Here are 62 brand-new, youth-group-tested scripts you can use to introduce a topic with flair . . . To retell a Bible story with humor . . . To apply your lessons with poignancy. And they're flexible, too -- have fun with them as informal, no-prep reader's theater, or rehearse them seriously for polished performances. - Scripture Sketches . . . Don't despair if your students can't tell the difference between Beelzebub and Barnabas -- the Bible will be brought to life for them as they act out scriptural episodes, stories, and passages. (And on page 6 is an index to all this book's scripts by Bible reference. Teaching the Prodigal Son? 1 Corinthians? Exodus? We've got a script for you!) - Contemporary Sketches . . . Off with the togas, on with the tank tops. Here are right-now, real-life scripts for everything from event announcements (that you can tailor to your own events) to dealing with emotional scars. Thanks to the topical index on page 7, you can zip right to the script that fits your meeting. - TV Takeoffs . . . In a TV world of talk shows and sitcoms, sketches based on TV shows always kick off lively discussions. Since all these scripts are also humorous, they're great as openers at camps and conferences, too. - Monologues . . . Does your youth group's dramatic talent reside in only one or two students? Or do you want to raise interest in starting a drama ministry? A monologue is your ticket -- one-person scripts that require little or no costumes or props, yet can be as powerful as a three-act play. - To the Tune of CCM (And More) . . . Take the music many of your students listen to, and use it for dramatic purposes! These scripts each use a song by a Christian artist (or a song whose lyrics encourage or challenge Christians).

80 sure-fire scripts and other onstage fun to illustrate your lessons and enliven your events! - Just for Fun . . . Short stunts, funny skits, sight gags, easy prep -- we've got 'em all. If you have even one or two students who love hamming it up and making spectacles of themselves, you'll find plenty of funny fodder here. - Spontaneous Melodramas . . . Fueled by groans, catcalls, cheers, and boos from your small or large audience, student actors in these no-rehearsal melodramatic spoofs will bring down the house. Don't know what spontaneous melodramas are? Plunge into an entertaining and instructive explanation of what they are and how to use them for the most effect, beginning on page 51. - Sketches with a Point . . . Drama is an ideal medium for grabbing people's attention and priming them for a meeting, a talk, or a Bible study. Have a particular topic in mind? Find your topic (in the topical index, page 7), and you're on your way to just the right script. Whether you're a youth worker or recreation director in a church, school, club, or camp -- Drama, Skits, & Sketches is your storehouse of proven, youth-group tested ideas.

Rowdy, restless, silly, out of control, moody, vulgar, disrespectful, unpredictable -- this may be the junior high stereotype, writes youth ministry expert Wayne Rice. But early adolescents' enthusiasm, loyalty, energy, candidness, and willingness to learn -- these more than compensate for the well-publicized hazards of working with middle schoolers. In this edition of Junior High Ministry -- updated and expanded to reflect the realities of middle school ministry at the turn of the century -- the cofounder of Youth Specialties takes a comprehensive look at the early adolescent experience: - A case for junior high ministry -- and what it takes to work effectively with junior highers. - New material of turn-of-the-century trends in the youth culture -- and on programming for kids living in this culture. - A chapter each on the five pivotal areas of development -- physical, social, intellectual, psycho-emotional, and faith -- among junior highers. - Altogether new chapters on parental involvement and mentoring in the context of junior high ministry . . . all topped off with 50 creative and practical ideas -- fun and games, Bible study openers, mixers, entire events -- that are tailored for junior highers in Sunday school, the youth room, or your living room. Whether you're training for youth work or a trainer of youth workers, Junior High Ministry will keep finding its dog-eared way to the top of your most used resources.

Provides those in small church ministry--including volunteer, part-time, and full-time youth workers--with a process and procedure that enables them to address their particular needs as a small church.

The fourth volume of the best-selling Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks series delivers all-new, lively, effective illustrations, stories, parables, and anecdotes from the files of many of youth ministry's best speakers.

"Money Talks" provides youth workers with 12 simple biblically based lessons on money. It is written with high school students in mind, "Money Talks" includes a CD-ROM with lesson outlines, handout masters and more. Each lesson contains an opener, Bible passages, a discussion, and a straightforward lesson on the subject, ending with a call to immediately put the lesson into practice.

Weekly studies to reinforce what junior highers are learning from their Wild Truth JournalThese Bible lessons send students straight to the words of Jesus to discover the truth, then dare them to live that truth today. Includes games, activities, sketches, handouts, and reproducible worksheets.

You know them as hilarious, boisterous skits that get kids involved, whether they're hamming up front, or in the audience cheering for the good guys, hissing the bad guys, and getting nearly as animated as the onstage actors. Better yet, these no-rehearsal skits are comic takes on 24 classic Bible stories, from Babel to Zacchaeus. Use these skits to take your students into or out of your Bible lesson -- for the humor never buries the central message of the Bible passage. Inside you'll find 12 Old Testament and 12 New Testament stories -- like these: - The First Tongue Twister (the Tower of Babel) - Josephine's Dream (Joseph and his brothers) - The Young and the Hairless (Samson and Delilah) - Dave, the Wave, and the Giant Kahuna (David and Goliath) - Dances with Lions (Daniel) - World Serious: The Empire Strikes Out (the temptation of Jesus) - Good Sam, the Levis, and Judas Priest (parable of the Good Samaritan) - Showdown at Tombstone (Jesus and the demon-possessed man) Unchurched teenagers who can't tell Samson from Solomon, or long-time youth group kids -- everyone will love not merely hearing or reading Bible stories, but doing them. Welcome to more than a year's worth of slapstick, pratfalls, and melodrama. These Bible-story skits are anything but solemn, but they'll make Bible stories memorable for your students.

TalkSheets have been working for youth group leaders for more than a decade. Now they are radically updated and ready to stimulate high schoolers toward in-depth discussions on real issues--everything from drinking to social justice.

Just what small group leaders need to get their youth started in a meaningful discussion. This flexible and adaptable resource for youth workers contains 600 questions including 50 complete Bible studies specifically designed to help groups get acquainted, get deep, get spiritual, get into topics, and get into the Word. Leader’s hints, exercise options, and fun, helpful tips are included.Features include: * 600 ready-to-go small group questions for equipping small group leaders* Perfect for youth workers, camp counselors, Sunday school teachers, student leaders, or volunteers* Leader’s hints, exercise options, fun and helpful tips* Flexible and adaptable--ideal for both junior high and high school groups