Telephone Line

Procedure

• 1. Divide the participants into teams of no more than 7 persons.

  2. Have the teams line up with 5 feet apart between each team member and team.

  3. The first team member faces one direction, while the rest of the team members all face the opposite direction.

  4. Tell participants that their goal is to pass on the message as faithfully as possible, without changing the message.

  5. The facilitator says a prompt (found below in the prompts section) and signals for the first team member to start.

  6. The first team member turns around, touches the shoulder of the second team member, and whispers the message to him/her.

  7. Each team member has 30 seconds to pass the message. The facilitator will ring the bell/timer every 30 seconds to signal the next team member to pass the message. Each team member must not pass the message until the bell/timer has been rung.

  8. When the bell/timer rings, the second team member turns around, touches the shoulder of the third team member, and whispers the message.

  9. This continues until the message reaches the last team member.

  10. Once the last team member receives the message, each team sits down in a circle and compares and contrasts the messages. The last team member says the message.

  11. If the message does not match the original, the first team member must explain the original message.

  12. If the message matches the original, the team is successful and earns a point.

  13. The facilitator shares a teaching about passing on the truth faithfully.

  14. As a faithful servant of God, we must be careful not to add our own words to the word of God, otherwise we will be in danger of deterring others or causing others to stray. Furthermore, we should let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no” so that when we pass on information as a worker of God, we will not pass on our own interpretation, but rather God’s message.

  15. (Prov 30:6) “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”

  16. Repeat steps 4 - 10. At the start of each round, the team member at the end of the line moves to the front. This time, emphasize to the participants that their goal is to pass on the message as faithfully as possible without adding to or subtracting from it.

  17. Play as many rounds as time allows, using Proverbs 30:6 as the message for the last round. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Variations

Icebreaker - Do not follow steps 10, 11, and 13. The facilitator can also participate. The first team member of a telephone line will whisper a fact about himself/herself, and the other team members will pass it down as faithfully as possible. If the last team member receives the message incorrectly, the first team member will just tell everyone what the original message was. At the start of the next round, the team member at the end of the line moves to the front. Play as many rounds as time allows, or play until everyone has had a chance to be the speaker.

Prompts

• Share your most traumatic moment.

• Share your happiest moment.

• Share your funniest/most embarrassing moment.

• Share your most memorable moment in school.

• Share your worst moment in school.

• Share a funny family story.

• Share your worst nightmare.

• Share an interesting dream you had.

• (Prov 30:6) “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”