Confirmation

“Teach Better. Keep the kids. Equip Parents.”

This is the motto of our confirmation curriculum, developed by Faith Inkubators. The curriculum is designed not to feel like class, but like an “event,” something that the students actually want to go to. We are working hard at St. John’s to both teach our confirmands the valuable lessons they should learn at confirmation as well as to set them up to want to continue to be a part of the church after they are confirmed. A key element in this, we believe, is getting parents involved! Fellowship is another important facet of keeping students in church, which is why we have added a meal to our program this year.

Time:    6th through 8th grade students meet on Sunday nights from 5:45-7:30pm
9th grade students have a separate schedule, as seen below

Mission of the Confirmation Program:
At St. John’s, our goal for confirmation is to guide students to the point that they may formally affirm their desire to live in the covenant that God made with them in their Baptism in the presence of the faith community and to equip parents to help them keep the vows they made at their child’s baptism.

This will be accomplished by:
1.    Developing a solid foundation of Biblical knowledge and the basics of the Christian faith and Lutheranism through large group classroom learning and small group discussion.  
2.    Building a strong community both within the students and within the congregation through retreats, service projects and service roles within the church. 
Allowing and expecting parents and guardians to participate and support their child in the program.

Timeline for this year’s students:

 

Grade	2011-2012	2012-2013	2013-2014
8th Graders	Bible Lessons, service, retreat, and mentors	Retreat, confirmed in 10/2012
7th Graders	Bible Lessons, service and  retreat	Catechism, service, retreat, and mentors	Retreat, confirmed in 10/2013
6th Graders	Bible Lessons, service and retreat	Catechism, service, and retreat	Small group, service, retreat, and mentors

 

Service Projects
6th grade students are required to participate in 2 to 3 service projects per year.
7th and 8th grade students are required to participate in 4-6 service projects per year.
At least half of each student’s service projects should be done through the St. John’s confirmation program.

Click here to download the ACT document (Active Christian Teens Serving Others), which provides a list of service project opportunities.

Mentoring
For 8th graders will start in January of 2012
For 7th graders will start in September of 2012
For 6th graders will start in May of 2013

Expectations of Students
1.    Students are expected to participate in all program activities throughout the year.
2.    Students are expected to attend one Lutherdale confirmation retreat per year (either December 2-4 or March 16-18). The retreats go from 7pm Friday evening to 10am Sunday morning. Visit http://www.lutherdale.org/images/stories/gowithmo.pdf for a retreat flyer and registration form (please note that the December dates are incorrect on the flyer).
3.    Students are expected to complete 15 worship notes per year.

*Note: If students have to miss a program lesson, event or retreat they are expected to notify the pastor or Discipleship Coordinator ahead of time with a reason.   The pastor will decide if a student will be confirmed based on the number of requirements met and the individual circumstances of the student.

Expectations of Families
1.    Families are expected to worship together
2.    Families are expected to support the confirmation programming by getting involved in one of many different opportunities to serve.