Stake Youth Conference

Stake Youth Conference April 12th 2013

 We started with sign-in.  Elder Monson was teaching juggling to the early arrivals!  They loved it!  The elders were a big help.We made juggling balls with marbles inside newspaper covered with duct tape. 

See the juggling balls? As soon as they signed in, they were juggling and getting "Stand in Holy Places and be not moved," youth conference shirts.  Gathering activities:

The Human Knot

·       Arrange the team in a circle standing shoulder to shoulder. Each team member must use his left hand to reach across the circle and take the hand of a teammate on the other side.

·       Team members must then use their right hand to reach across and take the hand of a different member across the circle.

·       No one should take the hand of a team member next to him in the circle.

·       The group must then untangle the knot without any member letting go of another’s hand. This builds on the group’s ability to work together to solve a problem.

Juggling:

·       Silver balls/ Elder Monson demonstrating juggling 3 balls.  One must always be in the air. Youth try to perfect the skill.

Bonding Belt

·       Divide into two teams. The goal of Bonding Belt is to get from point A to point B, as a team and while “stuck” together, as quickly as possible.

·       Each team is banded together with cling film at the ankle to ensure they are united in movements. To start, give the teams 5 minutes to discuss their strategies (at the end of that 5 minutes, they should be banded and ready to go).

·        Make sure the start and finish lines are clearly labeled and both teams are aware of the starting and ending point.

·        All teams run, re strategize and then have a second and third round.  The winning team wins two out of three races.

·       Steel ring tug a war

·       Tie four ropes to a central steel ring.

·        All four teams compete together in a multi-way tug-of-war. 

·       The group is divided into four groups, all of which are on different ropes out from the center steel ring.

·       The objective is to pull all four teams to your corner marked by a red cone.

When all the youts (their way of saying it) had arrived, we started with a devotional by Peaches and Jason Byng, a young married  couple.  They were fantastic!

After the devotional, we introduced our ice-breaker.  

Principle: Many people are new today and feeling nervous.  We are all going to become friends.  We are literal spirit brothers and sisters of the same Eternal Father in Heaven.  These two days will help us strengthen our eternal family.  Eph: 2, 18-19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Our first activity will enable us to become fellow citizens with the saints and not strangers and foreigners to each other.  Our ability to listen, remember and understand our new friends will be part of this activity, so pay close attention to what you hear.

·       Divide the group into two groups right down the middle by placing the rope there. Group one (strangers)and Group Two. (foreigners)  Explain that during this conference we will intentionally mix groups so that each can extend themselves and develop new friendships.

·      Name tags – Each youth is given a name label at check-in and must write their name on the top half of it. They must stick it on their t-shirt as they divide and settle into groups they are comfortable with.  

·      Have all of one group take off their name tags and fold them in half (so there is no sticky part and their name is clearly visible.) Take all the cards from one group and pass them out in the other group.  Each youth must go find the person in the other group whose name they received and ask them the following three questions.  (Posted on a poster) Tell them they must keep the label with their new friends name on it and must remember the answers, so listen carefully. They will later call up the person they interview and introduce them to the group. 

·      Questions to ask:  1) Tell me something that nobody else here knows about you.  2) Name two things you hope to do before you die.)   3) If you could have dinner with anyone in the entire history of the world, who would it be and why?  4) Where is your Holy Place and why? Have the leader hold up the poster with the above questions written on it during the interviews, so they remember the questions.  Just the person who has the name and found that person asks the questions.  They don’t both ask each other the questions.

·      After the majority seem to have finished the questioning, give them a minute to finish up. Invite them to come introduce their new friend and share what they learned with the group to see how well they listened and how well they remembered.  Most will want to come up, don’t pressure everyone, just invite.  Some may not, but most will want to.   

·      Collect the other group’s cards and randomly pass them out to the first group, again have them search for that person and ask the questions again.  Repeat the invitation to have some number of youth highlight the person they interviewed. 

Application: Invest in getting to know another person today and tomorrow.  Remember:  A true friend helps those around them live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  1 Timothy 4:12…….  Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Dinner followed the dance and then youth were transported to member's homes for the night.

 The next morning started with breakfast, (they all have on their youth conference shirts) then a devotional featuring testimonies from two outstanding youts; Cameron and Anastasia. 

Divide entire group into 6 groups by playing clumps. Leader starts out calling random numbers that the group must clump into.2, 15, 8, 6, etc. in a designated time as measured by a stop watch.  No one can be left out, so as soon as the groups are all in (say #4 groups, they must look around and make sure no one person is left out.  They must grab the extras and put them into their groups before the time is up or that number has to be clumped again. When the game starts, people tend to gravitate to those they know well, but after 4 or 5 rounds, everyone is clumping randomly. Then you call out "11" (or whatever the number will be with the total number in attendance, divided by 6) and you have your groups. The game is about the clumping race! Once the groups are clumped into the right number have them pick a temple somewhere in the world for their group identity temple.  First picked, first assigned.  Write down the six temples chosen.

