ICEBREAKERS – “Been With Jesus”
1. Who Have You Been Around?
Supplies: None
Choose one student to leave the room or turn around so they can’t see the group. Secretly choose another student to be the “leader.”
The student who left the room will re-enter or turn back around, and then get in the middle of the group. The leader begins doing a simple motion — clapping, tapping their knees, nodding their head, etc. — and everyone copies them. Every few seconds, the leader should switch motions, and everyone should follow without making it obvious who they’re watching.
The student in the middle gets one guess to figure out who the leader is.
Play a few rounds with different leaders.
Transition: “If you paid attention, you could tell everyone was being influenced by the same person. The people we spend time with can influence us too. Throughout this series, we’re talking about how spending time with Jesus changes us. People could tell Peter and John had been with Jesus because their lives were different.”
2. Four Corners: How Would You Spend It?
Supplies: None
Label four corners of the room:
Friends
Phone
Food
Sleep
Tell students they suddenly have an entire afternoon with absolutely nothing they have to do. They must move to the corner representing how they’d most want to spend their time.
After everyone chooses, ask a few students to explain their answers. Then play more rounds by changing the four options.
Examples:
Video games / Sports / Music / Movies
Shopping / Eating / Sleeping / Hanging out
TikTok / YouTube / Netflix / FaceTime
Beach / Theme park / Concert / Sporting event
Alone / With one friend / With a small group / At a huge party
Transition: “We make choices about how we spend our time every day — even when we don’t really think about it. We’re learning about discovering practical ways we can choose to spend time with Jesus through prayer, His Word, worship, and serving others.”
3. Same Energy
Supplies: None
Have everyone pair up and face their partner. Give them 60 seconds to learn as much as possible about each other’s favorites: favorite food, music, show, hobby, sports team, etc. Have each pair share a few things they learned about their partner.
Then tell them they have 60 seconds — but this time, their goal is to find something they have in common that isn’t obvious. (e.g., both love to eat ice cream that has been microwaved)
Afterward, invite a few pairs to share the most surprising thing they discovered they had in common.
Transition: “You learn more about someone by spending time with them. Our relationship with Jesus works that way too. Prayer, reading the Bible, worship, and serving aren’t just things Christians are supposed to do — they’re ways we can spend time with Jesus and know Him more.”
4. Copycat
Supplies: None
Have students pair up and stand facing each other. Choose one person in each pair to be the leader and the other to be the copycat.
For 30 seconds, the leader should make random movements while the copycat tries to mirror them as closely as possible. Encourage leaders to start simple, then gradually get faster and more ridiculous.
Switch roles and play again.
For a final round, challenge students to mirror each other without deciding who is leading. See if they can move together smoothly.
Transition: “The more attention you paid to the person in front of you, the easier it was to follow them. Spending time with Jesus helps us know Him and become more like Him. That’s what this series is all about: Being with Jesus changes us.”