Today is Wednesday! Otherwise know as “Youth Group Day!” I currently have 3 of my own kids in youth group. It is the highlight of their week (and mine… I’m one of the youth leaders). I’ve been working with the youth at our church for the past four years. When I got my degree in early childhood education twenty years ago, I definitely would never have pictured myself working with teenagers, but I absolutely love it. LOVE. IT.

I love being with my kids and their friends. Youth group was a very important part of my early Christian walk. I have the fondest memories and know that it really was key in setting a firm foundation for me as a Christian and a person. I see my kids come alive when they are with their friends. I see them serve alongside their peers and other leaders. I see them worship together, get into the word together. They laugh and play and make memories together. My youngest is counting down the days until she gets to be part of the group (poor girl still has two more years).

Last February, before the world fell apart, we took our students on a Winter Recharge retreat. I look back and marvel at how different things are now. Last year, we crowded into a bus without wearing masks! We drove through the mountains and spent the weekend together … without wearing masks or stressing about hand sanitizing every two minutes. We didn’t question every sniffle or look sideways at every cough. Those were the days!

Any time we get a group of these teens together and have some down time, we inevitably end up asking silly questions. One night at our retreat … one late, late night… the girls in my cabin just would not settle down. So… we took turns asking questions. One person would ask and all the others would answer. You really learn a lot about students when you ask fun questions. They let their guard down and let you see them!

Here is a list of my fifty favorite fun questions for tweens and teens:

1. If you could be an animal with a super power… what animal would you be? And what super power?
2. What crime would you be arrested for?
3. Would you rather have super strength or the power of invisibility?
4. If animals could talk, which one would be the rudest?
5. If you could ride any animal through your city’s downtown, what would it be?
6. What sport would you invent?
7. What would be your weapon of choice in the Zombie Apocalypse?
8. Who would play you in the movie of your life?
9. What is the most annoying color?
10. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
11. If you could travel to any place on earth, where would you go?
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
13. What was your favorite toy when you were in preschool?
14. Who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman?
15. If you could invite any three fictional characters to dinner, who would they be?
16. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
17. What three items would you take with you to a deserted island?
18. What would we find if we looked under your bed?
19. Have you ever eaten paper?
20. What can you talk about for hours?
21. Have you ever sent a text message to the wrong person?
22. What is something that is popular now, but in five years everyone will look back and be embarassed?
23. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in someone else’s home?
24. IF you could make any animal super sized, what would it be?
25. What part of a kid’s movie completely scared you?
26. If you had the power to shrink any object and carry it in your pocket, what would it be?
27. What is the most ridiculous fact you know?
28. What is the best type of cheese?
29. If you were a pair of shoes, what kind would you be?
30. What’s the weirdest smell you’ve ever smelled?
31. If peanut butter wasn’t called peanut butter, what would it be called?
32. What is the creepiest thing you could say while passing a stranger on the street?
33. What are some other ways to answer, “How are you?” besides “fine”?
34. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
35. If you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
36. Would you rather have x ray vision or the ability to know when someone is lying?
37. If you had to live in a different state, where would you live?
38. Which TV family do you wish you were part of?
39. What is your favorite season?
40. If you had to leave earth in a spaceship, what four friends would you take with you?
41. Would you rather live where it is always winter or always summer?
42. If you could be great at one sport, what would it be?
43. If you could shop for free at one store, where would you shop?
44. If you had to pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?
45. What product would you be willing to be the spokesperson for?
46. What movie title would you choose for your life?
47. What Disney character would you choose to be your best friend?
48. Would you rather have a third eye or a third arm?
49. If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
50. Do you eat or drink soup?

What questions would you add to the list???

**Disclaimer. MOST of these questions were curated by me from other sites. These are just the ones that have proven to be a big hit with my students. The most favorite one was the one about which crime you’d be arrested for. I ended up spending an hour making up random crimes for my girls!