy, irl scriptures--and y'all need a cute and crafty activity idea! We created ours with fabric markers + canvas bags. 36. General conference prep night We made trail mix to enjoy with our families and DIY notebooks -- dollar tree journals, with cut out pictures of the general authorities that we taped to the pages and used as tabs. 37. General conference review night I'm planning to blog about some fun games to do for this. For now, try a themed Kahoot or General Conference race! 38. Teach the Theme activity Every year we get a new one and every year I put together a package to help you make teaching it to your youth a fun and memorable experience! I ended up having to take the 2020 one down 😢 but I'll be back with another one when the creating-resources-for-the-theme-in-4-months frenzy returns. 39. FamilySearch Workshop Everyone brought a dessert from a country of their heritage and we enjoyed treats while our Youth Family History consultant gave us pointers on how to use the Family Search indexing program. We also did our best to make it fun by incorporating the "Find My Famous Relatives" database that BYU has. I also suggest this Coco family history activity I made! 40. Spiritual Journal Jars Talk about the importance of writing down your "Spiritually Defining Memories" (recently coined term, classic concept.) We decorated mason jars with washi tape, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, and acrylics and then filled them with journal prompts + ideas. 41. Church escape room This photo is from a St. Patrick's day escape room I created for the group and let me tell you...never again!! The activity went well, and staying up so late working on it every night and going crazy making every detail perfect did not go to waste. But you don't have to become a martyr to host a good activity. Which is why I would suggest using a pre-made church themed escape room like the Hope of Israel one (we've tested and enjoyed) or this general church themed one that is sure to excite, amaze, and promote teamwork skills! 42. Primary song helps Make cute visual aids to help the kids learn their primary songs, helping your busy chorister save energy and time. Win win! 43. Cleaning the nursery We got on our gloves, turned on our Disney music, and disinfected every last nursery toy. This was pre-corona, but I have a feeling this might become more frequent when we're back at church again. 👀😂 44. Family History Campfire Everyone shared one funny/entertaining story from their family history, in the RS room with the lights off and flashlights and lanterns on sitting around this fake fire--which was so hilarious--red, orange and yellow tissue paper crumpled up in a casserole dish. 45. Missionary life skills night RMs set up a bunch of different stations with rapid fire lessons on missionary (but honestly also) life skills they wanted the youth to review/learn--ironing, shining shoes, cooking, sewing (for repairs)--and talked about their mission experiences while we did those chores. 46. Pioneer life skills night Set up different stations with different pioneer skills (making butter, hauling firewood, milling flour, grinding wheat, pulling a handcart) and honor their sacrifice and legacy. 47. Investigator Trailer Night We were put into companions and a bunch of the leaders went into different classrooms around the building, acting as the different stereotypical types of investigators when we "knocked on their doors." (Golden, nice but not interested, angry, etc). Discuss how missionary work is hard but rewarding and your converts, baptisms, results etc don't determine your success but your perseverance and positivity do. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES 48. Personality Party We decorated with Disney Princess Personality Posters, and had everyone take a free MBTI test. We played games that helped us to know how to better minister to and get along with our fellow leaders + young women. Posters, handouts, activities, etc, are here! 49. Speed Friendshipping Everyone writes creative, funny, or even deep questions on slips of paper. Create concentric circles with the folding chairs, and have one circle rotate so everyone gets to "friendship" everyone. They get a time limit to go through as many questions as they can. 50. Caroling for the elderly Every year at Christmas, we sing carols at an assisted living home and enjoy hot chocolate afterwards. 51. Heart Attack This has always been received so well and is a Valentine's Day classic. Spread the love! 52. Cookies + Cards We made valentine's day cookies and cards and delivered them to our ministering sisters. 53. Friendship Dinner We did this over the span of three activity nights and it had a Valentine's Day theme. The idea was to make a dinner connecting youth with those who were old/lonely in the ward for a night of ministering and fun. First, we delivered invitations with cookies to the invited. The next week, we decorated the gym for the event. The final week was the dinner. 54. Make fleece tye blankets Service projects really don't get much easier than this--buy some fleece, cut two equal pieces, and then a fringe. Tie each fringe together while you chat, and donate the finished blankets to a good cause. 55. Gratitude scavenger hunt I created a Thanksgiving themed escape room/scavenger hunt activity that is so cute and will be available in the shop when the holiday approaches. 56. Daddy-Daughter Showdown Super fun Father's Day activity with three main events: the dads stood behind a chalkboard and we had to guess whose was ours, we drew pictures of them they had to guess which one was them, and then the big finale was us having to tie their tie and them having to paint our nails. 57. Disney lip sync battle One of our favorite activities EVER. Young women versus young men -- we rehearsed separately to face off and ended up choosing the exact same song! Super fun, easy, and hilarious. 58. Taking Photos of Graves Easy service project to organize -- index graves for BillionGraves, which has an easy to use mobile app. 59. Mall Scavenger Hunt We split into teams with leaders as the captains and were dropped off at our local mall. The team to take group photos with every item on the list and make it back to the church first were the champions. 60. Making gift boxes for Samaritan's Purse In this Christmastime activity, everyone brought cute gift items from 5 Below, Dollar Tree, etc. We got our assignments from Samaritan's Purse Ministries and put together and decorated boxes for them. 61. Bulletin Board Making Putting together a bulletin board, whether organically or with a printable kit, is a lot of work. We did it together for one of our activities. You could also do it as a service project for a busy (primary, rs, etc) leader at the beginning of the year. Bonus points if you use one from the shop! _____________ Whew! We made it. But before you dash, I want to make sure you know that this is NOT the only resource I have to make your life easier as a busy Latter-Day Saint. 💛 To easily see & have all my free Latter-Day Saint resources at your fingertips, follow me on Pinterest! Again, if you want to have a list of these activities in PDF form, check out this product!

When it comes to setting monthly goals, it's important to consider all aspects of your life. This includes social spiritual physical intellectual goals. Many of these ideas are broken down with specific goals so that they are easier to achieve

Looking for Latter-day Saint mutual activities for youth? You have come to the right spot! Here are TONS of ideas for fun activities - both for individual

I have created free printables to help y'all in goal setting in your families, classrooms + wards. PRINTABLES, WORKSHEETS + LESSON PLANS These can be used for ward, fhe or personal goal setting. For the full goal setting package, check out the FHE lesson kit. The other sets are abridged for various needs. Family Night Printables: English | Español | Português Children + Youth Activity Printables: English | Español | Português Personal Goal Setting Printables: English | Español | Português PREMIUM RESOURCES This goal tracker for Young Women coordinates with the 2021 Youth Theme. ☀️ In several different sizes + with an added motivational quote, this is all about daily reminding you of the Great Work theme + goals you will do this year! BULLETIN BOARDS Go + check out the beautiful bulletin board kit. QUOTES Give out these goal setting quotes as a handout to your children/youth. Best of luck! I know you can get those goals!!

Ideas for youth and children's ministry in small churches. For smarter decisions, easier planning, and better results, set your foundation!

Are you looking for some great ideas for youth sermons you could use at youth group? We created a massive and organized list to help you pick the best youth group lesson for your youth ministry.

Be sure to check out our EMBARK Girls Camp posts (based on this year’s youth theme)! A great fit for Girls Camp and full of activities you could use on any weeknight. We’ve all b…

Youth group event ideas are always in high demand. Try these 8 great suggestions with teens.

Need youth group games? We have 50 of them, and they are all no prep youth group games! Perfect for groups as little as 3 and as big as 100. Check out these 50 no prep youth group games that are not dodgeball!

Here is a list of 40 ideas to implement the new Children and Youth program from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Here are three fun M&M object lessons that you can do with kids and youth to get them thinking about God's love for us and our unique gifts.

Paul and Silas in prison Bible lesson for children with worksheets, coloring pages, crafts, story, games and activities and more. Based on Acts 16. Paul and Silas are freed from prison by an earthquake. The jailer of the prison becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. He and his family are baptized.

Are you brave enough to try to walk on water? Here's an object lesson on faith for you to share with your youth group, inspired by Peter's faith.

Here's a free youth group lesson on attitude. Use this lesson to teach students that they need to get rid of bad attitudes and instead have an attitude like Jesus.

This lesson based on the manipulation of Jacob and Esau will help children understand that choosing forgiveness is better than choosing the ways of sin.

Need youth group games? We have 50 of them, and they are all no prep youth group games! Perfect for groups as little as 3 and as big as 100. Check out these 50 no prep youth group games that are not dodgeball!

There are many lies the devil tells especially to teens and these are just some of them. Have you believed any of these lies or knows people

The church fall season brings tons of opportunities for friendship evangelism and a boost of momentum. It doesn’t happen automatically, though.

Looking for youth camp themes that your teenagers will actually enjoy? This list includes 15 epic youth camp themes complete with scriptures to back them up.

This character building object lesson about forgiveness takes a fun science experience and relates it to the risks of choosing not to forgive. This is one more activity in my character building series. Object lessons helps connect a hands-on and visual experience with the heart. A picture like the one presented today is more likely...Read More

Whether you are teaching the beatitudes at home and in Sunday school. Make it easier with this free printable Beatitudes craft for kids.

Primary Activities Primary Activity Days

Use this fun Bible game to teach about the Bible story of Joseph in the pit The brothers take hold of Joseph and throw him into the pit.

Use a Noah's Ark craft to bring to life one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Start with these simple ideas! Free downloadable activity pages.

In Luke 19:1-11, Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector from Jericho, spent time with Jesus and became a changed man. Below you’ll find Bible lesson activities about Zacchaeus’s encounter with Jesus and the difference Jesus made in the tax collector’s life.

Would You Rather? is a great game to play with kids and youth. These Would You Rather? Bible questions get them thinking and talking about Scripture.

This FHE lesson on faith teaches about how faith leads to action and what we can do to exercise our faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hymn True to the Faith | Hymn #254 1. Shall the youth of Zion falter In defending truth and right? While […]

