Skip to content
  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Search
Close

Episcopal Teacher

A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Donate

Newsletter

Donate

Newsletter

  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Search
Close

Episcopal Teacher

A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Donate

Newsletter

Dorothy Linthicum, a VTS instructor and program coordinator for Lifelong Learning, has studied and taught courses and workshops about older adult spirituality and ministry at the seminary, conferences, and dioceses. She is co-author of Redeeming Dimensia: Spirituality, Theology, and Science.

Email

Facebook
Twitter

Episcopal Teacher

Donate Now
Confirmation, Curriculum
  • Dorothy Linthicum
  • 2017

Congregational Involvement Is Key to Successful Confirmation Program

Too often churches only look at confirmation as part of their youth programs, siloed and necessary, but less significant than other ministries. Relegated to six or seven classes for young adolescents, it becomes an experience to be endured or a box to be checked. Even committed and creative leadership cannot make confirmation meaningful to most of those sitting in the pews if expectations are that low.

In their visits to successful programs in the country, the Lilly-funded Confirmation Project team discovered that congregational involvement was key to a successful confirmation program. As important was their discovery of confirmation’s role in revitalizing and reenergizing congregations. Communities that were vitally involved in listening to, being with, and praying for young people in confirmation classes were better able to meet other challenges facing their churches.

Recent resources created for confirmation challenge congregations to be a part of this important ministry of helping young people to make baptismal vows their own that often were made for them as infants. The integration of these young people into a congregation calls for a community that is willing to travel the journey of confirmation liturgically, spiritually, and in person.

Confirm Not Conform, a resource for both youth and adults, includes a two-fold commitment from the confirmand and the faith community. The faith community commits to:

  • Listening to my questions and concerns with open minds and hearts;
  • Taking my contributions seriously and treating them with respect;
  • Exposing me to the fundamental questions of faith and exploring them with me;
  • Providing mentors who will share their own faith experiences and questions, and respond to mine;
  • Offering help when I need it;
  • Keeping me in their prayers. (From Confirm Not Conform 2016, p. 28)

Confirmands make a commitment to fully participate in the confirmation program, bringing an open mind and heart to each gathering, and treating everyone in the program with respect. In addition, each confirmand is asked to commit to:

  • Attending all confirmation sessions (within reason);
  • Participating in all field trips (making up any that are missed);
  • Attending Sunday School at least twice a month;
  • Being involved with the service of Holy Week as much as possible;
  • Participating in the community service project;
  • Memorizing a passage of scripture of at least 10 verses in length;
  • Attending the confirmation service, whether or not the person chooses to be confirmed, as a show of support for other members of the program;
  • Participating in the final service, at which each person will recite the passage he or she memorized and explain what it means. (Confirm Not Conform 2016, p. 28)

Both parts of the “Commitment Pledge” are signed in the presence of the confirmand and the faith community. Choosing a resource such as Confirm Not Conform automatically brings the congregation into the process if it takes its commitment seriously. Mentors probably take the most active role in the program, but others who find ways to engage young confirmands by listening and through prayers, will also benefit from relationships that develop from the commitment pledge.

The resources also include an editable letter for vestries and other church committees or boards. The letter describes the program and expectations of congregational support that go beyond the commitment pledge. The letter outlines, for example, the perimeters of service projects, which might include the use of church buildings or financial support. The letter is a reminder that the confirmation program is “a chance to develop its leaders.” (Confirm Not Conform 2016, p. 35)

Preparing Congregations

Another way to assess the readiness of congregations for a youth confirmation program is described in My Faith, My Life: Leader’s Guide, by Jenifer Gamber (Morehouse Publishing, 2014). Gamber lays out steps that should be taken in designing a program of inquiry for your church. The guide is a resource companion for the book My Faith, My Life: A Teen’s Guide to the Episcopal Church by Gamber (Morehouse Publishing, 2014).

Begin by inviting a group of people to be a part of a confirmation ministry team. Gamber suggests the team include a member of the clergy, a youth who will participate in the program, a parent, a youth who has been confirmed, a leader of the current youth program, and a potential mentor. At the initial meeting, ask group members to reflect on their own confirmation experiences, both positive and negative. The team will have a better sense of where they want to go by looking at the past to understand the future.

To the right is a list of basic questions Gamber suggests the group use to guide their conversation. More background about the questions is included in the Leader’s Guide.

Raising Expectations

Making mutual accountability explicit, raises expectations, improves communication, and deepens participants’ experiences throughout a confirmation program. Research shows that congregations that fully embrace confirmation programs reap many positive benefits. The barriers among age groups are lowered, congregational identity is strengthened, the energy of youth infects the entire congregation, and faith in the Living Christ is renewed. Moving confirmation to the forefront of a faith community benefits everyone!

This article first appeared in Episcopal Teacher:
Winter 2017, Special Issue – Youth Confirmation, Vol. 29, No. 2, page 18-19


 

Dorothy Linthicum, a VTS instructor and program coordinator for Lifelong Learning, has studied and taught courses and workshops about older adult spirituality and ministry at the seminary, conferences, and dioceses. She is co-author of Redeeming Dimensia: Spirituality, Theology, and Science.

