Traditions of Faith

For thousands of years, God’s people have been practicing traditions of faith. One of those being the rite of passage into “adulthood in the faith”. In the Jewish tradition, it’s called the Bar Mitzvah. For Methodists, the tradition of Confirmation goes back to the very beginning of the Methodist movement itself in the mid-18th century. The idea behind confirmation is that teens who are ready can publicly proclaim their own faith in Jesus. By taking the faith shared with them as children, they are choosing to acknowledge that faith as their own. Students will be able to go before the church and say they believe what they have been taught about Jesus, and are now ready to take their role in the church to the next step through membership.

I have had the privilege of working with eight amazing students over the past few months, and this Sunday, October 20th, they will be confirmed in front of our congregation at the 9:30am service. Believe me when I tell you that this group of students is exceptional! Their understanding of faith and depth of conversation in our classes has been astounding.

The confirmation class is one of my favorite aspects of being in student ministry. Watching my students make the connection about what they’ve learned in the past and attributing it to their own lives, while also learning how to live out their faith, makes me truly have faith in the future of God’s kingdom. I encourage you to pray for these students and welcome them into our congregation.