Building relationships in your ministry is so important! Jesus said the way we love each other will prove that we follow him (John 13:35). The church in Acts 2 and Acts 4 was a model of everyone getting along and sharing. Throughout the letters in the Bible, unity is encouraged.

And that unity is more important today than ever! In an ever-increasingly divisive culture, where screens dominate kids’ lives and teens are turning to AI for friendships, it’s important to teach kids in our ministries how to build real human relationships.

The Importance of Friendships

Research shows that children’s friendships can have positive benefits for their physical and cognitive development. On the flip side, negative experiences in friendship can cause kids’ well-being to deteriorate. And the absence of childhood friendships can lead to aggression and attention issues in teen years.

So how do you build meaningful friendships in your ministry to foster unity and community? We’ve pulled seven awesome relationship-building games from Dig In’s Bible in One Year Program that you can use in your ministry.

Relationship-Building Game #1: God’s Got Your Back

Say: When people help us with things, sometimes we say they’ve “got our back.” Well, God’s got our back when we’re trying to make things right! Even though we sometimes hurt other people, God is all about fixing relationships. God helps us make things right.

So let’s see what it’s like when someone’s got your back.

• Kids find partners of a similar size.
• Partners sit on the floor back-to-back and link elbows.
• Leaning on one another, kids try to stand up together.
• Once successful, kids can find new partners and try again. What happens when their partners are much taller or shorter?

Relationship-Building Game #2: Time for School

Say: God takes care of us through others.

Ask: What’s something you do that you don’t need help with?

Say: Let’s do a little activity where you’ll get all the help you need—and maybe some you don’t need.

• Kids form pairs of the same gender, with similar heights.
• One partner stands directly behind the other.
• The Front Kids keep their arms at their sides.
• The Back Kids tuck their arms under the armpits of the Front Kids so their arms stick out in front.
• Give directions for things kids will do. For example, you might ask pairs to “brush your teeth.” The Back Kids will mimic toothbrushing motions for the Front Kids’ faces.
• After one round, say: It’s a good thing God knows what kind of help we need, and when we don’t need help. God takes care of us through others.
• Continue the game. You can give other directions like the ideas kids named earlier or things like the following: Fix your hair, stretch and yawn, tie a tie, eat cereal, spread cream cheese on a bagel, pour a glass of orange juice, and pull up socks.
• You may want to let pairs swap roles or take turns doing the actions so some kids can watch the ones acting.

Relationship-Building Game #3: Coolest-Ever Handshakes

Say: God gives us friends. We can celebrate all the friends we have here! In fact, let’s celebrate our friends by making up super-cool handshakes!

• Have kids form pairs.
• Give pairs about a minute to create and practice a special, one-of-a-kind handshake involving hand slaps, fist bumps, high-fives, finger snaps, hip bumps, and whatever else is fun.
• Have pairs show off their handshakes.
• Form new pairs and repeat.

Relationship-Building Game #4: Leapin’ Lineup

Say: God helps us see people through his eyes. Sometimes we judge people based on how they look, what they’re wearing, or other “outside” kinds of details. But God helps us see people on the inside. Let’s play a game that will help us change from seeing the outside to seeing the inside.

• Explain that you’ll call out a category and a way to move, and kids will hurry to line up in order. For example, you might say, “Hop to line up by age.” Kids will have to line up from youngest to oldest.
• Once kids are lined up, you’ll have them turn to someone near them and find out something about who they are on the inside, using the questions provided.
• Encourage older kids to help younger kids find their spots.
• Some categories and ways to move might include:
  • Hop to line up by age.
  • Crawl to line up by hair length.
  • Hop on one foot to line up by the number of buttons on your clothes.
  • Skip to line up by height.
  • Baby step to line up from darkest to lightest shirts.
  • Giant step to line up by shoe size.
• Some questions for each round might include:
  • What age has been your favorite so far, and why?
  • What’s a fun fact you know?
  • What’s your favorite activity?
  • Tell about someone you love.
  • Tell about any pets you have or wish you had.
  • Tell about an interesting place you’ve been.

Relationship-Building Game #5: Go Long

Say: God shows mercy even when we don’t. Mercy means getting a second, third, and forty-third chance when we do something wrong.

Or, in the case of this game, mercy just means extra chances when you mess up.

• Have kids form pairs and find a soft item, such as a stuffed animal, a crayon, or a paper wad.
• Partners stand several feet from each other and toss the item back and forth.
• Make it interesting by adding some challenges: one hand behind the back, one eye closed, standing on one foot, tossing behind the back, and so on.
• If anyone drops their object, say: That’s OK! I’ll show mercy and let you try again.
• Show mercy as much as needed.
• Encourage pairs to communicate well about when and how they will be throwing the item and use mess-ups to learn how to better communicate.

Relationship-Building Game #6: Doubt It Duos

Say: Jesus is real. In this game, you’ll see if you can trust without seeing.

• Form pairs, and have one partner stand in front of the other.
• The front partners will close their eyes and try to keep them closed.
• The back partners will put their hands on the shoulders of their partners to steer them around the room.
• You’ll call out directions that kids will follow, such as move left, move right, go forward, crisscross the room, or get as close to another duo as possible without colliding.
• Back partners will steer their partners according to your commands, while avoiding crashing into walls, obstacles, or other kids.
• Play for just a minute or so, then swap roles.

After two short rounds, pause for discussion.

Ask:

• How many of you opened your eyes—or at least sneaked a quick peek? Why or why not?
• How would your faith be different if you could see Jesus in person?

Say: Jesus said we’re blessed when we believe in him without seeing. We can’t see Jesus, but we can trust that Jesus is real.

Relationship-Building Game #7: Stick Together

Say: Jesus wants to be with us forever. Let’s do some challenges with others and see if you’d want to be together forever.

• Form mixed-age groups of four to six kids. It’s OK if there’s only one group, or if the group is smaller than that.
• Kids in each group will stand in a tight circle facing out and link arms with each other.
• With arms linked, groups will try to accomplish these challenges:
  • Walk to you. (You’ll stand on the far side of the room.)
  • Pass someone’s shoe around the circle twice.
  • See if they can improve the time passing the shoe.
  • Bring the shoe to you.
  • Pick up the shoe from where you toss it on the floor.
  • Circle to the right.
  • Circle to the left.
  • Circle as they move to a specific point in the room.
  • Do the “Hokey Pokey” as a group.
  • Put the shoe back on the person it belongs to.
• Periodically ask kids how they’re feeling about being stuck together as they do these challenges. Point out that Jesus wants to be with us forever—but that will be amazing!

Fall Fellowship Fun Festival

Looking for a fun fall event? Turn these seven relationship-building games into a fun, Olympic-themed festival! Resist the temptation to add competition—the whole point is building unity—but provide gold medals for categories like “Super Encourager” or “Always Gives Their All.”

Play all the games, with breaks for snacks and just free play where kids can bond further. Decorate with Olympic-ring hula hoops and a crepe-paper torch. Or check out these 90 fall festival ideas and four more fall festival games!

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Looking for ways you can be a friend of the kids in your ministry? Read these tips!