  Afterward, we began three stations of activities: (1) Crossing the filthy river & Holy Place Sculpture (2) Capture the Flag (3) Scripture skits

Station #1 Filthy River Crossing  / the entire group is together for this activity

·       Principle     "We stand in Holy Places as we choose friends that are a support to us in our righteous desires to keep the commandments of the Lord.  True friends are a great strength and blessing in our lives.  To have a friend, we must be one. Gathering together with youth of the church fortifies us in our personal decision to follow the Savior, walk in His ways, and strive to keep the covenants we’ve made with Him.  The safety found in surrounding ourselves with people of like determination to follow the Lord is described in Doctrine and Covenants 115:6

 And that the gathering together upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth. D&C 115:6  

We are going to cross a raging river together.  The river represents the river of water which Nephi and Lehi saw. It is described as “the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.”  The strength of relying on each other in this activity will make us succeed. We will only succeed if we all make it!

·       Materials

·       1’ x 1’ squares of cardboard (half as many squares as people in the group) with spiritual strengths listed on them.

·       2 long pieces of rope

Set Up

Create a river by marking two river banks with the rope. Make the river wide enough across (from one rope to the other) to be a challenge for the group to get from one side to the other ((about 25 ft.)  Distribute the (rafts) cardboard squares – 1 piece for every 2 people.  Round down with an uneven number,

Directions

·       The object of the activity is to get all members of the group safely across the filthy river. They must go as one big group, not multiple smaller ones.

·       Everyone must be on the river before anyone can get off the river, forcing the entire group to be engaged at once.

·       Participants cannot touch the water (ground) and therefore must use rafts (cardboard squares) to cross.

·       The water is filled with piranhas. Therefore if someone loses their balance and touches a hand in the water it gets eaten(must put behind the back)  Same goes for a foot (must hop)

·       If a person completely comes off the raft (not in contact with any square) they are gone and since this is a team exercise everyone must start over!

·       No scooting or sliding on the squares. This can be a safety issue and it emphasizes individual work versus teamwork.

·       Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current. In other words, they may not put them down and then step on them.  Contact must never be broken.

·       Once the group has started the process, your role is to take cardboard squares that are “swept away by the current” and to watch for safety issues. Use this to your advantage as well. The participants will invariably slip up and leave some rafts here or there with no one contacting them, those you should steal.

·       When the first group members get to the other side immediately start to encourage them to hurry and get off the river. Nearly every time the first few people will rush off the rafts leaving them unattended for you to steal and stranding some of their team-mates.   They must then all start over again.

Rules:

• Participants must stay in constant contact
• Each raft represents a symbol  ( write on the rafts symbols (with a black magic marker) tied to the gospel that will be places of refuge to help them get through the muddy waters of life and back to Heavenly Father safely) like prayer, scriptures, temple attendance, attending church every Sunday, service, fasting etc. As each one is placed on the river, the person must yell out what it is that keeps them safe from the filthy water and everyone down the line must yell it
• The tiles can only go forward. They cannot move backwards
• No one can finish until everyone has left the “bank” of the river
• Leaders can be "gators" in the river and try to impede those crossing the river, stand in front of the group with arms outstretched to simulate trees they must go around. Obstacle: branches etc. No leaning on or near or around obstacles, must go around them.

Application: What do you think crossing the river represents in your day to day life?  Where and in what ways can we help each other in our challenges? With the unity I see increasing; the Lord will be able to perform what the world will think as miraculous. The Saints can accomplish any purpose of the Lord when fully united in righteousness.  Henry B. Eyring   The youth of the church can create and stand in “holy places” even in the hardest times and within their hardest trials when they stand together.  A true friend is somebody who helps you get across the river safely.

 Starting over the first time!

 After rafts washed away, and to make sure everyone was on the river before any could get off, they began carrying some to safety.

Recycling Sculpture/Station #1 part two

  The Holy Place Sculpture will require dividing the group into 4.  They will be working in small groups for the sculpture.  Immediately after the Filthy River crossing, determine the total number of your group, divide by four and count out that number of each of four colors of the jaw breakers. Hand them out randomly as they assemble and tell them they did a great job crossing the river.  After they have assembled and still sucking on their jaw breakers, separate them into the colors of their tongues, blue, red, orange and yellow.   You will have four bags of recyclables for each station rotation. They will have scissors, duct tape, plastic, newspaper and cardboard to use to create the sculpture.     

Principle: Choosing righteous friends is one of the ways we stand in Holy Places; another way is that we have common righteous goals.  We should be supporting each other, as righteous friends, in preparing for missions, attending seminary, actively participating in youth classes, reading scriptures daily, encouraging our families in scripture study and family prayer. 

We are going to work together with the common goal of creating a sculpture that represents a Holy Place.  While a holy place can be a physical environment or a geographical location—like a temple, a Church building, or a home-- it can also be a distinct condition, position, or state of mind. Holy places can also include moments in time when the Holy Ghost testifies to us, moments when we feel Heavenly Father’s love, or moments when we receive an answer to our prayers.  Any time we have the courage to stand for what is right … we are creating a holy place.  Standing in a Holy Place can be listening to uplifting music,  reading uplifting books, engaging in anything that is “virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy.”  It can be being with a person with whom you feel inspired to be a better person. 

·        Each of the four groups is given a bag of recycled material. 

·       The groups have 5 minutes to decide what sculpture they are going to create together that represents a Holy Place

·       Each group will have 15 minutes to create their sculpture and 5 minutes to present their creation and describe it to the group.

Application: Holy Places don’t just happen.  They require effort, vision, planning, follow through, and consistency.  They require keeping the commandments and helping those around us to do so also. 