Share on facebook
Share on reddit
Share on twitter
Share on email
Share on print

This Post Has 35 Comments

  1. Marcosnog 4 Mar 2021 Reply

    generic tadalafil 40 mg: http://tadalafilonline20.com/ tadalafil tablets

  2. JasonLek 8 Mar 2021 Reply

    pills without a doctor prescription india pharmacy

  3. JasonLek 8 Mar 2021 Reply

    prescription drugs online without doctor: https://genericwdp.com/ meds online without doctor prescription

  4. Michaelfrots 17 Mar 2021 Reply

    http://zithazi.com/ – zithromax 600 mg tablets
    prescription meds without the prescriptions

  5. RichardItern 21 Mar 2021 Reply

    buy viagra online usa buy viagra online canada
    viagra 100mg price

  6. abkusfafbm 21 Mar 2021 Reply

    Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?

  7. Terrylew 23 Mar 2021 Reply

    cheap ed pills ed drug prices
    buy ed pills from canada

  8. oxvow 23 Mar 2021 Reply

    recommended post

  9. Terrylew 23 Mar 2021 Reply

    treat ed buy ed pills from canada
    order ed pills

  10. Terrylew 23 Mar 2021 Reply

    buy ed pills from canada canadian drug prices
    cheap ed pills from canada

  11. PeterLok 25 Mar 2021 Reply

    http://zithromaxst.com/# how to get zithromax over the counter

  12. PeterLok 27 Mar 2021 Reply

    http://prednisonest.com/# prednisone prices

  13. RafaelSaure 29 Mar 2021 Reply

    http://zithromaxproff.com/# can you buy zithromax over the counter in canada
    where to buy zithromax in canada

  14. RafaelSaure 30 Mar 2021 Reply

    https://zithromaxproff.com/# zithromax 500 mg lowest price pharmacy online
    zithromax generic cost

  15. BillySmact 3 Apr 2021 Reply

    erythromycin capsules: amoxil generic
    order keflex

  16. MichaelPriva 5 Apr 2021 Reply

    indian online pharmacies review: united pharmacy india cheap online pharmacies from india

  17. MichaelPriva 6 Apr 2021 Reply

    overseas pharmacies shipping to usa: indian online pharmacies review buy prescriptions from india pharmacy

  18. RobertIcove 7 Apr 2021 Reply

    top erectile dysfunction pills: https://edpillsonline24.com/# pills for erectile dysfunction

  19. RobertIcove 8 Apr 2021 Reply

    viagra pills: https://edpillsonline24.com/# viagra pills

  20. DaniloEmavY 8 Apr 2021 Reply

    local girla near me personals
    free chatting for marriage

  21. RobertIcove 9 Apr 2021 Reply

    best erectile dysfunction pills: https://edpillsonline24.com/# over the counter ed medication

  22. MichaelVer 10 Apr 2021 Reply

    viagra online canadian pharmacy: viagra prescription viagra without a doctor prescription

  23. asmr https://0mniartist.tumblr.com 10 Apr 2021 Reply

    It’s remarkable to visit this website and reading the views of all colleagues about this post, while I am also keen of getting knowledge.
    asmr 0mniartist

  24. TimothyheM 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    dating websites
    local single

  25. asmr https://0mniartist.tumblr.com 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d without
    a doubt donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about
    this blog with my Facebook group. Talk soon! asmr 0mniartist

  26. MichaelVer 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    viagra coupons: viagra prescription no prescription viagra

  27. zortilonrel 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    Good day very nice website!! Man .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds additionally?KI’m happy to find so many useful information here within the submit, we’d like develop extra strategies on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

  28. 0mniartist 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    It’s going to be end of mine day, however before end I am reading this
    impressive post to improve my experience. asmr 0mniartist

  29. TimothyheM 11 Apr 2021 Reply

    dating sites for over 50
    free single personal ads

  30. vreyrolinomit 12 Apr 2021 Reply

    I regard something really special in this website.

  31. ClaudSwona 14 Apr 2021 Reply

    rexall pharmacy amoxicillin 500mg: over counter antibiotics pills amoxicillin – buy amoxicillin online mexico

  32. http://tinyurl.com 14 Apr 2021 Reply

    My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
    I have always disliked the idea because of the
    expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve
    been using WordPress on several websites for about a year and am worried about switching
    to another platform. I have heard very good things about
    blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress
    content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
    asmr 0mniartist

  33. ClaudSwona 15 Apr 2021 Reply

    diflucan online canada: diflucan 150 price – diflucan 150 mg daily

  34. tinyurl.com 16 Apr 2021 Reply

    With havin so much written content do you ever run into any
    issues of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has
    a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it appears a
    lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my authorization. Do you know any solutions to help protect against content from being ripped off?
    I’d really appreciate it. asmr 0mniartist

  35. Myronhaw 16 Apr 2021 Reply

    dating websites
    date sites

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Episcopal Teacher is a publication and ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Topics

  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship

Engage

  • About
  • Newsletter

Newsletter

Want to receive Episcopal Teacher directly in your inbox?  

We don’t do spam.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy