#434. Gross Food Related Youth Group Games
Nov 7th by Jon
I’ve never been to seminary to learn how to be a youth minister. (If I did go it would probably be Gordon Conwell where my dad went. Not because I know where they stand theologically, but because I know where they stand on having wicked awesome hills for sledding. Despite living in Georgia, half of my decisions in life are made based on access to sledding.)
Even though I’ve never gone to seminary, I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the classes budding youth ministers take is “Gross Food Games 101.”
I say this because every youth minister I’ve ever known possessed at least one gross food game they’d play at youth group. Here’s what I imagine the class they took is like whenever I play, “magical seminary in Jon’s head.”
Professor:
“Class is going well. You’ve learned a few key youth group laws. There has to be a cry fest on the last night of a retreat. Saturday night is always “sloppy agape.” Parental releases are like little slips of gold. Treasure them. Now I think it’s time to talk about working some food humor into your ministry.
And by food humor, I of course mean, getting someone to puke. Nothing bonds you faster and tighter to the deep truth of sweet baby Jesus than someone puking during the middle of youth group. It’s unbelievable.
A lot of other professors will tell you that ‘chubby bunny’ is the easiest way to get someone to puke. But it’s an amateur move and to be frank with you students, I don’t even count it. How hard is it to get someone to place 42 marshmallows in their mouth and then spit up said marshmallows when they try to say the phrase ‘chubby bunny?’
I’m a proponent of the ‘bag o’ baby food game’ myself. Here’s what you’re going to do and please write this down because I’m not going to repeat it. Get a paper bag and then a bunch of baby food. Don’t get applesauce. I can’t stress this enough. No one is going to puke eating applesauce, they’ll probably side hug you from happiness. Think pureed beef and meat sticks, quite possibly the grossest thing ever put in a jar. And whatever you do, don’t let any of the meat stick juice spill in your car on the way to the youth group event or you’ll have to ghost ride that car off a cliff immediately.
Then pass the bag around a circle while playing a song. I find a serious song, like “I can only imagine” serves as a nice juxtaposition to the impending silliness that is about to occur. When the song stops, whoever is holding the bag has to eat whatever they pull out. When they inevitably puke, play ‘Friends are friends forever‘ and then stand back and watch the unity you’ve just fostered. Class dismissed.”
Is that how it goes? If you’re a youth minister you can tell me. It’s cool.
Am I the only one that experienced the bag o’ baby food game when I visited a youth group in Houston, Texas?
Did your youth group ever play a gross food-related game?
Comments
Its funny how there is always someone who has problems with food games. I had a concerned mother approach me one night after YG and warned me that sprite and alkaseltzer was dangerous for teens as .003% of people are allergic to the .003% of aspirin in the alka.
anyways try having a hot-sauce coated marshmallow contest. talk about nasty! Or an unsweetened packet of kool-aid contest. As sour as it gets and stains the mouth! and both are safe….to my knowledge..
happy meal in a blender. grossest thing ever XP but the puking lasts a little while
I was a leader on a youth camp where we played the 'drinking soda through a sock' game. The kid that we picked was notorious for not changing his socks. He drank through it, and then put it back on his foot, and wore it for the rest of camp. What a legend!
I remember when I was in first grade we had a contest during Sunday School on who could chug a 1 liter of soda the fastest, not quite sure why a first grader was chosen to go up against a 8th grader but I did and won, then went to the bathroom and puked, And while my parents were throughly ticked, I have to admit, not only did I have an incredible time I also had alot of kids in that bathroom to bond with
One game that we use to play at Youth Group was that you fill a bowl with oreos, and chocolate pudding to resemble mud, now this is actually a yummy desert usually laced with gummie worms. However that isn't good enough for the youth group, we placed real worms in the mix which kids then had to pick out with their mouths, about ten of them and place on a plate. Now it would have been worse if we had been required to eat them although I have tasted worm, slug, frog, and fly, spider, snail, cricket, grasshopper, and none of them can surpass the taste of babyfood.
First one to take off their sock and drink a can of Coke through it wins. *hurls*
No formally organized food games, so we made our own, such as teaching each other how to swallow a piece of cooked spaghetti and pull it back out again. I was a teachee. Should have known better, as I spent half of my childhood doped up on Dramamine due to touchystomachissues. I triumphantly pulled out my piece of sketti and immediately ran to the bathroom and projectile vomited en route and since the bathroom visit was no longer necessary, I wheeled around, ran away and spent the rest of the night hiding in a gully.
wow, these are great
I had two worst experiences:
Bobbing for spam in condensed milk relay- the youth group was split into two teams, on one side of the fellowship hall (gym!) was two tubs with the milk where all you do it add water which was lukewarm. FYI, spam does not float…
Second was some diaper eating relay, I think I have mentally blocked some of this because it was sick, i do remember getting to see pizza twice in one night… what i do remember is that we had to open a diaper and eat the contents- don't worry no poop, i think there was like peanut butter, cream corn, a tootsie roll in the middle and probably some other stuff i can't remember, the consistency/texture itself was enough to make one loose it
Gross food games is not a class. It's gleaned (!) from the hanging-out-with-the-cool-youth-ministry-instructor after class, then later at local youth minister's meetings (although the talk there is more about how to get prank revenge on students).
Twice in my 10 years of youth pastoriness, I had kids throw up from drinking water. Honestly, making them hurl was not the goal, but it also wasn't exactly disappointing.
Eventually I condensed my gross food games into one youth meeting in July (so it could all be outside), and even then it became more about "how are we going to get Skyler to eat Spam this year?" My last year he agreed to be a judge for our own Iron Chef competition, featuring (what else?) Spam as the secret ingredient. He autographed an unopened can of Spam for me before I left that position, and it's still a favorite youth ministry souvenir.
My youth group did a game of sucking pudding through a (new) nylon sock… no one puked, though, so I suppose it was a failure.
Guess I don't get it! Why are these humiliating games still used in youth ministry, of all things? Why when we are trying to build up the body of Christ we do it through so called games that use food……albeit, not all of it is good food (ie, whipped cream, pickles, marshmallows, etc) but it is stuff we put in our mouths to see if we can puke or choke? What is UP with that.
Christ spent his life talking about taking CARE of others…….is this how we do that? And Christ talked about FEEDING people who are hungry and in need……..is this how we do that….and waste food that could help others?………I know, I know……..you will say, 'You're no fun! " But humiliating fun is NEVER fun and it is time it lost it's place in youth ministry!
Ok it is official – I officially HATE CHRISTIANS!!!
God is fine, its his stupid FAN CLUB cannot stand.
>:-(
If I can be honest… I found Christ through youth group…and the ONLY reason i first started coming was because of all the crazy/gross games.
As crazy as it sounds…the gross games led me to Jesus