Zacchaeus is a real-life example of the power that Jesus has to change our hearts. The goal in this lesson is for the children to feel the darkness and ugliness of sin, and then experience the joy and miracle of forgiveness when Zacchaeus meets Jesus! Bible Truth: Jesus has the power to forgives my sin. Bible Story: Jesus changes Zacchaeus' heart. Bible Study: Luke 19:1-10; I Corinthians 5:7 teach cha-ching! To tell the story of Zacchaeus "hands-on" style gather up these items: children's picture Bible, or flannel graph scenery and characters a small bag or coin pouch loose change a cut-out of a black heart and a white heart Peak your class's interest in your lesson by shaking the bag, and letting them guess what is inside. They will probably easily guess that you have money in your bag! Pass out a coin for each child to hold throughout the lesson. (Remind them that they should never put coins in their mouths!) Read the story of Zacchaeus from a children's picture Bible, or tell it in your own words with visuals, such as flannel graph. Introduce Zacchaeus as a short man, who was a tax collector. His job was to collect money that people had to pay to the king. But Zacchaeus took more money from people than he was supposed to. If someone was supposed to pay one coin to the king, Zaccahaeus made them pay two coins, and he would keep one of the coins for himself. That is called stealing. Zacchaeus was rich and had lots of money, but nobody wanted to be his friend because he stole money from them. He had a dark sinful heart. Hold up the dark heart as you describe Zacchaeus' dark and sinful heart. Go on to tell the rest of the story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus, as you show pictures from the children's Bible or manipulate flannel graph characters. At the conclusion of the story, talk about how amazing it is that Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart! He used to be a man that stole people's money, but now he gives his money away to people! Jesus did a miracle! Only Jesus has the power to take a dirty, sinful heart and give us a new clean heart! Zacchaeus repented, he turned away from his sin, and followed Jesus! Hold up the white heart as you describe how Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart. Lead the class in a prayer, asking Jesus to forgive their sin, and change their hearts so they can follow Jesus like Zacchaeus. After you pray, collect the coins from the children. Tell them that they are giving the money back just like Zacchaeus did after he repented. sing Zacchaeus (was a wee little man) is a Sunday School classic, and the perfect song to reinforce the story they just heard. Be sure to do some actions with the song! The Repent Song is the same song we learned along with the story of John the Baptist, so it's great review and repetition. Follow the link for the lyrics and actions. The Bath Song is a great song about how Jesus washes away our sin with "super soap." The "call back" format makes it really easy to sing along! craft color & paste Here is a coloring sheet from Sermons 4 Kids of Jesus talking to Zacchaeus in the tree. Cut pieces of green paper, or green tissue paper into leaves for the children to glue onto the tree. zacchaeus meets Jesus A good craft is one that helps children retell the story that they learned. This craft does exactly that! You will need: this print out in (black & white) or (color) card stock scissors hole punch yarn green tissue paper glue clear tape crayons (optional) To prepare, print the print out page onto card stock. Cut on the dotted line, and cut out Zacchaeus. Punch a hole at the top and bottom of the tree. Cut out approximately 1" x 1" squares of green tissue paper. Cut yarn into 16" lengths. In class, provide glue for the children to attach the squares of tissue paper to the tree as leaves. Lace the yarn throught the holes and tie it behind the tree. If using the black and white version, provide crayons for the children to color Jesus and Zacchaeus. Tip: Tie the yarn near the top of the page, and attach Zacchaeus to the bottom of the page. It is easier for the kids, if you let them glue on the leaves before you add the yarn. Use clear tape to attach Zacchaeus to the yarn. Tip: Set the clear tape under the yarn, sticky side up, and then press Zacchaeus onto the tape. Move Zacchaeus up and down the tree to retell the story! up and down the tree For this craft you will need: this tree pattern this Zacchaeus pattern green construction paper jumbo craft sticks yarn scissors hole punch crayons glue tape To prepare, cut out the top, leaf portion of the tree pattern, and use it to trace onto green construction paper. Cut out tree and Zacchaeus figures. Punch a hole near the top of the trees. Cut yarn into approximately 7" lengths. In class, provide crayons for the children to color Zacchaeus, and the jumbo craft stick. Help them attach the tree to the craft stick with glue. Tape Zacchaeus to the yarn, thread the yarn through the hole in the tree, and tie the yarn off in the back to move Zacchaeus up and down the tree. Find more ideas and for teaching your child at home about Zacchaeus and his encounter with Jesus, here!

46 youth group icebreakers perfect to get teens talking! These are fun and easy to do games that require little or no prep. Perfect for large or small youth groups.

These free, printable Gideon Bible activities will help kids understand that God can use weak people and give them courage to accomplish what He wants.

Looking for free Christian skits for youth or children? We’ve collected loads of church skits for life application or evangelism.

Here are fun ideas for summer activities for children with significant multiple disabilities and visual impairment, including sensory trays, art activities, books, music, and toys. Ideas to Engage Students with […]

Fun object lesson about putting God first in our lives. Great for children's church, sunday school, and youth group. All you need is a banana!

Need Youth Bible Lessons? Find FREE Sunday School Lessons for Youth (Teens). Try these FREE Printable Bible Study Lessons in Youth Group or in Sunday School.

Download a Free Sermon Notes Printable for Kids

About a month ago I got a text from the young women’s president asking if I could fill in for one of the presidency members in planning a combined activity. The conversation went something li…

This week’s lesson was a super fun one for our little ones! The focus was on God’s promises, so we started by talking about a promise that we had learnt a couple of weeks before. We remember that God had made a promise to Noah to save him and his family from the flood and we saw […]

I am so thrilled to team up with one of my favorite people - Amy from Raising Arrows! Last week, Amy told me of her wonderful idea for 'Listening Pages.' I immediately knew it was a project I would love to work on. The concept of these Pages is to keep little ones engaged in the church service on Sunday mornings - from singing to the sermon to prayer. I am hosting the pages for children who are not yet reading, utilizing pictures instead of words. You'll also see a space on the side of the Page where your little one

This Noah and the Flood Object Lesson will kids describe why God flooded the Earth, how God saved humanity, and why God chooses a remnant.