assembly – Page 2 – The Well Creative Children's ministry

This assembly is based on the story of Abraham being called by God to leave his homeland and journey to a distant land (Genesis 12) and fits with the SEALS theme of ‘changes’.

5 mins	Game-get 10 yellow ball pool balls, 5 red and 5 blue and share them out as follows into 3 baskets spaced out across the front of the hall: Left basket: 5 yellow balls, middle basket 5 red and 5 blue balls, right basket 5 yellow balls. Get two volunteers to stand by the left hand and right hand baskets. Shout ‘go’ and get the volunteers to run backwards and forwards between their basket and the middle basket, changing their balls one by one until the left basket has 5 red balls and the right basket has 5 blue balls and all the yellow balls are in the middle basket. The first to change all of the balls in their basket is the winner. This introduces the idea of ‘change.’
5 mins	Talk about God calling Abraham to leave everything behind to journey to an unknown place (mirroring what would happen after the summer when Y6 move to secondary school). Invite a child up to the front to become ‘Abraham’ and give them a rucksack and a map as if they are going on a journey. Then take the map away and gave them a blindfold to wear and lead them around following only the direction of your voice. This is hard because they really have to trust! Then talk about Abraham having to trust God when everything he knew was changing and how we have people we can trust to help us when things around us are changing. Share with the children who some of your trusted people are
5 mins	Object lesson- check out the original idea here on this blog of object lessons using natural laws. Stand about 10 feet away from ‘Abraham’ and aim an inflated but untied balloon at him. Let go and the balloon will go a little bit crazy in the air as it deflates. This is like us when we get stressed about things and don’t let others help us. Next, blow up another balloon (still without tying the end) and sellotape it to a piece of straw with a long string running through it (see picture). Get ‘Abraham’ to hold on to one end of the string and you hold the untied balloon/ straw at the other end. Let go and the balloon will fly straight to its destination at the end of the string (Abraham)! This shows us how, if we trust God or those around us to help when things are changing and we are worried then, like the string, they will help to keep us on track!
2 mins	Light a candle and ask the children to think of all those people in their lives who they can trust to help them when changes are happening- the people who will keep them going in a straight line. Say a brief thank you prayer for those people.

This is an assembly to go with the SEALS theme ‘Good to be me.’

5 mins	Game- bring a child to the front and put a post it note on their head with the name of a famous person on it (don’t let the volunteering child see it). The child has 2 minutes to ask questions to try and find out who the famous person is. Make sure everyone else in the room doesn’t give the game away! The point of the game is that knowing who we are is important!
5 mins	story- Read the story of David and Goliath from a good Children’s Bible. See here for some useful links, or get the children to act it out.
5 mins	Talk and illustration- talk about the fact that it is sometimes hard for other people to know who we actually are. Sometimes there are things we are good at that only we and God know about. Though others thought that David had no chance against Goliath, David trusted God and God was able to use him and the skills he had. We all have things that we were good at (sometimes things that no one else but God and ourselves know about) and we can all be used by God to help others. Before the children arrive, take a balloon and fill it with about a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. It’s quite easy to make the balloon seem as though it is empty as long as the children don’t get close enough to touch it! Fix it to the neck of a bottle containing some white vinegar (this will look like water). Talk about how it would seem impossible for me to inflate the balloon using just what is in the bottle. You might think I was silly to even think it… But… At this point lift up the balloon and let the bicarbonate of soda be released into the bottle and explain that, even though no one else could see it, I knew there was something inside the balloon that could do the job. Watch the balloon inflate! Then talk about how God gives everyone special gifts and talents and sometimes no one else knows except you and God that they are there. When you use those special gifts, God can help you to do things that others might think you would never be able to!
2 mins	Light a candle and give the children time to think about the gifts and talents that God has given them and why it is good for them to be who they are. End with a short prayer saying thank you to God for each person.