 Group planning and discussion time

 Group presentation time

 Sacred scriptures

 The garden of Gethsemane

 The tree of life

 Pleased Holy place sculptors

 At an outdoor wooded area very nearby, we held station #2 Capture the flag

Principle:  We must be vigilant in protecting our flag, just as we diligently protect our spiritual health and well-being from the temptations of the world.  We stand in a Holy Place as we become constant guardians of our virtue, integrity, honesty and purity from the wickedness of the evil one who desires that all become miserable as he is miserable. 

 The objective of Capture the Flag is to capture the other team’s “flag” and safely return it to your area. The first team to do this wins. In order to safely return to your area, you must not be tagged by any of the opposing team's players.

·       Each of the two teams has one of the mentor couple to be their coach. They must be very familiar with the rules and explain them clearly to their team.

·        Make sure each player understands the game's perimeters which will be marked by the red cones on two sides and the street and wall on the other two sides.   Evenly divide the game-playing area between both teams and set up a no-man's-land between them which will be designated by rope lines. Give the players at least 10 minutes to set up for the game.

·       Each team should then discuss strategy. This includes where the flag should be hidden, the location of the jail and splitting the team into offensive and defensive units (and discussing the respective strategies there). The flag must be hidden in a spot where it can be clearly seen from three directions, and only hidden from one.  Keep it within reach of the shortest player. Set up the location of the jail and where the players will be at the start of the game. There should be at least one jail guard. Have the players quietly move into position.

·       The game begins when the whistle is blown.  The game ends when the whistle is blown and all players gather back to their team coach. Offensive players must sneak across to the other team's area of the woods and search for the flag while attempting to remain hidden from the other team. Defensive players must spread out in hopes of tagging the opposing team's players as they cross into their area.

·       In order to capture an opponent, the player must simply tag a member of the other team. Once tagged, the player cannot run away and must go with their captor to the team's jail. Only one player may be tagged at a time and a person may not tag anyone else until they deliver their prisoner to jail. Once in jail, the only means of escape is by either being tagged by a free player on their team or by the team captains agreeing to a prisoner swap.

·       A player must call out that they have safely retrieved the opposing team's flag once they make it back to their own side. Once a player has successfully done this, the game has ended and the winning team is determined.

Application:  We should think of the effort to acquire the flag as a symbol of how desperately Satan is trying to tear us away from all that is good and noble in Christ’s plan for us.  We can’t underestimate how vigilant we have to be to defend our divine nature and path to eternal salvation.  We have to fight hard to protect our spirits from Satan’s grasp. 3 Nephi 18:18  Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.  We cannot succeed in this effort on our own.  That is why we need a team; a team of good friends, leaders, teachers and parents that assist us in our righteous efforts.  That’s why the Lord established a church to protect us.  What was your strategy?  What is a good strategy for fending off the adversary in his attempt to tear us from God?

 The yout's in this culture have never heard of, let alone played, capture the flag.  They loved it and the location was perfect since they had plenty of trees and bushes to hide behind!

Our dear mission nurse and close friend, sister Sanner, ran the capture the flag station for us.  She was amazing and the youts loved this station. 

Station #3 Scripture Skits    Two temple groups will be practicing their skits with each station rotation.  6 total. There is an hour and fifteen minutes in the morning to prepare and 20 minutes in the afternoon to present. There will be enough copies of each of the following skits for each person. Assist them in planning fun ways to engage the audience. The morning practice should help them become familiar enough with the story that the performance is natural and using their own language to convey the story and point of the skit.  According to the spirit, emphasize and draw out certain discussion points at the end.  They don’t all need to be addressed.  When the skits are performed in the afternoon, you, the mentor couple, will be facilitating the discussion with the entire group.

 Waiting for the first performance to begin!

Bully Bob skit Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission.

Characters: Little D, Bully Bob, groupies for each

Props & Setup: lunch sack, a ball, whistle or bell

The Skit:

A group of kids run out for recess. They play ball and chase each other around. A big kid, named Bully Bob, enters. He is surrounded by a gang of groupies who agree with everything he says. Bully Bob starts bullying the other kids. He pushes a kid, steals someone’s lunch, and grabs a ball some kids are play with and kicks it out of the yard. When Bully Bob raises his arms to show off his muscles to his admirers, the groupies around him almost pass out from the smell coming from underneath his arms. They cover their noses and stagger briefly as their eyes water. Bully Bob sees David, a.k.a. Little D, and starts to taunt him for being a Mormon.

Bully Bob says, “Mormons are wimps! Goodie two shoes! Hey Little D! You’re a Mormon, aren’t you? That makes you a wimp doesn’t it!” The groupies nod and agree, “Yup, yup, a wimp, Little D’s a wimp!”

Little D stands his ground and says, “You can’t get away with that and you know it Bully Bob!”

Bully Bob says, “Ooo, big words from the little man, you wanna fight or is it against your religion?”

Little D tries to hold in his anger, “No, no, I’m not going to fight you!”

Bully Bob taunts him, “That’s what I thought! You’re chicken!” He starts clucking like a chicken.

Little D finally blows up, “Alright, Bully Bob, you’re on! Name the time and place!”

Bully Bob says, “Alright, that’s what I want to hear! Tonight after school, back of the schoolyard, be there or be square!”

