02 - YOU ARE UNIQUE

People are Awesome

Show the video without intro, or with an offstage mic intro. After the video say: People ARE awesome – especially YOU! Welcome to our first official series of the year, Game Changer. We are taking a look at four HUGE game changers this month. Tonight’s is “You are Unique.” And so is everyone else here tonight. So let’s get to know who all is here!


CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

DIRECTIONS:

- Make two circles, one inside the other, facing each other.

- Staff person reads first question.

- Pairs exchange their name, grade and their answer to the question.

- Give them a number of people to move to the right, and an action to do as they move (high five, fist bump, hip bump, etc.). Have them count out loud with you as they move to keep everyone together.

-Staff person reads next question.

QUESTIONS:

  • Where were you born and where did you live as a preschooler.
  • What were your favorite things about elementary school?
  • Who was your best friend(s) in elementary school and what did you enjoy doing?
  • What did your family do together when you were little?
  • What were you involved in during Middle School.
  • Where is the coolest place you have ever been, and who were you with?
  • If you could change something about yourself this year, what would it be?
  • What do you expect to do after high school?
  • What is your biggest disappointment so far in high school?
  • What has been the biggest game changer for you in high school?

KNOW THAT LAUGH

SETUP:

As students arrive have a staff person record, or take photos of some of the following, or whatever other creative options you come up with:

  • Four different students laughing.
  • Four different students dramatically saying, “Welcome to Campus Life?”
  • Four different students singing a familiar line of a song.
  • A close up of four people’s shoes.
  • A close up of four people’s noses.
  • A close up of the back of four people’s heads.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Play back the recordings and have students guess who is who.
  2. Depending on your club size, you could have the first person to jump to their feet with the correct answer win a piece of candy, or bring two people from each class to the front and have them write down their guesses. After each group of four recordings, reveal the correct answers and see who guessed the most correctly.

TO TELL THE TRUTH

DIRECTIONS:

  1. -Get three volunteer who “like to tell their story” and take them out of the room.
  2. -Give them a category (see examples below) and ask them to say in one sentence their answer that fits the category from their experience - AS GENERAL AS POSSIBLE.
  3. -Select the one that is most general and/or potentially the easiest to talk about.
  4. -Write the statement out and tell the contestants that they will each:
  5. Read it like it is their story (My name is ______and I______),
  6. Briefly tell about their experience
  7. Then answer a few questions about it (obviously 2 of the 3 are making it all up).
  8. -After all three have told their story have the audience vote for who really did it.
  9. -Then say, “will the person who actually ______please stand up.”
  10. Possible topics:
  11. Something you did on family vacation
  12. An embarrassing moment
  13. The pet I would most like to have
  14. The best thing I did in elementary school

People Who Changed The World

1) Video feedback – In what ways were these people Game Changers?

2) Do you think these Game Changers believed they were going to change the world?

3) What makes YOU unique?

4) What do you do really well? It’s OK to brag a little here☺

5) Describe yourself in 3 words.

Dead Poet’s Society

I love this scene from the 1989 timeless movie Dead Poet’s Society. The student in this movie didn’t believe he had anything important to say. He thought he was unimportant and just like everyone else in the world. Haven’t we all felt at different times in our lives that we’ve had nothing important to offer or say. I loved the quote from the video we watched about important game changers:

“All of these intrinsic individuals represent people who are able to overcome adversity through determination and perseverance and you can too”

You are important. You are Unique. If you really get that - it IS a Game Changer! You don’t have to be who someone else wants you to be. You can be YOU! “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” You have a blend of gifts, skills, talents and abilities like no one else. God made you to be YOU.

The Bible says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!” (Psalm 139:13-14).

God has been involved in your life since the millisecond on conception – whether you have ever really thought about it or not! For this month, let’s all celebrate that we are unique. Stop trying to be anyone else. Just be YOU! That just might be a Game Changer!

Announce a month long plan for the leader team to meet as many students as possible to learn just how unique they are. Come up with a plan that fits your team and sell it enthusiastically. This is really a great excuse to do more appointments, or small group building times than you have ever done. THAT would be a Game Changer!