Type: Active Team Relay
Time: 10 minutes
Group Size: 6+
Materials:

• 2-4 rolls of toilet paper (or crepe paper streamers).

Purpose

To have a fun, high-energy physical activity that helps children visualize the Good Samaritan stopping to bandage the wounds of the hurt traveler.

Setup

Divide the children into two (or more) teams. Have each team choose one person to be the “Hurt Traveler.” The Hurt Traveler sits on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Give each team a roll of toilet paper.

Exact Instructions

1. Explain the rules: “Your teammate is the Hurt Traveler! You need to be Good Samaritans and bandage their wounds. But you can only do it one person at a time.”
2. Say, “Ready, Set, GO!”
3. The first person in each line runs to their Hurt Traveler with the roll of toilet paper, wraps the toilet paper around the traveler’s arm or leg exactly THREE times, tears it off, and runs the roll back to the next person in line.
4. The next person runs down, wraps another body part three times, tears it off, and runs back.
5. If the toilet paper tears accidentally while they are wrapping, they just have to pick it up and keep wrapping.
6. The first team to have every member successfully “bandage” the traveler and return to the starting line wins!

Discussion

Ask: “Was it hard to run down there and stop what you were doing to help your teammate?” “Imagine if the Hurt Traveler wasn’t your teammate, but was someone who was really mean to you. Would you still want to run down and bandage them?”

Connection Back to the Bible Story

Explain: “In the game, it was fun to help your teammate. But in Jesus’ story, the Good Samaritan stopped to bandage the wounds of his worst enemy! True love means stopping to help people who need it, even if they are different from us or don’t like us.”