Little D says, ok, “You’re on Bully Bob! But let’s lay down some ground rules.” Bully Bob agrees. Little D says, “No punching below the waist.” Bully Bob agrees. Little D says, “No hitting in the face.” Bully Bob agrees. He lifts his arms and says, “Alright!” People start to swagger and pass out. One of his friends comes up to Little D and whispers something in his ear.  Little D turns and says, “And no lifting your arms above your shoulders.” Bully Bob agrees and the crowd breathes a loud sigh of relief.

The kids separate on the playground into two groups.  Bully Bob does a series of exercises to get ready for the fight. He does jumping jacks, push ups, and squats.. His groupies cheer him on as they struggle to breathe during his jumping jacks exercise. Every time his arms go up, they all turn their heads and plug their noses.  Meanwhile, Little D goes to the other side of the stage with his friends They stand in a circle and say a prayer together with heads bowed and arms folded.

Moments later a school bell rings. Both groups come out and face off.  Bully Bob faces Little D and yells, “Alright Little D! Come on over and fight like a man!” His groupies gather around and cheer him on.

Little D stands, waves to his friends, approaches Bully Bob and says, “Come and get me!”

Bully Bob growls and charges Little D shouting, “I’m gonna beat the snot out of you, you little weasely Mormon!” As Bully Bob swings wildly, Little D ducks a punch and grabs Bully Bob around the waist in a tight bear hug. Bully Bob yells, “Let go of me you little runt and fight like a man!”

Little D looks up, smiles and says, “I can’t Bully Bob, I love you too much! You can hate me all you want, but I’m gonna LOVE you! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

Bully Bob screams, “Let me go! Stop it! Stop it!”

Little D hangs on and says, “And another thing Bully Bob, GOD loves you too! And there’s nothing you can do about that either! Yup, me and God, we LOVE Bully Bob!!”

Bully Bob cries, “Stop it, stop it! You’re hurting me! Stop it!” Bully Bob begins to weep. Little D lets him go and Bully Bob falls on his knees crying, “Nobody ever loved me before! Everybody has always hated me! How can you love me anyway, I really stink!?”

Little D puts his hand on Bully Bob’s shoulder, “It’s easy to hate. It’s a lot harder to love. But that’s what I’m going to do, because that’s what it means to be a Mormon and follow Christ.  I love you Bully Bob, and God does too.”

Bully Bob says, “Thanks Little D!” He raises his arms to give Little D a hug. The groupies back away in fear from the rising stench. Little D says, “Uh, no, no.” He gently pushes Bully Bob’s arms back down and says, “You’re the one who needs a hug today.”

Bully Bob rises and throws his arm around Little D and says, “Let’s go play ball!”

Little D says, “Uh, how about you go take a shower first.”

Bully Bob says, “Okay, little buddy!” They exit arm in arm.

The End

Biblical Emphasis: Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for them.

Discussion Starters:

1.  Share a time when you loved someone who was being mean to you.
2.  Share a time when you experienced hate and retaliation in your life. What happened?
3.  How can love change a hateful person?
4.  How can faith in Jesus Christ change a faithless person?

 Elder Monson had a hard day driving youts back and forth to capture the flag station!

 The show is on! The Family Law skit.

Family Law" Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission
.Characters: Youth, Parents, Prosecuting Attorney, Defense Attorney, Court Assistant, Judge

Props & Setup: Set it up to look like a courtroom with desks, tables, chairs. Next to the judge’s desk set up a bunch of chairs in a line facing the audience. You’ll also need Bibles, a gavel, a brief case or two, and perhaps some books and papers to look like professional documents.

Note: The Prosecutor probably will need a clipboard to keep all the stories straight. She can refer to it or simply read her lines directly from the clipboard. To get funny crime stories about the youth, do a bit of research and dig up some wild stories about each one. Ask their parents beforehand to provide you with a juicy stories about things they did when they were younger or as babies. Then prepare the stories with the person playing the prosecuter, and embellish or exaggerate the stories a bit just to make the kids squirm - all in good fun of course!

The Skit:

The Judge enters and sits at his desk. The youth are marched into the courtroom and seated in a line of chairs facing the audience. The Judge bangs his mallet on his desk and says, "Order in the court, order in the court." A court assistant, standing next to the judge’s desk says, "This court will now come to order! All rise." Everyone stands up. The court assistant says, "Family court is now in session, the honorable judge presiding." Everyone sits back down. The judge states, "It has come to the attention of this court that there have been a number of offenses committed among family members recently, therefore, the offenders will be tried and their sentences executed today." The court assistant says, "Will the defendants please rise and place your hands on your Bibles. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God." With their hands on their Bibles the youth say, "We do." and sit back down.

The prosecuting attorney rises and approaches the first youth. She instructs him, "Young man, would you please stand up so the court can get a good look at the rotten, no-good, lying, cheating, little stinker that you are!" The defense attorney stands up and says, "I object!" The judge says, "Sustained."

The prosecutor continues with a barrage of questions and accusations, "Is it true that you snuck out of the house last week? and stole the keys to your father's car? and went for a joyride with your friends? and then ran a red light? and then ran the car into a stop sign? and then proceeded to cover the whole thing up by painting over the dent with a can of spray paint? Is this story true? Yes or no?" He says, "Uh, not exactly." The judge bangs down his gavel and shouts, "Guilty!" The defendant sits down embarrassed and ashamed.

