What is Confirmation?
The word “confirmation” literally means “to make firm”. Confirmation seeks to making firm that which has gone before. It is making firm what has taken place in the individual’s life already, including God’s prevenient grace, the sacrament of baptism, the Christian nurture provided by the parents and the home, and the Christian nurture provided by the faith community. The larger picture is about being transformed – over time and through the work of God’s Spirit – into the image of Christ.
Thus, we, at Wesley UMC, believe that confirmation is neither the beginning or the end of the faith journey. Confirmation is about making disciples. During confirmation, we aim to build relationships with our youth as they continue to understand and express their faith.
For more info watch:
https://youtu.be/WKaG10BzsXs
What do we do?
Currently, we use a combination of Re:Form and Colaborate confirmation curriculum in order to provide the most fun and engaging class experience. With the use of both Re:Form and Colaborate, we seek to help our youth think critically and theologically about the difficult questions where their life and faith collide (ex. Why are there so many different Christian churches? Can God stop loving me? Can I be a Christian without going to church?). Here is a sample from the Colaborate curriculum:
Here is a sample of a video from the Re:form curriculum:
https://youtu.be/ARdwIWDnE90
Here is a sample from the Colaborate curriculum:
https://youtu.be/MA_7eYjx4Nc
Along with Sunday morning classes, we encourage our confirmands to participate regularly in worship and youth group to get a fuller experience of a life of faith. We do not “require” our confirmands to attend a certain amount of worship services or meet service hours. Why “require” youth to do do things, none of us are “required” to do? We simply asked that our youth to commit to the same promise we all make: to faithfully participate in the life of the church in Prayer, Presence, Gifts, Service and Witness.
Confirmation at WUMC
At Wesley United Methodist Church, we seek to walk with our youth by providing a safe place to learn and express their faith. Youth will find that our program is relaxed, fun, and includes lots of snacks!