Top Tips for Writing Your Own Assembly

  1. Choose a Bible passage.

    The school may have asked for a particular theme or passage, or you may be choosing your own. Try to keep the focus on Jesus if you can. Have a feel for the time of year it will be (teaching Easter just before Christmas will be confusing) and be aware that a story will make it easier for younger children to engage with, rather than something more conceptual. If you have chosen a passage and find it is too complex when you try to write the assembly, choose another passage.

  2. Work out ONE main point that you want to get across.

    This needs to be as short as possible and be echoed all the way through the assembly. Put the main point at the top of the page, so you don’t wander off-topic. Think through the key application. Where does this main point strike home with younger or older children?

  3. Watch your language.

    All the way through your assembly, try to use vocabulary that children will understand. Simple, but not simplistic. If you need to use a technical word, explain it, if possible with a story. “‘Salvation’ is about being rescued, like the time when I got stuck on a paddleboard…” Try to keep your sentences short. We always say, “Christians believe…” in our assemblies.

  4. Use visuals.

    Visuals will often engage attention. There is a reason why people remember the time that someone ate a tin of dog food during an assembly. You can show a DVD clip during the introduction, have a couple of photos on a screen during the talk, or hold up an object. Step from cardboard box to cardboard box, as you talk about the boxes that other people put us in.

  5. Keep every part of your assembly short.

    Five minutes per section is an absolute maximum. This keeps the assembly engaging and helps to keep children’s attention throughout.

  6. Use an introduction.

    Say “Hello!” and introduce yourself. You can grab people’s attention with situational drama, a game, quiz or other interaction that links to the theme or perhaps introduce a problem that is going to be solved by your main point. Think about hitting the mark with school years 5 and 6, as well as younger children. Visual humour (aka slapstick) works across the ages, but follow that with a calmer moment.

  7. Tell the Bible story.

    People may not have heard many of the ‘familiar’ Bible stories. If you can do a drama, do. A reading can work, but you will need to learn it well to allow you to make eye contact. We would always recommend starting with a child-friendly version of the Bible, like the Good News Bible. You can then rewrite this into dramatic form. Adding sound effects with the children joining in will engage you audience. Try to keep the story short and fast-paced - if they don’t need to know, don’t tell them. You can lose the narrator by acting out the narrator’s lines - you don’t need to say, “Jesus said…”. All this often needs is for the person doing the introduction to set the context before stepping into the drama: “In our story from the Bible today, Jesus is walking on a beach when he sees two fishermen…”. If you have a narrator, you can have them giving stage directions (e.g. “David walks up to Goliath and says…”). You can use members of staff or children, if you require additional actors, this can help to keep children engaged too. Using a script with specific lines highlighted can help to involve others in the drama. Make sure you write the drama so that it is easy to learn.

  8. Don’t be afraid to do a talk, to explain and apply the story.

    Your talk will need to grab attention from the start. Have a short recap, then a short explanation of the story, then a practical application. Keep it short! We aim for one side of A4, double-spaced. Aim for no longer than 3-4 minutes. Keep your talk easy to learn with 3 or 4 main sections. If you can’t remember it, it doesn’t flow easily enough and the children will struggle to follow it. Have light and shade - illustrations, application, interaction - to help break up the talk. Use visuals, even in a short talk - what could this look like? Make it appropriate: you could include one application that is more suitable for older children, and one that is more suitable for younger children. Repeat and keep repeating the main point throughout the assembly. Keep this main point tight and the same throughout. We suggest aiming to say this THREE times. Generally, it is more engaging to write this in the present tense, even if you are telling a story from the past.

  9. Singing.

    If you can’t do this well, it is probably best not to do it at all. But if you are confident, you can lead a song with a backing track. It can be helpful to give the school the words/music beforehand, so classes can learn it before the assembly. Could you ask a teacher to play piano or guitar, if you can’t? Be aware of song lyrics. Most Christian songs are written with church contexts in mind, not assemblies. Aim for didactic (teaching) songs more than response songs - ‘God is…’ or ‘Jesus did this…’ rather than ‘I want to follow Jesus all my life…’. Simple words and repetition are great! Four action songs we rely on are: God’s love is big (Simon Parry, Vineyard); Our god is a great big God (Nigel & Jo Hemming, Vineyard); You are in the city (Jodie & Joff Alexander-Fyre, Vineyard); Who is this man? (Paul Sheely, Plainsong). You don’t need a new song every time you visit a school, rotate through a few familiar songs.

  10. Questions.

    We ask three questions at the end of our assemblies, at least one of these will link back to an observation from the Bible story. One question should be “What do Christians believe we can learn from this today?” or something similar, that is application based. Ensure your questions can be easily answered from the drama and/or talk. Include your answers in the script too. Whoever is asking the questions can repeat these focused answers.

  11. Prayer.

    This will depend a lot on context. We introduce the prayer by saying, “I am going to say a short prayer for us…” rather than, “Let us all pray…”. This gives children the option to opt out if they want to. We also say, “If you want to agree with my prayer, you can say ‘Amen’ with me at the end.”. Avoid going ex tempore, as you are more likely to slip into Christian jargon. Keeping the language simple means that the children are more likely to understand and engage with the prayer. Thank God for what you have learnt today, remember to use ‘You’ not ‘God’ if you repeat your main point. If you have been talking to God about rescuing people, then why not ask God to rescue people who need help, during the prayer? Pray God’s blessing on the school - its staff and children - to finish.

  12. End well.

    Thank the school, and the children. Say you will see them again next month/term. If it’s Christmas, wish them a Happy Christmas!