The Prosecutor moves immediately to the next youth and goes through the same kind of ridicule, questioning, and accusing, but with a different story. The youth may try to speak or get a word in edge-wise, but the Prosecutor moves so fast with the questions and accusations that it’s over before they can blink an eye. The Prosecutor proceeds down the line of youth in rapid succession, and in turn, each one is pronounced guilty along with the bang of the Judges gavil.

After all the youth have been tried and convicted of their crimes, the Prosecutor sits back down. The courtroom assistant says, "The defendants will now rise for their sentencing."

As the defendants stand up, the judge says, "Tisk, tisk, tisk, you naughty, naughty little girls and boys. You have been tried and found guilty of the crimes as stated in this courtroom today. Now you must bear the punishment for your crimes, and that is going to be a lot of fun for me!"

At this point, the Defense Attorney stands and asks, "May the Defense approach the desk?" The Judge is surprised by this last minute move, but consents. The Defense Attorney and the Prosecutor approach the bench and have a hushed conference there for a few seconds. The Prosecutor is visibly irate at what the Defense is proposing, but everything is kept hush hush. Finally the conference is over and both attorneys return to their seats.

The Judge directs his attention back to the youth and says, "It appears that the Defense is smarter than he looks. A plea bargain has been made at the bench seeking alternate redemption for the defendant’s misdemeanors. It pleases the court to inquire, therefore, into this matter immediately. Are there any in this courtroom who are willing to bear the punishment for the rotten crimes of these youth, in order that they may go free?" There is a moment of silence as everyone looks around in confusion for a few seconds. Then quietly, a man dressed in white walks up and faces the youth.

Tenderly, surprised, the judge asks the man, “Are you willing to bear the burden of punishment for these youth?  The man looks at each of the youth individually and asks the following questions, “Do you truly regret what you did?  Will you try to follow my example?   It won’t be easy. People may mock and you will be tempted.  One of the youth asks in a quiet pleading voice, Will you help us? ……when it gets hard?  The man said, “ I will help you. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.. But you must do your part.”  The youth respond in unison, “We promise we will do our part.” There follows a hush in the courtroom for a few moments.  Finally, the man looks at the judge and says, Let them go their way and sin no more.  I will pay the price for them. Spare these that believe on my name that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.  The Judge lowers the gavel and solemnly announces, “justice has been done.  Court adjourned.”

The End

Scripture Emphasis: Doctrine and Covenants 45: 3,4,5 We are called to follow Christ’s example and always remember him, at all times, and all places.

Discussion Starters:
1. How have you experienced the love and grace of God?
2. Is it easy to repent?
3. How do we mock the Savior’s sacrifice extended to us?
4. Do you remember to rely on the Savior in your weakness?
5. Pray and ask God for strength and wisdom to become a new person in Christ.

 The Built on Love skit where one builder builds his home on gospel principles and the other doesn't!

Built On Love  Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission.
Characters: 2 Home builders, Building supplies, Narrator, Some youth to be the storm

Props & Setup: The home builders could dress as construction workers if they wish.  Poster paper with the description of the building supplies written on them.

The Skit:

Narrator: "Once upon a time there were two home builders who decided to build houses next to each other on the same street, on the same day. Let’s see what happened."

Two home builders are constructing houses side by side. The Material Builder is making his house out of bad building supplies such as anger, haste, hatred, jealousy, slander, fear, etc. The Spiritual Builder is making her house out of good building supplies such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. The two builders take turns constructing parts of their houses, which are portrayed by youth who take on the characteristics of the building supplies and hold up the building supply poster.

The construction of the houses goes something like this:

All the youth are lying on the ground holding their building supplies posters.  The Material Builder picks up the arm of a building part (youth and sign) and says, "I’m gonna get this house done first, so I’m gonna slap on these boards of haste right here and here." He positions two of them as sides of the house and steps back to take a look. The two boards lean a bit to the side and look somewhat confused. The Spiritual Builder smiles and says, "Well isn’t that nice? I too am going to build a house today. Won’t this be fun! Now lets see, I’ll carefully place these boards of love and patience right here and here." He steps back and admires the start of his house as the two boards smile back, holding their posters.

As the two builders take turns adding parts (youth with posters) to their houses, the Spiritual Builder compliments the other on how nice his house looks even though it’s a disaster. The Material Builder watches jealously and makes snide remarks about the appearance of the other’s house even though it looks fantastic.

The material builder hastily slaps parts on his house: windows of jealousy, walls of hatred, doors of anger, nails of rage, and a roof of fear. The building supplies act out their parts, for example: the doors are angry, the roof is terrified, etc. The spiritual builder carefully places parts on his house with tender care: windows of praise, walls of joy, doors of love, nails of self control, and a roof of faith. The building materials act out their parts, for example: the walls smile and laugh, the windows sing praises, and the doors say "I love you" as they open and shut, etc.

Narrator: "When the two builders were done, a storm came and beat against the two houses. (some youth come up and shake the houses as they sway back and forth) The worldy house built with bad materials collapses .(house falls down) But the spiritual house built with love and care stood strong. (house stands firm and happy)

The End

Scripture Emphasis: Matthew 7:24-27 We are called to build our house on the rock of our obedience to Christ and His commandments. Our faith has to show in what we say and do. It has to be real, not built on sand.

Discussion Starters:
1. Tell of a time when a family member used "bad building materials" on you.
2. In what ways can we use "good building materials" in our family relationships? Discuss.
3. Pray for God’s help in strengthening our family relationships

The house built with unsound character traits falls!

