The False Prophet Game

Procedure

• 1. Divide the participants into groups of 6 - 10. 1

  2. Each participant in a group will receive a paper/notecard with a word/phrase on it.

  3. The facilitator may choose Biblical related themes, or non-Biblical related themes, or something related to the theme of the fellowship.

  4. One of the participants will not receive the word/phrase (instead, “false prophet” will be written on the paper/notecard).

  5. The facilitator will choose a random person to start. Each participant, going clockwise, will then say something related to what is written on the paper/notecard (hint).

  6. The false prophet must also give his/her “hint,” trying to fit in with everyone else.

  7. After all the participants have given their “hint,” the group will vote to guess who the false prophet is.

  8. If the vote is incorrect, the voted participant is “out,” and the group must continue to try to vote out the false prophet until 30% - 40% 2 of the participants have been voted out (up to the facilitator to decide for balancing reasons).

     1. If the false prophet is still not voted out after this, then the false prophet wins.

  9. If the vote is correct before the percentage quota has been fulfilled, the false prophet has one chance to guess the word/phrase. If guessed correctly, the false prophet wins. If not, then the false prophet loses.

Lesson

After the activity, have the participants read 1 John 4:1-3. Explain to the participants that it’s important for us to be able to discern the Truth. We don’t want to be led astray by false prophets.

Variations

1. More false prophets may be included in a group (they do not need to know the identity of the other false prophets in the game).

   1. More should only be added into larger groups.

   2. For every false prophet added, increase the number of participants who need to be voted out for the false prophet(s) to win by 1.

Notes

• Still playable with 5 participants, but it’s not as balanced.

• The larger the group, the longer the game takes.

• 1 Group size may vary from 6 to 20 or more. It’s up to the facilitator.

• 2 For clarity, the facilitator should announce the number of participants who need to be voted out for the false prophet to win instead of a percentage.