Does this sound familiar…
I was speaking with a vicar who had loads of competing demands on her time. She wanted to invest in her local school, but wondered whether assemblies were the best use of her limited hours. She had delivered them faithfully for years but couldn't point to a single conversation that had emerged from them.
Before giving up altogether, she decided to make a few changes.
By the end of that term, pupils were regularly approaching her to continue discussions that had been sparked by her assemblies, and several new families had visited church for the first time.
So, what had she changed?
1. Turn Up Early and Pray
She began arriving early to pray in the hall. There was space both to listen to God, and to pay attention to the environment and make last-minute adjustments. Some of the most effective moments in my own assemblies have emerged from those few quiet minutes beforehand as a better story sparks in my mind or different question occurs to me for the ending. Coming early to pray, also helped her be ready to notice pupils and staff as they arrived, making the assembly feel less like a performance and more like a relationship.
2. Focus on One Memorable Thought
Schools often provide a long list of themes they would like explored. Previously, she had tried to cover everything. Instead, she started asking herself what the one thing was that she wanted the pupils to remember the next day.
The best assembly I remember from my own schooling happened over thirty years ago. The vicar stood at the front and confidently announced that he was God. He then leant into his theme and gave examples of why he thought this. Teachers became visibly uncomfortable. The room felt edgy. I remember the discomfort. It was palpable.
Then he brought out the punchline.
"I wonder how much longer before the headteacher sends the PE staff to remove me?"
He used this moment to introduce C.S. Lewis' famous challenge: was Jesus mad, bad, or God? I remember almost nothing else from my school assemblies. I remember that one vividly and have often thought about it since.
3. Learn to Tell Better Stories
The best assembly leaders are usually great storytellers, which means one of the most worthwhile investments you can make is in learning the craft of storytelling.
My husband is a vicar and, in our previous church, we had a curate who was a natural storyteller. We both learnt a huge amount from him. He instinctively understood how to create curiosity and build suspense. Sometimes he would begin a story, leave it hanging while he explored the theme, and only return to the ending much later. You could almost feel people leaning in.
At other times he would capture our imaginations in unforgettable ways. There is a legendary story at the church of a sermon on Old Testament sacrifice where he produced a live chicken in a cardboard box and laid a large knife on the table beside it. For the next twenty minutes the congregation was completely captivated. What was going to happen to the chicken? The bird survived unharmed, but for most of the sermon nobody was entirely sure. The tension kept our attention and brought the topic alive.
Children are no different. If we can learn to tell stories that spark curiosity, create emotion and hold a little suspense, we are far more likely to be remembered than if we simply explain a point and hope it lands.
If you want to work on your storytelling, here are a few places to start:
- The Moth Podcast: a masterclass in building tension, emotion and connection.
- Philipp Humm (YouTube): practical teaching on how to structure stories that hold attention.
- Open the Book: fantastic training in engaging, interactive storytelling.
TED Talks. Watch great speakers. Try and pay attention less to what they say and more to how they say it. I'd particularly recommend:
- Andrew Stanton (Pixar) on storytelling.
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the power of story.
- Rory Sutherland on using surprise and curiosity to challenge assumptions.
4. Finish with Wonder
This was perhaps the most significant change.
Instead of explaining the meaning of everything or landing a neat application point, she began ending with a question. She looked for questions that would prompt pupils to keep pondering. Then, on assembly days, she made a point of being visible on the playground later. The result was that pupils came looking for her. The assembly no longer finished when the children left the hall. It continued through conversations, questions and relationships.
And that's the point.
A great assembly is not measured by how attentively pupils listened for ten minutes. It's measured by whether it sparks a conversation, a question or a moment of wonder that stays with them long after it's over.