Little Missy & the misfits Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission.
Characters: Little Missy, 9 misfits, The Big Mister

Props & Setup: Paper for the signs, 1 roll of duct tape

The Skit:

Little Missy walks in with large signs taped to her clothing. They have words written on them that say: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, LONG SUFFERING, MEEKNESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, and SELF CONTROL. Mr. Anger walks up to her and says, "Well look at you miss smarty pants, or should I say (looking at the signs all over her, ……..miss way-too-much- signage" Don’t you know it’s a wicked generation that seeketh after a sign?? Little Missy says, "The name’s Little Missy, and what might I do for you?" Mr. Anger says gruffly, "I’ve got a lot of anger!" He points to a larger sign on his chest with the word "ANGER" written on it. "See! Anger! Anger!! I hate it! I hate being here! And I hate you too!" Little Missy says, "Maybe I can help you with that." Mr. Anger says, "Help me with that? Sure you can help me with that! I’ve got this anger, see! And I’d like to trade it in. What will you give me in return for this anger? It’s awesome, look what it does!" He puts two hands on her arm and twists her skin.  Little Missy grimaces in pain, "Ouch!" Mr. Anger says, "See, anger is awesome! Want some more!" Little Missy says, "Well, if you’re looking to get rid of that anger, why don’t you choose to trade it with me for something more useful. Look at me, I’m full of the Spirit and the fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, goodness, faith, and self control. Which one would you like?" Mr. Anger grabs her and turns her around gruffly, looking at all the signs. Finally he says, "I’ll take love!" Little Mister asks, "Really? That is a bit of a surprise!  Holding back a tear, Mr. Anger says, "That’s alright, I could really use it, since I have never ever felt it!  Little Missy pulls the LOVE sign off her back and they trade signs. Little Missy slaps the love sign on her back, while Mr. Anger slaps the love sign on his chest. Suddenly Mr. Anger is a changed man. He smiles and laughs and starts bouncing around uncontrollably. Little Mister asks, "How does it feel?" Mr. Anger bounces over and gives him a bouncy hug, "Awesome, it is so light and happy! Thank you!" He bounces off.

Other people walk up to Little Mister and trade their bad signs for good ones. The same kind of goofy interactions happen with them. Their signs / characteristics might be:

1.Mr. Contention - "I hate those things. No, I don’t like that? I couldn’t disagree with you more. All of you are idiots. I need peace!"
2.  Miss Irritable - "Stop bothering me, stop doing that, and that, and that! Aaargh!! I’ll take patience."
3.  Mr. Mean - "I’m real mean (twists little Missy’s ear - ouch!) You’re so ugly. I hate you.  I need kindness."
4.  Miss Bad - "I’m so bad!" I love to torture helpless animals – especially cats! Little Missy backs away and says, "Don’t hurt me, here take some goodness!"
5.  Mr. Fear - "I’m afraid of dying, afraid of failing, afraid of germs, snakes, spiders, darkness……. I need faith."
6.  Miss Excessive - "I can’t stop myself !  All I’m looking for is to feel good. Right now!  Whatever it takes or whoever it hurts.   I need self-control."

7. Mr. Arrogant – I’m in control here, I know all the answers to all the questions.  Everyone should always listen to me.  Litte Mister – You need meekness.

8.  Miss Reactionary – You better be careful, and believe me when I fly off the handle, you’ll know it.  I need long- suffering

9. Mr. Misery -  I hate this town and everybody in it.  There is nothing good in my life.  Everything stinks and then you die.  I need joy.

After everyone has come and gone Little Missy stands there in a daze. The Big Mister walks up to her, looks at all the bad signs, and asks, "Little Missy, what happened to you?" Little Missy says, "Wow, Big Mister, a lot of bad things happened to me today. Those messed up misfits had a lot of problems." Big Mister says, "Hey, I’ve got some good fruit left here. What would you like?" Little Missy looks at the signs on Big Mister and says, "Hmm, Let’s see, which one, which one?" Finally she says, "I’ll take JOY!" Big Mister takes his joy sticker off and slaps it on Little Missy’s forehead and laughs, "There you go! Some joy just for you, Little Missy!" They walk off side by side. Little Missy says, "I love you Big Mister!" Big Mister replies, "I love you too, Little Missy."

The End

Scripture Emphasis: Galatians 5:22-26 The way we respond to others can have a huge impact. If we are willing to trade love for hatred and faith for fear we can change people’s lives and the world too.

Discussion Starters:

1.  Who do you think Big Mister is? Who is little missy?
2. Why is it so hard to love others when they are mean to you? How do you usually react?
3. In what ways can you show love to others in exchange for hatred?
4. Think of someone who needs to be loved and determine to show them love this week.
5. Pray and ask God to give the opportunity to show them love

Chosen By God  Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission.
Characters: A group of kids, a kid who is left out, the voice of God

Props & Setup: football, goofy stories that only God could know.

The Skit:

A group of youth gathers to play a game of football. They choose two captains. As the captains choose players to be on their teams, the rest of the kids stand in a line and show the obvious signs of wanting to be picked. They display their desire to be picked by holding their hands up, flexing their muscles, spinning or bouncing the football, etc. When it comes down to the last youth, neither captain wants to choose her. They argue about who has to take her. Finally they decide to leave her out and start the game without her. She tries to join one of the teams, but is forced off the court. Finally, she gives up in disgust and pain.. The group playing football decides to go play baseball after the long drawn out fight. They all run off together leaving her alone, crying.

