Sun Valley Community Church was planted by the Baptist General Conference several years ago in Gilbert, Arizona, which is, by some accounts, the fastest-growing community in the United States. Lots of young people live in Gilbert, where the average age of residents is only 30 years old. 
  
A major focus for Sun Valley Community Church is reaching out to these young people, and the efforts have been successful. The church, which is non-denominational, holds four services each weekend, drawing 1,500 to 1,800 people through its doors. 
   
Matt Swartz, high school pastor at the church, has been in youth ministry for 20 years, seven of those at Sun Valley. He always has enjoyed organizing fun recreational activities for the 150 or so young people in his youth group, but a seminar several years ago reshaped some of his ideas about fun and games. 
   
The seminar was conducted by RecFX, www.recfx.com, a company that helps churches find ways to interact in relevant and practical ways. The seminar looked at ways to use recreation intentionally. Ideas focused on vision casting and creating a strong ministry by thinking outside the box, moving beyond games and using recreation as an important and relevant part of ministry.
 
Swartz said the ideas and encouragement he got from that seminar continue to chart the course for the church’s youth ministry today. 
  
“It’s not just games for games’ sake,” said Swartz. “It’s about how I can incorporate recreational strategies to help create community in the group.”
  
The church purchased some products from RecFX, including finger blasters, which are foam projectiles with three fins and shoot like rubber bands. These, Swartz said, have been great for helping everyone get involved in group activities. 
  
“Shooting each other is fun, and it’s great in a large group,” he said. 
  
Swartz also noted that RecFX made a donation of some of the finger blasters, which the church took with them on a mission trip to South Africa. The children in the villages loved the blasters as much as the American kids. They were running around shooting each other almost immediately. 
  
“There’s a universal element to them,” noted Swartz.

The finger blasters were not only fun for the children, but they also provided a way to “break the ice” and reach out to them. The blasters, he added, were a real blessing for the children, as they were able to just play and have fun.
  
The only problem with the finger blasters at his own church is that everyone loves them so much. Swartz said he has a hard time keeping any on hand.
  
“The finger blasters are great therapy for me,” he said with a smile.
 
In addition to the finger blasters, the church also purchased RecFX’s four-way grinder, an apparatus with a center harness and four inner tubes, where each of four teams tries to be the first to get their ball and put it on the right cone. It’s a game that isn’t as simple as it sounds and leads to lots of fun and laughter. 
  
People participating learn to strategize, work together and rely on each other.
  
“It’s great for team building,” Swartz said. “They have to work together, not independently, and it creates great discussion.” 
  
While the products they have purchased from RecFX have been great, he said the most important thing the company does is help churches think differently about recreation.
  
Almost all church youth groups play games, but sometimes it might seem they are just a way to pass the time. The games are just entertainment with no real purpose. RecFX seminars and products help churches focus recreation into something more meaningful.
   
“We’ve all played a game and then wondered what the point was,” Swartz noted. “It’s great when recreation can connect into the overall discussion or point out something in the lesson.” 
  
In addition to the recreational products offered, RecFX has several books with lots of ideas for games to be played with the products. And each activity has a purpose, a way to tie into to a principal or a lesson, whether it’s team-building, improved communication or bringing everyone into the fold.
  
Swartz encourages other churches to think intentionally about their recreation programs.
  
“Bring RecFX out to do an Intentional Recreation seminar for a youth or staff retreat,” he said. “It will challenge the thinking of your leaders."