Another Photo Scavenger Hunt

Reverse the old photo scavenger hunt approach of sending your group out to take pictures of themselves. Instead, this time YOU get to be the photographer. Prior to the event, go out and take a series of close-up photos (digital or Polaroid) in and around your church, in your neighborhood or community, or even in your city, depending on how widespread you want the scavenging to be.

The images should be close-up enough that the youth have to really use their brains to figure out where you took them (e.g the foot of a famous local statue, the cornerstone of a well-known building, a piece of the image of the mascot on the outside of their school, a youth leader's nose, the steps going into the church baptistry, an unusual object that sits on your senior minister's desk). Provide copies of all the images to each team and challenge them to seek out and identify the location of each photo (check here for some ideas of what these photos might look like).

A great follow-up to this activity might be a discussion or worship experience centered on being attentive to God's presence in the world all around us. Invite youth to spend a day noticing the little things they might miss in their regular flurry of activity that can draw their attention to God: the beauty of a fall leaf, the sound of children playing, the person in the school cafeteria who is eating alone, the taste of food, the gift of a moment of silence. Challenge them to take a moment each time they find themselves being attentive to God's presence to stop and offer a simple prayer of thanks.

Here's a warm-up for you if you are planning this activity: Can you guess the identity of the extreme close-up image above?