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Confirmation Preparation

Confirmation refers to the decision a person makes to respond to God's grace with intentional commitment, publicly reaffirming his or her baptismal vows before the congregation. Most “confirmands” are youth between the ages of eleven and sixteen (Middle School/early Senior high age), who have been nurtured in the church since their baptism as an infant or young child. Most churches offer a deliberate time of preparation before this service. During confirmation class, students learn about the meaning of Christian faith; the history and teachings and The United Methodist Church; and an explanation of the baptismal and membership vows they will be professing.

Who?

 

(1)  Confirmands:

As stated above, Confirmation is for Middle School age youth (ages 11 to 16) to affirm their faith in Christ and their commitment to the body of Christ. There may be some youth in our UMCteam1 churches who are outside this stated age range who would like to be Confirmed. It is up to each pastor to determine if students younger than 11 are ready to be Confirmed or if students older than 16 are willing to fully participate with a younger group of confirmands.

 

(2)  Mentors:

In addition to those confirmands who attend, there will be “mentor” (or “sponsor”) who will be required to go through the Confirmation process with them. These mentors can be chosen by each student or assigned to them by the pastor. The mentor is responsible to build a relationship with their confirmand that will help them to successfully complete the Confirmation process. This will involve attending each class, spending time with them outside of class, encouraging them, answering questions, etc. It will also require a proper background check to be administered in order to guard ourselves from issues or accusations of abuse or misconduct.

 

(3)  Pastors:

The pastor of each UMCteam1 church that is participating must involved in the classes with their confirmands and mentors. It is the responsibility of each pastor to disciple our young people as well as support our mentors in their role.

 

What?

 

As part of our UMCteam1 association, students will prepare for Confirmation by attending and participating in a series of classes that will teach them the main ingredients of Christian doctrine, Church history and the message of the Bible. Here is proposed list of class topics:

 

  • The Trinity

  • Apostle’s Creed

  • Books of the Bible

  • Ten Commandments

  • The Lord’s Prayer

  • Fruit of the Spirit

  • The Beatitudes

  • Key Terms and Concepts of Faith

  • United Methodist Church history & beliefs

  • Sacraments (Baptism & Holy Communion)

 

When?

 

Beginning in September, the proposal is to meet on Sunday evenings from 5-7 p.m. every 3rd week until the end of the school year. Here are suggested dates for a twelve class schedule:

 

  • SEPTEMBER 13 - @ Swanton (Trinity UMC)

  • OCTOBER 4 - @ Tontogany

  • OCTOBER 25 - @ Grand Rapids

  • NOVEMBER 15 - @ Lindsey

  • DECEMBER 6 - @ Napoleon (St. Paul's)

       - Break -

  • JANUARY 10, 2016 - @ Pemberville

  • JANUARY 31 - @ Swanton

  • FEBRUARY 21 - @ Tontogany

  • MARCH 13 - @ Weston

  • APRIL 3 - @ Lindsey

  • APRIL 24 - @ Napoleon (Sharon)

  • MAY 15 - @ Pemberville

  • MAY 22 - Confirmation @ each UMCteam1 church

 

 

 

Where?

 

The classes would rotate to a different UMCteam1 church for each date and the host pastor would be responsible to run the meeting (food, fun, and teaching). Meeting at the different churches would actually enhance the relationship building for confirmands and mentors by providing a carpool “road trip” for most meetings. This would also be a benefit for confirmands to experience being in another church setting and to be with youth from other congregations.

 

Why?

 

Why not?! Confirmation is an important way for our young people to solidify their faith. Confirmation preparation aims at leading youth and others to embrace their spiritual vocation—the calling of God to live as believers in Jesus Christ and witness to others how life in Christ can transform our world!

 

How?

 

Each pastor to commit to the process and promote this among their existing youth and mentor adults. The expectation is that each pastor will prepare well and provide a fun and meaningful experience for all of the Confirmation Prep classes.

 

How Much?

 

The Confirmation Prep classes is free for all participants. To do so, each UMCteam1 church absorbs the costs of any prep meetings that they host. As far as the proposed opening retreat and final trip, these costs could also be absorbed by the confirmands mentors, or a special church offering or donation. Gifts given at the Confirmation ceremony (such as a Bible, diploma, jewelry, etc.) is paid for by each church depending on what they choose to give their confirmands.

 

 

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