During lock-ins back in the 1980's the SPdL youth loved to play a late night hide & seek in the dark, called Underground Church. As a youth leader I didn't pay much attention to the rules. Not really my cup of tea. But the way SPdL was built, with all the various hallways and nooks and crannies, particularly in the "youth annex" section, lent itself perfectly to the game.
Most of the players are the hiders, supposedly persecuted Christians trying to congregate while avoiding the government guards. Back in the day the group would start off in the old church gym, then head off into the youth annex. Usually the children's building, sanctuary, and the fellowship hall building were off limits. The hiders would get a head start and go off into the youth annex and hide. The guards would then go into the youth annex and look for the hiding Christians. When they "captured" a Christian, the prisoners were led back to the "jail" in the gym. The entire time all the lights are kept turned off.
Most of the players are the hiders, supposedly persecuted Christians trying to congregate while avoiding the government guards. Back in the day the group would start off in the old church gym, then head off into the youth annex. Usually the children's building, sanctuary, and the fellowship hall building were off limits. The hiders would get a head start and go off into the youth annex and hide. The guards would then go into the youth annex and look for the hiding Christians. When they "captured" a Christian, the prisoners were led back to the "jail" in the gym. The entire time all the lights are kept turned off.
One of the guards was the undercover Christian guard, who would tell the hiders the secret location of the underground church. If the Christian guard was left alone guarding captured prisoners, he would let the prisoners go, usually one or two at a time, so the other guards wouldn't notice. The game would be played until all the Christians were caught, all the Christians congregated in the underground church, or the game had been going on for long enough.
As a youth leader, there are some disadvantages to playing Underground Church. Sometimes it may not be a good idea to let small groups of teenagers go off and hide in the dark. One time I was a guard and I captured a young man who had been sitting in a cut away section of the hall. I took him off to jail. Little did I know that he had been sitting there in the company of a teenage girl. I can't be sure, but I think this had to do with why the game was so popular with the kids.
NOTE: The young man I captured grew up to be a great Christian father and leader of men.
NOTE: The young man I captured grew up to be a great Christian father and leader of men.
No comments:
Post a Comment