The Great Paper Airplane Race

I currently work in children's ministry, mainly with preteens. The name of our group is bTween. This name symbolizes how the kid's in my class are between the children's class and the youth group.As a church I can see we are at another crossroads, we are lacking families. The neighborhood is full of families. The challenge is reaching outside the walls of our church and providing what is needed for our neighbors.
At times I think we forget about going back to the basics. In an effort to reach our neighboring families and provide a chance for church members of all ages to get reacquainted the Family Afternoon Adventure was born. The idea is simple, pick a theme and build around it.
Our first adventure was The Great Paper Airplane Race. One piece of paper and little bit of skill made for a fun filled afternoon.
Pinterest was a great tool for organizing different ideas. We had different areas set up so that everyone felt as if they were moving through the airport process. First was check in, from there our pilots were directed to Gate 1.

Gate 1 was the engineering process. Tables were laid out with paper and crayons, this is where pilots let their imaginations soar. It was great to see everyone working together, and humorous to see how many had their smart phones out looking for ideas for the perfect paper airplane.

Gate 2 is where the pilots registered their amazing air crafts to compete in the races and competitions. Pilots had to also name their air crafts, this really gave them a sense of pride in their creations.
behind gate 2 we had a practice area. This is where the "big" kids really let loose

Once everyone had registered we headed out through Gate 3 to the lawn. This is where the real fun the real fun began. There was a distance race and obstacle course of hanging hula hoops that the pilots had to get their planes through. It had been quite some time since we had so much fun on a Sunday afternoon. In addition to the activities airline snacks of peanuts and pretzels were provided.
After the great fun on the lawn it was time for our awards ceremonies. 

Upon handing out ribbons to our winners, everyone received a participant's ribbon for being such good sports. At the end of the adventure the pilots were reminded to pick up the luggage from the baggage claim.

This day was so much fun. I worked hard to keep it budget friendly and had some amazing volunteers. We talked about how pilot's have a flight course God has a plan for us and sometimes that plan gets readjusted but God is always there to guide us.
God definitely guided me through this and has led me to this new avenue. I will gladly follow him. It was wonderful to see everyone young and old enjoying a simple afternoon together. Our next adventure is in June. Stay tuned....