It's that time of year where the students of Sunset Christian Academy play dodge ball for P.E. Class. The students love the thought of being able to peg an adult with the dodge ball and get away with it, and for some of them its huge that they can hit their pastor with one. The students love it and I love it.
Its always funny when someone gets hit in the head, they try to pull a "matrix" move and still get hit, or they get hit hard enough that there is a red mark with the impression of the dodge ball.
Going out to play with the students is more than that though. It's a good form of excersize, it helps release stress, and most importantly it helps build relationships. Through playing dodge ball you can see which students are team players, which ones aren't, you can see which ones students may need help or extra encouragement, and it opens the door to start talking to the student about who Jesus is.
1Thessalonians 5:11 says "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
That is what dodge ball can do if you play it right. Coach Grace always puts me on the underdog team. Like today, it was the 6th graders verses the 7th and 8th graders. There is a huge difference in size and ability between the two teams. The 6th graders are small for the most part, and the 7th and 8th graders are the soccer stars. This is where encouragement comes in. The 6th graders can be scared of the ball because those 7th and 8th graders through it like 30+ miles per hour, and trust me it hurts when you get hit sometimes. But if you give a 6th grader a ball and a little encouragement they will hit one of the 7th or 8th graders about 90% of the time. Its great!
That's how we need to use games, like dodge ball, in our youth groups… as a time of encouragement and building up our students.
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