The History of Head to the Heart Confirmation

Monty Lysne

My history with Faith Inkubators is a long one. My history with Head to the Heart is even longer.

I was hired in 1991 for my first job out of college by a young and energetic Rev. Rich Melheim at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, MN. Rich had recently arrived at the church and had just taken over the confirmation program there. I was coming off four years working summers at Camp Metigoshe near Bottineau, ND and thought it would be great to get into youth ministry. Plus, the chance to work with my mentor Rich was something I could not pass up. And I had student loans to pay.

It was the early 1990s and the confirmation program at Trinity was massive: about 70 kids in each of grades 7, 8, and 9, well over 200 kids in total each week. It didn't take long for Rich and me to realize that the "get them all in a room and lecture to them" model was not going to work. So we went back to the system we were both familiar with, camp ministry, and asked the question: "Why does camping ministry work and confirmation ministry usually stink?"

The decision was made to divide and conquer, and the system and setup of Head to the Heart was born. A fun fact: we originally called our program "Wednesday Night Workshop" or "WNW," deliberately leaving out the "C" word. We wanted to make clear that we were about much more than confirmation instruction. We wanted to build a program about holistic youth ministry.

We unpacked and implemented the elements of camping ministry: music, skits, active learning, art, service, and small groups. We settled on a schedule of welcoming, a large group presentation, small group time, and a closing blessing when we gathered at church, with other weeks set aside for groups to gather on their own for a service event or a social gathering. We divided kids into friend groups of four to six and put a caring parent in the middle of each group to guide them. Early on, parents weren't entirely sure what to make of what we were doing, so we had some roles to fill. Many of my fellow twenty-something campmates had settled in the Minneapolis area by then, and I called on a number of those ex-camp counselors to come in and lead groups.

Over time we got better at all of it, and by the end of year two we felt like we were hitting our stride. In 1993, Rich published an article titled "Conformation (sic!) is Dead" that drew wider attention. We hadn't invented anything new, but we were at the forefront of thinking about confirmation ministry differently and setting a vision other churches could follow.

Soon other area churches were stopping by on Wednesdays to observe. Word continued to spread, and eventually Rich left Trinity to teach and train this large group/small group ministry structure on a national scale. The materials he developed were called "So What Does This Mean," and those lessons and teaching aids later became Head to the Heart when Rich officially launched Faith Inkubators in 1996. I stayed at Trinity for a few years after Rich left, then joined the fledgling Faith Inkubators in early 1997. That is when the national launch of Head to the Heart as we know it today began.

There is a landfill of curriculum options for middle school faith formation. At Faith Inkubators, we are proud that Head to the Heart is backed by 30-plus years of experimentation, research, and input from churches across many denominations who have used it, reported back, and put their own stamp on the system. H2H has been and will remain much more than a set of materials for confirmation instruction. It is a complete ministry system that helps churches equip a congregation of leaders, engage young people creatively, build a community of care long after Confirmation Day, and support parents for ministry at home.