No matter the size of your church youth group, fun will be had where youth gather to pray and enjoy fellowship. Many youth group leaders set up stations within the church for activity zones. Other leaders prefer to split the youngsters into teams and send them out into the community for activities after the prayer and worship service, returning to the church for lessons, games and dinner.
One of the main focuses for a church youth rally is to inform the youth group of positive ways to share faith. Developing and sharing a testimony is an important part of a Christian's life. Making godly decisions, and being able to share how those decisions have affected your life, are parts of sharing your faith. Offer opportunities throughout the rally for the youths to share their personal testimony without fear and to learn how to share their faith with others. Teach them to let God's word speak for them, rather than reciting an elaborate speech. Passages for sharing faith without fear can be found in several places in Scripture, including:
--"In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.' " (John 3:3)
--"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' " (John 14:6)
Prayer and praise activities begin youth rallies, usually within the church chapel. Some youth groups have praise bands that lead them in praise during rallies, and some larger church rallies hire professional praise and worship bands. Prayer and praise activities are a large part of church youth rallies, no matter the size of the church or the youth group. This is a time to make prayer lists and praise reports, and to seek God's guidance. A 1995 study stated by Youth and Religion Online found that 80 percent of American teenagers pray.
Community activities can be a central part of a church youth rally. Ask church members to donate light bulbs to the youth group in advance. Youth group members can write "Jesus is the light of the world" (John 8:12) on the outside of the light bulb containers. Separate the youth group into small units and send them into the community to hand out the light bulbs while it is still daylight.
Many smaller youth groups end their rallies with a wind-down activity. Split the youth group into teams, making sure that each time has a driver. Give each time a list of pizza toppings. Each team is required to find each ingredient on the list, by going to homes of people that they know. Only one item on the list of toppings may be purchased from a store. Once the items are collected, the team must take the items to a house on their map where an oven is waiting, and bake the pizza. The first team to arrive back at the church with its finished pizza wins.
