See our Youth Activities page for more ideas (Work in progress)
As promised, I am taking on the challenge this year of featuring a different youth activity each week. That's right, 52 weeks of youth activities. So, for starters, I'm setting the bar high! I felt it was necessary to feature the activity that has captured my attention the most in the recent months. That activity is "Zorbing" (Zorb is actually a brand name, but the activity can be called "sphereing" or "hampster ball" or "globe-riding,"...Whatever you call it, we've got to do this some day soon!) "Not feasable!" you say? Well, keep reading and I will offer a couple solutions that might make this a reality for your youth group.
Sphereing, also known as globe-riding and Zorbing, is a recreational activity in which one, two or three people ride inside the inner wall of a plastic ball that rolls on the ground. To cushion the rider from bumps, there is about half a meter (about two feet) of air between the inner and outer walls of the ball. Some balls have straps to hold the rider(s) in place and some leave the rider(s) free so that they can influence the ball's movement or be tossed around freely by the ball's rolling and bouncing, optionally with a sloshing amount of water inside. People concerned about their balance, safety or other needs may enjoy the activity on ground that is either level or only slightly rolling.
There are videos of rides at the Zorb website and at Youttube. (source: Wikimedia Commons)
There are videos of rides at the Zorb website and at Youttube. (source: Wikimedia Commons)
You'd be lucky to purchase this product for under $1,000, and if your youth group is the size of ours, or at least has a budget the size of ours, you have probably dismissed this idea from being a possible activity for your youth group. Of course, you could take up a collection, or just save up for a while, and eventually you'd be able to purchase one of these, but I want to take a minute to offer three other possibilities:
1. D.I.Y.
My first option, when it comes to saving money on a youth activity, is always to think about the possibilities of doing it, or making it, ourselves. I don't know if I should actually recommend this, for safety reasons, but I think it is possible. A quick search online didn't reveal much, but my first thought is to buy a few of those clear, inflatable, lounging beds (like they use at the pool), and several rolls of clear packing tape. Just a thought...but again, for safety reasons, I'm not sure I want to encourage this.
2. Partnership
I think if a youth pastor called several other youth pastors from churches that were relatively close by, they could probably come up with a "partnership" and be able to buy a Zorb ball and divide it's usage time between the churches. However, as with any partnership, there are some foreseen problems with this: Who keeps the ball and where? If the ball gets ruined, who will take the blame and who will pay to have it fixed or replaced? Still, I think this is a possibility worth considering.
3. Rent it out and get your money back
Finally, I think that if a church was able to purchase one of these balls, they could easily get their money back by renting it out to other youth groups. Youth rallies, youth camps, vacation Bible schools...there are so many opportunities. If you can talk your church into making the purchase, you might be able to assure them that it will pay for itself. I suppose you could even make a profit, but I'm thinking more in terms of ministry and being a blessing.
Let me know what you think. Comment your ideas below, and thanks for reading.
1. D.I.Y.
My first option, when it comes to saving money on a youth activity, is always to think about the possibilities of doing it, or making it, ourselves. I don't know if I should actually recommend this, for safety reasons, but I think it is possible. A quick search online didn't reveal much, but my first thought is to buy a few of those clear, inflatable, lounging beds (like they use at the pool), and several rolls of clear packing tape. Just a thought...but again, for safety reasons, I'm not sure I want to encourage this.
2. Partnership
I think if a youth pastor called several other youth pastors from churches that were relatively close by, they could probably come up with a "partnership" and be able to buy a Zorb ball and divide it's usage time between the churches. However, as with any partnership, there are some foreseen problems with this: Who keeps the ball and where? If the ball gets ruined, who will take the blame and who will pay to have it fixed or replaced? Still, I think this is a possibility worth considering.
3. Rent it out and get your money back
Finally, I think that if a church was able to purchase one of these balls, they could easily get their money back by renting it out to other youth groups. Youth rallies, youth camps, vacation Bible schools...there are so many opportunities. If you can talk your church into making the purchase, you might be able to assure them that it will pay for itself. I suppose you could even make a profit, but I'm thinking more in terms of ministry and being a blessing.
Let me know what you think. Comment your ideas below, and thanks for reading.
