Have children stand in a circle. The leader throws the ball as high as possible straight up in the air and calls a child’s name. The child whose name is called runs quickly to retrieve the ball. Once the child has it, she yells, “Freeze!” and everyone freezes. The person with the ball identifies a person she thinks she can successfully hit with the ball, then throws the ball at the target. If the ball hits the intended person, the person is out and remaining players make a smaller circle. If the thrower does not hit her target, the thrower is out. Continue this process until only one child remains. Remind children that sometimes good guys lose.

Choose one child to be the “Jailer.” Divide remaining children into pairs and have each pair link arms. Assign each child the number one, two, three, or four. The Jailer calls a number one through four, and anyone with that number must find a new partner who is not linked to anyone. If the Jailer calls “Jailbreak,” all children must find a new partner. While the children are finding a new partner, any child that is not linked can be tagged by the Jailer. The person who is tagged becomes the new Jailer. Remind children that John the Baptist was wrongfully put in jail because Herod didn’t like what John said.

Divide children into two teams. Have children in each team lie in a line with their feet against the wall and space between each child. Using only his feet, the first child must roll a beach ball along the wall and pass it to the next person. After passing the beach ball, he must stand up and move to the end of his team’s line to keep the ball moving down the wall. Continue passing the ball until it reaches a predetermined finish line. The first team to reach the finish line and shout “Jesus is Lord!” wins. Tell children that we should boldly pass along the good news about Jesus like John the Baptist did.

Mix all index cards for teams together and spread upside down on the far side of the room. Divide children into teams. Give each team a copy of the Memory Verse. On “Go!” the first child on each team runs down to the cards, picks one up, brings it back, and tags the next child, who repeats the process. If a child returns with a word her team already has, the next person in line must run it back and get a different one. Teams continue to retrieve cards until one team finds all the words in the Memory Verse, puts them in order, and says it aloud together.