Warm up         

Use a marble maze puzzle game, or alternatively use a cereal box with a marble-sized hole cut in one of the sides. Place a marble inside and seal the box. Challenge the young people to get the marble through the maze or out of the box.

Jesus has got your back  

Using Bibles or printed copies of the reading (see www.biblegateway.com), invite the young people to read the passage in pairs. Ask the pairs to either highlight or note down any positive and affirming words/phrases they can find in the reading. When everyone has finished, compile a list using everyone’s suggestions.

Questions to discuss

•  What have the disciples experienced and seen Jesus do?
•  What is important about what Jesus said and did before he sent the disciples out?
•  Why was it vital to the future Church that Jesus sent the disciples out? How does this affect our Christian life today?

If doing this virtually, invite the young people to find the passage at www.biblegateway.com, print it out or read and note down the positive/affirming words.

Sheep craziness

Watch a clip of herding sheep. Discuss with the young people how hard it must be to get this effect. Have they any experience of herding sheep? Or does this remind them of another scenario that is like trying to round up sheep, e.g. have they ever taken a group of small children on a walk? What are the problems faced? What dangers do you have to think about?

If doing this virtually, share your screen in order to watch the clip together.

Job description            

Discuss what type of person the tasks in Matthew 10.5-14 would require and what skills they would need. Challenge the young people to write a job advert for the position. Talk about how each member of the group might be a good fit for the job.

Paint blowing            

Give each young person a piece of thin card, some watered-down poster paint and a paper straw. Ask everyone to place some paint at the base of the card and then blow the paint through the straw. Talk about the way the paint spreads out, like the disciples being sent out, and how the air is like the Holy Spirit.

Parachuting eggs          

Challenge the young people to make a parachute that will carry an egg from a height safely to the ground. Divide the group into pairs, giving each pair: string, a white bin liner, sharpies, sticky tape, a paper cup. Allow 10 minutes for them to make their parachutes and then test them. Whose egg has survived? Jesus sent the disciples out into the world in a risky way. But what was the ‘parachute’ he gave to the disciples?

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