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We just came home from our summer youth conference. Planning these events is always a bit overwhelming. It’s nice to see what other groups have done to get your ideas rolling. Our conference had a “Survivor” theme and was held at Reid Ranch in Utah, but the ideas could be adapted to many themes and locations. Whether you’re camping or staying in a lodge in the wilderness OR staying in a home or hotel in the city, these ideas can work for you.

The goal is usually the same for all youth conferences. We want to provide an opportunity for youth to connect with each other, adult mentors, and God. We want everyone to feel welcome, valued, and excited. We want to hear kids stand up on the last night and say, “I didn’t want to come. My parents forced me to be here. But, I’m so glad I came. I’m never missing one of these again.”

With that goal in mind, here are some ideas and a detailed schedule for planning your own event.

GROUP COMPETITIONS

A great way to build comradery is through competition. We chose a Survivor them so we divided our 40 youth into five tribes with 8 people each. We gave them a bandana in their tribe’s color and a necklace with a wooden bead (also in their tribe’s color). Whenever they participated in a challenge, they earned additional beads (gold for the winners and natural wood beads for all participants.)

When you plan competitions, make sure you’re thinking about all the different skills of your youth. Avoid having only competitions where athletes will excel. Think about the creative kids, the brainiacs, and challenges that require teamwork. Make sure there’s a time for everyone to shine. We want these teams to really need every person in their group.

Here’s what we did:

Survivor Challenge #1: SORTING INTO TRIBES

As each person arrives, give them a card that is folded over and stapled so the contents are secret. The cards each show a picture of an animal. When it’s time to begin, ask everyone to look at their card without showing anyone around them.  When the game begins, they will make the noise of their animal. No actions– Only sounds! As soon as they find another person making their sound, they will link arms until they believe they have found all their team members. Once they think they have everyone, they run to a tiki torch on the field.

Note: We created a large rectangle with cones that they had to stay within until they found their team. The tiki torches were stuck in the ground outside the rectangle.

Once everyone was sorted, we gave them their bandanas and necklaces and played their tribe’s theme song. These were hype songs chosen by the youth leader of each tribe. We played these songs whenever a team won an event.

Once everyone was sorted, they were told who they would be driving with to the ranch. Tribes rode together and worked on a long list of questions to get to know each other as they drove. Each tribe had two vehicles. They received points for completing the questions by the time we arrived.

Survivor Challenge #2: GIANT SLING SHOT

If you have a lake and small boats (canoes, kayaks, or paddle boats), this one is pretty funny. You will need some buckets of varying sizes, at least one giant sling shot and lots of floating water balls .

The goal of this challenge is to earn points by catching balls in buckets while you’re boating out on the water. Part of your team stands on the beach and sling shots balls toward their team in a boat. Our teams earned 10 points for catching a ball in a giant bucket, 20 for catching it in a 5-gallon bucket, and 30 for catching it in a BIG Gulp cup. If a ball went into the boat (not a bucket), that was worth 1 point. Catching a ball out of the air was also worth one point.  We had two sling shots, so teams could choose to put 6 people on both sling shots and their other two teammates on the boat, or they could have 3 people on one sling shot and their other 5 teammates on multiple boats. Everyone could choose their own strategy.

After each challenge, a leader shared a 2-minute message connecting the activity to a gospel theme.

Sling Shot Theme: When we look unto Christ, we stay focused on what matters most. Just like a target in this game, we must avoid other distractions that will make it difficult to be centered on Christ.

• Survivor challenge #3: capture the flag

At dusk (and into the dark of night), we played the classic camp game Capture the Flag. We divided the forest into 5 sections like a wagon wheel. The center of the wagon was a safe zone. Each tribe was given glow stick bracelets the color of their team and a flag in their team color to protect.  They also had a blanket where their prisoners had to sit in jail until they were freed by their teammates. There are many websites describing this game. Just make sure you set clear boundaries and rules. It’s always fun.

Theme: It’s easier to be a disciple of Jesus Christ when we work as a team. When we surround ourselves with others who want to follow the Savior, it’s so much easier!

