How to Plan a Lock in for Kids at Church

A lock-in should have plenty of this festive atmosphere. Students should be comfortable and relaxed.

Lock-ins or "all-nighters" can be a blessing or a migraine depending on how well they are planned. One benefit of a successful lock-in is the advantage of spending 12-15 hours building relationships with youth and sharing the gospel with a large number of students in a casual setting. Most lock-ins are full of video games, pizza, popcorn, board games, loud music, junk food, soda and music or movie videos. The deciding factor for what to include should be what objective needs to be accomplished by the time the sleep deprived students leave the next morning.

Things You'll Need

• DVD player
• Wii
• Xbox
• Short Bible message
• icebreakers
• Food, drinks and snacks

Instructions

Lock in leadership

1. 

   Leaders set the tone of the event and create a fun, safe environment.

   Get adult and youth peer leaders on board from the planning stages of the lock-in. Plan to start this a month in advance of the lock-in kickoff. Ideally there should be one adult for every five students. Some choices for leaders could be young adults 21 and over, parents who regularly volunteer or other staff. It's great to have the student's energy and creativity from the beginning. Adult leaders should acquaint themselves with the youth if they have not been regular leaders. The first thing after meeting each other and mingling is to pray. Pray for a supernatural time of fellowship and or faith building. Pray for everyone leading for strength and wisdom. Popcorn prayer circles work great here as everyone gets a chance to willingly pray. In the circle someone starts praying then go clockwise. If the person next to you doesn't want to pray they just squeeze the hand and if moves on to the next person to pray. This invites the Holy Spirit to have His way and sets the tone for the lock-in. Decide what separate locations the boys and girls will sleep in the church even if everyone plans to stay up all night. Talk about the activity, getting parents and church members to donate food, drinks and plates. Also, have parents or other church leaders provide transportation if necessary. Not every church has a bus or vans to use. Decide what music will be playing as videos, CDs, MP3s or the youth band are all great choices. Choose the games and who will bring them if they are not owned by the youth ministry. Choose a peer or adult minister to share a 10-minute message. Decide who will get the food and other items and when. Create a loose agenda with times and tasks. Ending the lock-in with breakfast is a loving way to finish.

2. Meet with all the leaders to get ideas and suggestions. Decide to go out for laser tag, a meaningful movie, bowling, go-kart racing or to an amusement park. After everyone returns the official "lock in" begins. Deciding what happens from this point on is the most important part of the gathering.

3. Pray when everyone returns from the activity. Break out the food. Pizza, cut up subs, hot pockets, sliders, chips, juice, water, soda, ice cream, and mom's, dad's or grandma's baked goods and movie candy will do. Have the music videos pumping, the band, or the MP3s. Have the ladies go first.

4. Review some ground rules and expectations of students and staff. Inform the students where everything is located. After most students have finished eating, share a cool icebreaker to help everyone get to know something about each other, then start the games portion. Board games, video games, floor games, Foosball and pool are all great interactive games

5. Separate boys and girls if or when students start going to sleep. If there is more than one bathroom inform all students which one is for boys and girls, and not to go into the wrong one if they are unmarked. This is a good time to show movies as students begin to wind down.

6. In the morning, have all the leaders and students clean up and pack up their gear. Place all the gear near a common exit without blocking it. Have a light breakfast. Greet the parents as they pick up their kids and let them know about the upcoming events.

Tips & Warnings

• Share a five to ten minute relevant Bible message halfway through the game time.

• Get the name, address, cell phone, home number, email, instant messaging user name, birthday and parent names as each student arrives.

• Do not ever let the boys and girls sleep in the same area.

• Always involve everyone in the cleanup, so reserve a block of time for it before anyone starts to leave.