The youth left behind begins to express her feelings about being left out. She talks to herself sadly about how nobody ever chooses her for anything. Suddenly a thunderclap is heard. God calls to the youth by name saying, "I choose you, Aria" The surprised youth asks, "Who me?" God responds, "Yes, I choose you!" Aria looks around in disbelief, "Who are you?" God identifies himself. When Aria doubts that it is actually God, He recounts a few personal stories about her that are humorous and embarrassing and that no one could know except God.  For example: the time she was walking home all alone in the dark and was terrified by a man walking too closely behind her, the time she got completely lost trying to find her way back home, the time she lied to her mom about breaking her precious pottery and felt awful. God says that he was there with her, watching over her, helping her all along the way. Finally Aria is convinced that it really must be God.

Aria asks, "Why did you say that you’ve chosen me? I’ve never been chosen for anything in my life!" God says, "Look at all the gifts and talents I’ve given you! Why would I do that if I hadn’t first chosen you?" Aria responds, "I don’t have any gifts. I’m not even coordinated enough to be chosen for that stupid football game." God says, "You have the gift of my creation given for you; the birds, the sky, the warmth of the sun! You have your own personal gifts given for you. I’ve given you the ability to listen to others, to fix things, and to see through a problem clearly. I’ve given you talents in music and a love for animals. You have many other special gifts, but I haven’t even told you about the best gift of all." Aria asks, "What is that?" God says, "You have the gift of my son, Jesus Christ, given for you. I loved you so much, I gave my only begotten son to die for you so that you might have life. Believe me! You have been chosen!" Aria asks, "What about the others? Are they chosen too?" God says, "Yes, I have chosen them too, but they have not yet heard and have not answered." Your sadness has given you ears to hear me. Aria responds, "Well, what have you chosen me for?" God says, "I’ve chosen you to return to me. Live your life for me, and tell the others that I love them too. Are you willing to do that?" Aria says, "Sure, I’ll give it a try, but they don’t really listen to me. God says, "Don’t worry, remember I’m always with you." Aria says, "If you believe in me, I’m going to believe in myself.” She is standing a little taller, a little straighter, believing now, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me! Maybe I can’t be chosen on the world’s team, but I can be His hands, His goodness and share it with others that I can lift and love.” 

She leaves where she has been and cautiously walks up to some of the kids that were in on the earlier game and says softly, “Would you like to go with me to a home for children?  I am going to play with them and bring a little joy into their lives.”  The kids start laughing hysterically and look at her like she is nuts.  Three kids in the group say nothing but they all wait until the others walk away.  Then they go up to her and say timidly, “We would like to go with you.  That sounds like fun.”  “That’s great,” Aria responds.

The End

Scripture Emphasis: Abraham 3: 22-23 God has chosen us and blessed us according to his knowledge and our valiance demonstrated in the pre-existence.  We are called by God to reach out to see others as he sees them and as our eternal brothers and sisters.

Discussion Starters:
1. Share a time in your life when you felt left out. Share how it felt.
2. How can we be more inclusive of others and less exclusive? 
3. Think of one way you can reach out to others and pray for strength to do this.

Pajama Jones skit.  This one, by popular demand, was performed twice!

Pajama Jones Copyright 2005 Cross the Sky Ministries, www.crossthesky.com

From the Skit Central resource book. Used by permission.

