Confirmation (Stone 7)
The Objective of this Stone:
To transform the confirmation ritual from the day when most youth say “goodbye” to the church into the day that a small group of friends, along with their Guide, are commissioned into a specifically chosen ministry of the church.
What Is It?
A three-session course for teens and parents in the church and community titled Confirmation.
What’s the Purpose?
To prepare youth to make a public confession of their faith; to affirm/confirm what they believe; to accept a specific call to ministry along with their small group; to call teens and parents to continue their nightly faith practices of highs and lows, confession and absolution, Scripture, theological reflection, intercessory prayer, blessing, and going to sleep with music featuring God’s Word.
Who Owns It?
A Theme Team of people who love God, enjoy teenagers and are willing to set up and lead a three-session course.
How Long Does It Last?
Three 1 1/2 hour sessions.
When Does It End?
The sessions conclude in worship with the Confirmation Service. (If you’ve done the other steps right, this Stepping Stone continues every night with parents and youth sharing their nightly ritual. It also continues every week with youth serving in their specific ministry.)
PRINTABLE FACT SHEET
Download a detailed printable PDF description of “Confirmation (Stone 7)”.
Detailed Description:
At Faith Inkubators, we don’t ask anyone to take on a greater responsibility in the life of the church unless we have first set structures and people in place to help them fulfill those vows. For the Confirmation Stepping Stone, another three-week parent/teen course is offered to study the concepts of confession, confirmation, and call. On confirmation day, individuals may affirm their faith and claim it as their own, but small groups of friends are commissioned/ordained to serve in specific ministries which they have studied and chosen as Ministers Of Sacred Service (M.O.S.S.)
On this day confirmation small groups transform into senior high ministry teams with their adult Guides kneeling beside them. These M.O.S.S. Teams apply their gifts and talents to serve God in the church and community. They kneel, stating their chosen calling/ministry and accepting a stole bearing symbols of their new ministry. Parents, small groups, and confirmands are asked to continue in their nightly devotional ritual at home and participate in their new senior high ministry group each week.
Session 1: Confessing My Faith
Many congregations ask their confirmands to write a paper that describes their faith. Your confirmands will love you when you tell them you are going to help them write their paper! Session 1 is set up to walk through the Apostles’ Creed discussing what each article of the Creed means. Teens will have the opportunity to share with their parents what the Creed means to them while taking notes to include in their paper. Each part of the article has a verbatim song from our Faith Inkubators Music Guild that will utilize every part of the brain to help memorize the Creed in a fun way.
Session 2: Confirming My Vows
The confirmation paper is continued as we walk through six promises youth will make in confirming their vows on confirmation day. The six promises are to:
Live in a Christian community
Carve out sacred spaces for God
Spread God’s light & love
Serve all, following Christ’s example
Work for peace and justice
Continue incubating faith
These six promises are brought into the Blessing Service liturgy that we have provided. These six promises also include the parents recommitment to encouraging their teens in their faith as long as they live. The parents at the event will be asked by their teens to help them continue to grow and develop in their faith through the practice of FAITH5 Home Huddles.
Session 3: Claiming My Calling
“Being confirmed” is not the end. It is a beginning. Session 3 helps confirmands and their parents understand confirmation as preparation for doing ministry. During this session, confirmands discuss and choose a specific ministry they will begin after being confirmed. By having small groups take on a ministry task together, teens feel supported and valued. This increases the odds of their first ministry opportunity being a success.
Families are asked to recommit to continuing the FAITH5 faith practices they’ve been doing for years (share, read, talk, pray, bless).
Graduation Quilt
Symbols representing each team’s chosen ministry are added to team members’ confirmation stoles and to the front of their Graduation Quilts. Handprints of the confirming pastor(s) and their M.O.S.S. Team members are added to the back of each quilt. By now, each family has been “adopted” by a quilter in your congregation and they are preparing for the final touches on this quilt (graduation is right around the corner...pass the Kleenex).