How to Use Stir in School Assemblies

Think about how you can use the assembly, or series of assemblies, to lead toward an invitation to attend a group where students can explore their own spirituality, faith and beliefs further. You could lead this group during lunch-time or outside of the school timetable.

First, make sure you have an internet connection and can connect to a projector or large screen.

Gauge the purpose of your talk. If you are fulfilling general PSHE/RSHE requirements, use Stir Pack 1 to introduce the idea of spirituality and how, as humans, we are more than our body and brain.

We suggest using Stir Pack 1 Card 1 as an outline for your first talk.

• Encourage students to share their answers to the opening quiz with the person next to them or ask for volunteers to come to the front (and bribe them with a prize!).

• Choose which of the reflection questions to use (you will not have time to use them all) and if you wish to ask them rhetorically or ask students to respond in some way.

• If you have time, play the “Two Stories” video.

• Reinforce that as a Christians we believe that we are more than simply our bodies and brains. Most of us sense there is something more. We have a spirit or soul.

If you are given the opportunity to lead further assemblies, choose a couple other sessions from Pack 1 and:

• Reinforce that the purpose of the assembly is to help students experience the reality they are spiritual.
• Remind students of the different longings that point to the reality we have a soul (see the chart that came with Stir Pack 1 for help)
• Play the suggested video
• Decide how to lead the questions (ask the questions rhetorically, ask for volunteers to respond or ask the group to respond either visually or verbally as a whole).

If you are fulfilling a specific request to talk about the Christian faith in particular:

• Choose a session from Stir Pack 2 that demonstrates the benefit of connecting with God. We think Card 3 and Card 5 could work well. Play the video. Decide how to lead the questions (ask the questions rhetorically, ask for volunteers to respond or ask the group to respond either visually or verbally as a whole). Be sure to reinforce the idea, “When we connect with God, we can… (eg. Forgive People Who Hurt us or Feel Good About Ourselves)

• Choose a session from Stir Pack 3 that will help students grow attracted to the person of Jesus and correct misconceptions they may have. Play the video. If you have time, try demonstrating the suggested ‘Experience’ from the front while students watch and reflect on their own thoughts. Be sure to reinforce the idea, “Because Jesus was fully one with God, he…”

If you are invited to lead an Easter assembly:

• Use a session from Stir Pack 4 to demonstrate how sin is more than simply giving in to a few guilty pleasures or breaking a list of arbitrary rules that God came up with. Show how sin hurts ourselves, the people around us and the planet. Jesus came because God wanted to take care of our sin problem and fix the world.
• If you would like to talk about the crucifixion, use Stir Pack 4 Card 4 to demonstrate why Jesus had to die. Most likely, it will not be appropriate to show a video depicting the crucifixion. We suggest using a few non-graphic pictures instead. Consider finding a few abstract artistic pictures.
• We suggest demonstrating any suggested ‘Experiences’ from the front of the room while students watch and reflect with their own thoughts.