Characters: Pajama Jones, Darkness, two ladies in need of being rescued
Props & Setup: Pajamas and cape for PJ, flashlight, Bible, cape for Darkness, CD with thunder and lightning noises, someone to turn the lights off and on
The Skit:
The lights slowly dim as two ladies walk out laughing and talking to each other. Once the lights are off, a dark figure slips out from the side and eyes the ladies from the darkness. They giggle. One of the ladies giggles, “Who is that over there?” The other one giggles, “Yeah, why don’t you come over here and show yourself shy boy.” They giggle.
The dark figure walks out slowly eyeing the ladies, who nudge each other and giggle softly. The dark figure circles the ladies like a snake with a long black cape swooshing behind him. He is evil in a sinister, disgusting, yet goofy, childish sort of way. (Kind of like Captain Hook.)
He says, “My, my, my, aren’t you two lovely ladies just the sweetest little sugar plums I’ve ever seen.”
They giggle and ask, “And who are you to say that?”
He says, “I am (pause for dramatic effect) Darkness!”
The ladies giggle and squirm, somewhat amused by his answer. They ask, “So why are you here?
Darkness swooshes in close and asks, “Why are YOU here? We’re out pretty late, aren’t we ladies?”
One of them asks, “What do you mean by that?”
Darkness says, “Oh, it’s just that you look so pure and undefiled, so sweet and innocent.” He swooshes in close and touches the chin of one lady. “And what fun is that?” he asks as he turns her head back and forth slowly.
As if falling under some sort of spell, together the ladies ask, “And what do you mean by that?”
Darkness lies, “Well, you know, God doesn’t want you to be too nice or too good or too pure.”
The ladies ask, “Why not?”
Darkness lies, “God wants you to know and experience the dark side! So you know what you’re missing.” One of them says, “That doesn’t sound quite right.”
Darkness says, “But you don’t know what you’re missing, do you?”
One of them says, “Well, I guess not. It sounds kind of dangerous, the dark side, mysterious, intriguing, interesting.” They step blindly towards Darkness as if in a trance.
Darkness suddenly swoops his black cape around the ladies and laughs, “A ha, ha, ha! I have you now! There’s no escaping the dark side once you’ve fallen prey to it! Even God can’t save you now! In fact, God can’t stand the sight of you! After all that you have done! Shame, shame, shame on you!”
The ladies cry out in fear. Darkness laughs wickedly as he heads for the door. But just before he steps outside a bolt of lightning crashes from the back of the sanctuary. Darkness freezes in his steps. Everyone turns to see a man standing in the back of the room dressed in his pajamas with a red cape draped around his neck. With a Bible in one hand and a flashlight in the other, Pajama Jones says, “This looks like a job for Pajama Jones!” The ladies cry out, “Oh, Pajama Jones! He’s our hero!”
Pajama Jones turns on his flashlight and runs up the center aisle. His red cape flies behind him as he runs. Halfway up the aisle, he darts to the left and squeezes down an aisle full of people just for the fun of it. He stops to talk to a child. He says, “There’s no need to hide, when you’ve got Christ inside!” Then he continues on his way. When he reaches the side aisle he looks around for a second then darts up toward the front again with his flashlight swooshing and his red cape flying behind him in the wind. He is clearly having a good time being the superhero, or at least acting like one.
All the while, Darkness eyes Pajama Jones with fear and trepidation, and a slight twitch in his cheek. He swallows hard and starts to tremble as Pajama Jones draws near. The ladies can hardly contain themselves as they sigh and swoon and cry out to their hero, “Oh PJ! Isn’t he just the cutest thing!” Darkness yells at the ladies, “Hush up ladies! He can’t save you! You’re mine!” The ladies continue to sigh and swoon and cry out to their hero, “Oh PJ! He’s so adorable in his pajamas! He’s so brave!” They swoon and gush and bat their eyes as Pajama Jones draws closer.
When Pajama Jones reaches the front, he turns slowly to face Darkness, with one hand on his Bible and one hand on his flashlight (like a gunfighter waiting to draw). Darkness cowers from across the room and tries to keep from trembling. In an evil tone Darkness yells out, “Pajama Jones! You can’t stay here in the darkness for very long! One of us has to go!” Pajama Jones responds with undaunting courage and truth, “Well I’m not leaving, so it must be you!” Darkness shudders in panic, fear, and confusion all at once. He cries out like a spoiled brat, “Well I’m not going! So what are you gonna do about it?” Pajama Jones says, “Oh, you’re going alright! And I’m gonna rescue these two lovely ladies out of your clutches, Darkness, and lead them back into the light.” Darkness cries, “You can’t do that! You don’t know what they’ve done! They’ve been (pause) naughty! I can tell you what they’ve done in the darkness!” Pajama Jones says, “Why don’t you come over HERE and tell me.” Darkness shakes violently at this suggestion, and cries out like a child about to be spanked, “Okay!”
As Darkness approaches Pajama Jones, he begins to tremble uncontrollably from head to toe. When Darkness reaches Pajama Jones he stands there shaking and twitching. He blurts out, “They were naughty! Staying out late, flirting with Darkness! They were flirting with me, with me Pajama Jones, with me,…. Darkness!” Pajama Jones says, “Enough!” He opens his Bible to John 1:4-5 and reads loudly and confidently, “In him was life, and the life was the light of all flesh. The light shines in the darkness and the dark has NEVER overpowered it.” This sends a shockwave through Darkness. Pajama Jones looks Darkness straight in the eye and slowly lifts his flashlight up. It shines first on the wall behind him, then moves up to the ceiling, then slowly comes down closer and closer to Darkness. Then all of a sudden Pajama Jones shines it directly into the eyes of Darkness. Thunder and lightning crash all around them (youth mimicking the sounds) and the lights flicker back on. Darkness lets out a great shriek and shakes violently as if being electrocuted by a giant bolt of lightning. He crumples to the ground, and with a whimper, the life slowly drains from his body.
Pajama Jones smiles and swooshes over to the ladies who blush and fawn over his every move. As he unwraps the black cape he exclaims, “You’re free ladies. You don’t have to worry about Darkness anymore! God still loves you, (he turns his head to the audience) and I do too! Go walk in the light and live in the light of God’s love.” The two ladies sigh and swoon, “Pajama Jones, you’re our hero!” PJ turns and swooshes out the door with his red cape flying behind him in the wind.
The End
Scripture Emphasis: John 1:4-5 The light of Christ overpowers all the forces of darkness. There is a battle still raging, but the outcome is already sure. We should get on the winning side now.
Discussion Starters:
1.    In what areas of life does it appear as if darkness is winning the battle?
2.    What areas of your life do you struggle with?
3.    How can we help each other fight the dark and draw closer to the light?
4.    How do the words of Christ help us in dark situations?
5.    Think of one thing you can do to help someone turn back to the light of Christ.
6.    Pray and ask God to help you do that this week.

Can you tell who the good guy is?  The bad guy???

Here is the whole group as we closed youth conference.  What a wonderful experience!  The message of the gospel is one of hope, support and the triumph of the human spirit through Christ!  We feel so privileged to share this message with young people that desperately need it!  They are the future of the church in this area!