Time
15 minutes (or more, depending upon how many rounds of tag you play)
Description

This game illustrates evangelism in a high-energy, fun way through a game of tag.  It’s a very quick game, so you will probably want to play it several times.  The game works best with larger groups of kids, but it can still be played with small groups.

Optionally, you can play the game outdoors with water (for “baptizing”), but if you do, it needs to be okay for the  kids to get really wet!

Scriptures

• Matthew 28:18-20

Materials

• OPTIONAL: Paper or plastic cups for each child
• OPTIONAL: A tub or bucket of water
• Bible

Preparation

• OPTIONAL: Fill the tub with water (You only need the tub of water and the cups if you plan to do the “baptizing” option.)
• Practice the script.

Procedure

Use the following script and instructions (or modify to suit your needs):

• “Today, we are going to talk about the last words that Jesus said before he rose back into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.”
• “Last words are important.”
• “If a leader is leaving his followers, and he has one more opportunity to talk to them, he’s going to say something important, don’t you think?”
• “Sure he is…and Jesus was no different.  He had something very important He wanted to say to His disciples.”
• “So, He had over 500 of His followers meet Him at the Mount of Olives, and He said this to them.”  (Ask volunteer to read Matthew 28:18-20.)
• “What did Jesus tell them to do?”  (Answer: go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them)
• “So, one of the most important things Jesus ever said to His followers was, ‘Go, Make Disciples, Baptize Them and Teach Them.’”
• “Do you think this is still important for us to do as followers of Jesus today?”  (Listen for responses.)
• “Sure it is!”
• “It’s just as important today as it was when Jesus originally said it.”
• “We need to tell as many people as we can about Jesus, so that they can go to heaven, too.”
• “And the neat thing is, every time a new person becomes a follower of Jesus, they can then tell all their friends and family about Jesus, too!”
• “Now, there are millions and millions of Christians in the world.”
• “If all the Christians were telling as many people as they could find about Jesus, how long do you think it would be before the whole world knew about Him?”  (Listen for responses.)
• “Not too long, huh?”
• “Well, let’s try this out.”
• “We are going to play a game, called Kingdom Tag.”
• “It’s played like regular tag, but there are a few differences.”
• “First, you start with one person who is ‘IT,’ and that person represents a Christian.”
• “Everyone else represents someone who doesn’t know Jesus, and each person can live in different parts of the world.”
• “If you get tagged by the Christian (the person who is ‘IT’), you become a Christian, and then you are also ‘IT!’”
• “Then, instead of running away, your new job will be to try to tag other people.”
• “They will then become Christians, too, and their new jobs will be to tag other people.”
• “We will keep playing until everyone has been tagged and becomes a Christian.”  (If you want to do the “baptizing” option, then anyone who is “IT” should run and get a cup filled with water.  They tag people by “baptizing” them with the water.)
• “Every few minutes, I’ll ask you to raise your hand if you still haven’t been tagged yet, so be honest and raise your hand if you still haven’t been tagged.”
• “Does anyone have any questions about how to play the game?”  (Answer questions.)
• “Okay, I’m going to need one volunteer to be it.”  (Select volunteer.  Then define what is out-of-bounds and where they are welcome to run and hide.)
• “I’m going to give you a five second head-start before I let the Christian go.”
• “Ready?  Go!”  (Count to five slowly before letting your “IT” person go.  Every few minutes, ask everyone to raise their hands who has not been tagged.  The game is over when everyone has been tagged.  If it goes quickly, play several rounds, if you like.  Then, call the kids back to talk about the Debrief Questions listed below.)

Debrief Questions

1. What did you think about the game?
2. How long did it take to tag everyone?  Does that surprise you?
3. Why do you think it happened so quickly?
4. Could we do the same thing by sharing about Jesus with other people we meet?
5. How did you know if someone had already been tagged or not?
6. Is that anything like how hard it is to know if someone is a Christian in real life?
7. So what do you think we should do if we can’t tell if someone is a Christian or not?
8. What will you commit to doing this week about sharing Jesus with other people?