The elements described below offer different ways to engage with the topic of this session. It’s up to you whether you use all of them or just one. They are tools for you; you decide how to use them. What matters:

  • Be flexible and adapt the activities to the group dynamic and your time budget. You won’t be able to fit all the elements into one session.
  • Make sure all participants are included and feel comfortable.
  • Offer enough room for personal reflection and stress the importance of honest and open feedback.
  • Be sensitive to emotional reactions, especially when it comes to personal topics.

Experiential activity “Ball of Mean Words”

⏱ 20 minutes

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This activity was first published as a bullying prevention game by René Graf on our German site.
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Materials: paper, pens, tape

How to play

  1. The participants list various “mean words” (swear words, insults) that they hear at school or at home, for example, or know from elsewhere. Each statement is written on a separate piece of paper.
  2. The individual slips are crumpled up and taped together into a ball.
  3. The participants stand in a circle. Two participants go into the middle. The group passes the ball around and tries to hit one of the two people in the middle. The other person tries to block the ball and protect them. Important rule: don’t aim at head height.
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Tip: Observe the interactions and take notes for the reflection later.

Reflection

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How was the game for the group that passed and threw the ball?
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How was the game for the person who was being targeted?
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How was it for the person who stepped in to protect them?
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Where have you experienced situations like this in everyday life?

Usually the group figures out on its own that this is exactly how it plays out in situations they know. It hurts sometimes when a ball hits you, and it’s the same with mean words. Protecting someone can be exhausting, while it’s easy to just pass the ball around or throw it at others.

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Tip: You may come up with questions that suit your group better; adapt them.
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In bullying there are these roles: the bully, the followers who support the bully, the victim, the bystanders and those who look away. Why do you think some people act as bullies or followers? And why do some prefer to look away?
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How do you think someone who is being bullied feels? Can you put yourselves in that person’s shoes?
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What long-term effects do you think bullying has on the victims, the bullies and the whole group?
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Have you ever hurt someone unintentionally? What would you do differently today?

Film “The Butterfly Circus”

⏱ 45 minutes

🎬 Watch the short film “The Butterfly Circus” (23 minutes, with Nick Vujicic) together.

The Butterfly Circus (short film, 2009)

Reflection

⏱ 20 minutes

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Tip: Go deeper into the film in small groups.
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Which scenes or lines stuck with you in particular? What exactly did that scene or line stir in you, or what do you associate with it?
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How do you think Will felt when he was part of the freak show in the first circus?
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The showman described Will as “a man whom God himself has turned his back on.” What do you think that statement did to Will?
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When Mr. Mendez visits the freak show and meets Will, he says, “You are magnificent.” Will spits at him in response. Why do you think he spat at Mr. Mendez?
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How did Will change after he joined the Butterfly Circus? What do you think contributed to his change? How did he discover his strength?
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Who or what does Mr. Mendez remind you of? What else do you notice about Mr. Mendez in the way he treats others?
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Mr. Mendez’s love and kindness turned Will and the other performers of the Butterfly Circus into different people. Where have you observed that in other people’s lives? Where have you experienced it in your own life?
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Will showed his strengths and talents and became a great encouragement to the others, and he never would have thought he could inspire others that way. Is there a strength you would like to show but haven’t been able to yet?
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(Ask this question if you don’t do the group activity.) How can we make sure our group doesn’t turn into a freak show but resembles the Butterfly Circus, where every person’s individual strengths are highlighted and others are encouraged to discover them?

Bible study

⏱ 10 minutes

📖 Read Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

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How do you think you can become “brothers” or “sisters” (like Mr. Mendez and the performers of the Butterfly Circus) for those who feel excluded and are being bullied (Will)?
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Do you believe you can make a difference as an individual when you observe bullying? How?
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If you or someone you know were affected by bullying, who would you turn to? Do you know places or people who can help?

Group activity: group agreement

⏱ 15+ minutes

Think back to the freak show. Every day mean words flew at Will and shaped his self-image so negatively that even Mr. Mendez’s “You are magnificent” provoked a defensive reaction.

Sit down together (groups of two or three) and discuss:

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How can we help make sure our group doesn’t turn into a freak show but resembles the Butterfly Circus, where every person’s individual strengths are highlighted and others are encouraged to discover them? What do you think we need for that?
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How can each one of us help make sure there is no bullying in our group, that it has no place here, and that we treat each other with respect?
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Collect the groups’ ideas. Then encourage the whole group to phrase the ideas as concretely as possible, so that in the end you have a kind of group agreement. For example:
✓ We will always step in when we see bullying. We intervene directly or get advice from an adult.
✓ We commit to not excluding anyone and will always try to be inclusive.
✓ We will choose our own words carefully and never intentionally hurt anyone.

To help each person internalize it even more, you can also write the statements in the first person.
If we stand up for the weak, we take away the soil bullying feeds on. That soil is: people join in, people watch passively, nobody gets help.

English version: September 2026