| Links to Student Assignments (updated) | Program at a Glance | |
|
The Vision
The Goal
The Approach
|
|
The first component of the program is to study the Bible in a way that permits
the students to identify the history of God’s people in the Bible as the
students’ own history.
The unit on Genesis describes the Biblical concept of Sin and relates this to
the students’ own lives. God’s response to Sin in calling a new
people to be God’s own people begins with the story of one family: the
children of Abraham. While the family today might be called “dysfunctional,”
God continues to work through them to effect God’s purpose in history.
The unit on the Exodus shows God’s liberating power in calling the now larger family from slavery into freedom. God continues to call us to freedom in our own day, not just for ourselves, but for all the world. As God’s people in the world, we are called to be “a nation of priests.”
The unit on the conquest describes God bringing the people into the promised land. They were tested and strengthened to be messengers of God’s justice and grace. God continues to be with us in the various difficulties we face as well, particularly when we are working to realize God’s purposes in our lives.
The unit on Judges describes several important characters from a period in the history of Israel just before the nation had a king as a strong political leader.God blessed the people through these imperfect leaders just as God continues to work through us in our imperfections.
The two units on the kings of Israel share the story of the united and then divided kingdom of God’s people. The story of intrigue, drama, and action of the kings and prophets demonstrates God’s continuing work with God’s people in spite of the rebellion and sin that usually characterized the leaders of the nation. The stories of the kings and prophets give us examples of God’s enduring love for God’s people as they struggled to understand God’s ways, just as we struggle today.
The unit on the Exile describes God’s people at a time when they had lost the land, the temple, the kingdom of David, and all the outward trappings of their identity. The way they responded to this tragedy prepared them to become a world-wide faith. We discuss what it is that makes us God’s people, beyond our building, worship practices, and customs.
The unit on Luke examines the life and message of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, from the perspective of one of the three synoptic Gospels. We explore his calling to us to also follow him as his disciples, and not simply to become members of an organization called the church.
The unit on Acts continues the story begun in Luke by describing what the disciple of Jesus did with the legacy he had left to them. The story of the original twelve disciples and a new follower, Paul, provides the framework to discuss the difficult implications of our own discipleship choices today.
The unit on Paul’s letters introduces this important
section of the Bible so that students will have a basic understanding of the
diversity and context of the messages contained therein.
Within the context of our study of the Bible, we also
explore the special resource of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. When
we study the book of Exodus, we also learn the history and meaning of the Ten
Commandments. When we study the book of Luke, we learn how to pray as we study
Luther’s explanation of the Lord’s Prayer. In the third year of
the program, when we are discussing the history of our church to the present
day, we examine the Biblical roots and historical significance of the Apostles’
Creed and its continuing meaning for us as a summary and guide for our faith.
The second component of the program is parental guidance. We encourage parents to actively participate in the lifelong confirmation journey (theirs and their children). Take an active interest--ask what is happening in class, discuss your own faith, make sure you and your son or daughter are fully involved in the life of the church.
The third component of the program is mentoring. During the year our confirmation students periodically will be meeting with mentors, specific congregational adults chosen and trained who relate well to youth and are willing and able to share their faith. Each of us learns from our parents, our relatives and others in terms of growing in our faith. We meet in small groups, students and mentor, doing activities, sharing and learning about ourselves and God in our lives.
The fourth component of the program is active participation
in the ministry of Christ in the congregation and the community. As Christians,
we share the love that God has shown us by serving others. Our students are
expected to use their talents in the life of the church by serving as worship
assistants, acolytes, musicians, lectors, to name a few. Faith in Action: We
also challenge our students to do community service by oneself, with friends,
with family, with the Confirmation program. We ask the students to complete
two sheets, one prior to serving, and the other, upon completion. We encourage
verbal sharing so we can learn from each other about our ministries.
