The story of the thankful leper lends itself well to group activities. These games play with ideas in the passage found in Luke 17.
How Many “Thank You”s?
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Print the game by clicking on the image and downloading the file. Start with 10 people/counters and use a die/dice to move your crowd from Jesus to the priest and back again. Lose one or more every time you land on a space with writing! How many of your crowd of 10 can make it back to Jesus to say thank you? If you lose all your people, you are out of the game!
Link: Only one made it back to say thank you.
Group Balance
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Write some large numbers on a set of cards and shuffle them. Gather the children together and explain that the first number is the number of people in a group, and the second number is the number of hands or feet to be touching the floor. The group then gathers and works out how to balance with the number given. Smaller groups can just use the second number.
Link: Leprosy affects the feeling in your limbs; so lepers may need to work together to do tasks.
Musical Chairs
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Set out one less chair than there are players. Dance around the chairs until the music stops and then race to sit down. Anyone without a chair is out of the game. Have the last player, the winner, thank the other players for taking part.
Link: many were healed, but only one thanked.
What’s the time Master
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This is a nicer version of what’s the time Mr wolf, and so the rules may well already be familiar to the children. The Master (wolf) holds a treat, biscuits perhaps, and rather than shout out ‘dinner time’ and chase them, he shouts out ‘prayer time’ and they all have to kneel down.
Dominoes
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Make a giant set from foam or card and play as a group, it’s a good thing to leave out as an option for distracted children to go back to as well.
