Confirmation
Confirmation Class at Good Hope is a three-year program of study for students in 6th – 8th grade. Please contact Pastor John for more information.
What’s Confirmation Like These Days?
This fall we’re starting confirmation again. It’s got me thinking about what confirmation is like today and how to approach this vital ministry in our church.
The number 1 thing I’ve learned is that confirmation is more than just a class. At it’s best confirmation is time when young people meet Jesus and to become part of the church. Many students come to confirmation raw. They haven’t regularly been in church or in Sunday school. Many don’t know basic bible stories or church tradition. I see Confirmation as an amazing opportunity for evangelism. We get to introduce a new generation to Jesus and to his people, the church. Personally I think 3 things make up confirmation: #1 learning, #2 worship, and #3 service. The catch is only one of these 3 happens on Wednesday nights.
#1 learning What happens on Wednesday nights? The first part of Wednesday night happens upstairs in the sanctuary. The second part happens in the fellowship hall with goodies and hot cocoa/decaf coffee in hand.
Wednesday night starts upstairs with prayer. Next each student is asked to share a high and low point from their week. Sharing highs and lows helps kids who go to different schools connect better. Then comes formal teaching. This year we’ll study key people in the New Testament focusing on Jesus and what he taught. We have a 3 year cycle in confirmation. 1 year on Old Testament, 1 on New Testament, and 1 on Luther’s Small Catechism.
We head downstairs for study and fellowship. Our 2 textbooks are the Bible and Luther’s Small Catechism. This is the time when kids are invited to ask and answer questions and to read scripture. From my perspective Wednesday night is only 1/3 confirmation. The activities and conversation are great; but the rest of confirmation happens beyond a classroom.
#2 worship Many (maybe most) Confirmation students I’ve had in 27 years as a pastor seem very new to worship when they start Confirmation as 6th or 7th graders. We say worship is central to our life together as church and for many just being in worship is a huge part of learning what it means to follow Jesus.
#3 Service Confirmation students serve as acolytes, in Bible school, and in so many other ways. Serving is often when kids finally see themselves as part of something bigger.
As a pastor I can’t decide which of these 3 parts is most important. Kids learn differently, some learn in class, others learn by doing, and some learn from the example of parents and grandparents.
Peace to you, Pastor John Heille