Survivor Challenge #4: Ropes Race

Reid Ranch has a great low ropes course so we took advantage of this equipment. We hung numbers 1-8 throughout the course. This was a team race so we marked where players would tag their teammates along the course. Each person ran a length and turn of the course, then tagged the next person who continued on their own section of the course.

After all the teams competed, we had a second race where each team sent one girl and one boy to compete. Totally different outcome. The kids seemed to love this challenge. Take advantage of any special things you have where you’re staying.

Theme: We can overcome our fears and do hard things.

survivor challenge #5: sand forts

We used a sand volleyball court for this building challenge. The goal was for each tribe to build a fort out of sand to protect a paper cup.

Once built, the other teams threw tennis balls at the structure to knock over the cup. The cup had to sit upright, flat on the ground. It could not be buried below the ground. They could use anything they found.

Theme: We had a longer devotional here by our stake president. He talked to the youth about the forts Captain Moroni built to protect the Nephite cities in the Book of Mormon. Then he talked about our personal forts- our armor of God and how we can fortify our testimonies.  He gave all the tribes a picture of one piece of armor and asked them to discuss why Paul chose that item as a symbol and what it looks like to use that symbolic armor in our lives today.

survivor challenge #6: brain games & relays

It’s always fun to add a challenge that showcases the talents of lots of different people. This one is great. It’s a combination of games: Pictionary, Name That Tune, Group Charades, and Relay Races.  Here’s how it works. Each tribe chooses 3 people to be artists, 3-4 people to be actors, and 2-3 people to be singers. If you need someone to participate twice, that’s okay too. You just want everyone to have an assignment.

TEAM PICTIONARY

The three artists come to the front of the room at the same time. They are shown a card with 3 clues written on it. They have a few seconds to decide which artist will draw each clue. They have 40 seconds to simultaneously draw all three clues. Then they have 10 additional seconds to guess what the three clues have in common or how they are connected. Example: Car, Tree, Elephant. Connection: They all have trunks.  We awarded one point for each drawing guessed correctly and an additional two points if they guessed the connection. Here’s a link to lots of these clues: Large Group Game Show Competition.

NAME THAT TUNE

Now it’s time for your singers! The game is “Name That Tune”. The singers have 60 seconds to get their team to name as many songs as they can on their list.  Each singer must hum/da-de-da two songs on the list.  No words allowed.  Again, have a non-player hold the clues to the side where the singers can see the clues but their team cannot. The songs can be sung in any order. One point for every correct answer.

Example Clue Card:

• Amazing Grace (Hymn)
• Piano Man (Billy Joel)
• Let It Go (Frozen)
• We’re All in this Together (High School Musical)
• Harry Potter Theme Song
• Shake It Off (Taylor Swift)

GROUP CHARADES

The three actors work together to act out four group-charades clues.  They may act out the clues in any order. Their team has 60 seconds to solve as many clues as possible.  One point per correct answer.  Have an adult (non-player) hold the clues to the side where the actors can see the clues but their team cannot.

Example Clue Card:  Zoo, Olympics, Trick or Treating, Jonah & the Whale

Find more clues at this link: Large Group Game Show Competition

THE FLOOR IS LAVA

It’s also fun to throw in a few relay races. The Floor is Lava is a classic from childhood. With 8 people per team, we gave each tribe 4 washcloths. They need to get their team from one end of the room to the other without touching the floor. Fastest team wins.

Theme: Everyone is needed. He says “Come Follow Me” but He doesn’t want us to come alone. Just like you need the strengths of everyone in your tribe, see the worth of everyone around you and bring them with you!

Points: We added up all the points from the various games, but these points were not put on the scoreboard. The top team received 50, second place received 40, and so on– just like the other challenges.

survivor challenge #7: variety show

It’s just not camp without a skit night. Give your tribes time to prepare a skit, song, dance, or other variety show act. Ask some non-partial folks to be the judges and turn on the stage lights. This is a great last challenge. It really brings the groups together.

SURVIVOR ADD-ONS TO INCREASE THE FUN

Tribal Councils

You’ll definitely want to have Tribal Councils each night to celebrate the festivities of the day. But, PLEASE don’t vote anyone off the island.  As youth arrived at the campfire, we gave them a little piece of parchment and asked them to write a shout-out about someone in their tribe who they noticed did a great job that day. We went through the notes and chose one person from each tribe to spotlight. We announced their name and why they were chosen and they got to hold their tribe’s torch and lead the group back to the lodge at the end of the night. It was a really great way to celebrate some extraordinary people. And it looked really amazing in the dark!

Immunity Idols

In Survivor, there are always hidden immunity idols that, if found, make it so a player can’t be voted off the island. We hid two little figures around the ranch. If you found one, you could play it on the last day. It was worth 50 points, which was equivalent to a first place victory in a challenge. These little figures ended up changing the outcome of the entire competition. It’s not over until it’s over!

BEAD NECKLACES

As I said in the beginning, we awarded wood beads to everyone who participated in each challenge. We gave gold painted beads to the winners of each challenge. We were surprised how much the youth loved their necklaces. It worked out really well.

Scoreboard and Awards

Make sure you have a leader in charge of keeping the scoreboard up-to-date and accurate. This is a big job. We had five teams so each challenge was scored with the 1st place team receiving 50 points, 2nd- 40 points, and so on down to 5th place earning 10 points.  We kept a running tally on a large whiteboard in the lodge. We carried it around to the different events. Our winners received goody bags in a big plastic trophy cup. And, of course, their team’s theme song played and they danced and sang with gusto!

FIRESIDES AND DEVOTIONALS

We will never be able to out-fun the world, but we can create a space that is noticeably different– where youth can feel the spirit and strengthen their faith. This is a vital part of youth conference. Please, please make it a priority in your planning. Otherwise, it’s just a fun event. End of story.

We decided we would share short messages after each of our competitions tying the activity to a spiritual lesson.  Then we had evening firesides, short devotionals led by youth in the morning, and a 30-minute discussion led by our stake president after our sand fort challenge. You can go back to that challenge to find a description of that discussion.  This year, we invited 5 young adults who had recently returned from serving missions to sit on a panel and answer questions. They were amazing! We asked an older member of our church who had served 4 missions to serve as the moderator. It was really fun to see our youth interact with these amazing people who are just a few years older and wiser.

On another night, we invited our patriarch to speak to the youth. He shared a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and also answered a lot of questions from our youth.

Our last night is traditionally a testimony meeting. This is a great opportunity for the youth to share what they have learned with each other. And there’s always a lot of love and appreciation in the room. You can do this alone or after a speaker. It’s a good idea to have a little break between the two if you choose to have a speaker first.

Other tips for firesides: Ask youth to perform sacred musical numbers as you transition from fun stuff to more spiritual activities like speakers. They need a way to help them settle down and understand that we are now doing something totally different than the activities of the day. It’s really fun to see youth perform and share their musical talents. Always invite as many youth as you can to participate in things like this.

Additionally, take advantage of the place you choose to go. If you’re in the wilderness, go on a hike. Maybe have a speaker at the summit.  If you’re by a lake, add lots of water activities. Make sure there is a balance of free time and planned activities. You need both. Too many planned events will cause the kids to get irritable. They need down time and choices of who they can be with and where they can go. I’ll attach a copy of our detailed schedule here as an example. Youth Conference Schedule 2025

Good luck! Whatever you choose to do, I hope it’s marvelous. Give those kids your whole heart. It’s going to be terrific!

Note on Reid Ranch:  If you’re looking for a great place to hold your youth conference in Utah, we highly recommend Reid Ranch. We asked each of our youth to contribute $50 toward the conference and the church paid the rest. We loved staying at the Tabby Mountain Lodge for two nights, but there is a less expensive option of staying in their tent city. All accommodations include meals and all activities, even horseback riding! This means leaders can actually spend time with the youth instead of cooking all day. It really was so fun. Check out Reid Ranch’s website for details.