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Confirmation (grades 7-9) |
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The Confirmation Program 2007-2008-Ends May 14
Confirmation at First Lutheran is a life changing combination learning, experiencing, and serving. The ministries purpose is to encourage students to believe in God, know God, and live for God. This is accomplished in many ways including participating in worship, talking in small groups, learning from engaging messages, growing in your faith, and seeing friends. Check out the main components of the program below.
For a Confirmation registration form please click here.
For a Confirmation orientation manual please click here.
For a Junior High Schedule schedule (grades 6-8) please click here.
For a Senior High Calander schedule (grades 9-12) please click here.
Components of The Confirmation Program
- Wednesday Nights
- OPEN YOUTH ROOM — 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The youth room will be open for hanging out with your friends, buying pizza and snacks at the Youth Canteen, and playing games in the game room on every Wednesday except when only guide huddles are scheduled.
- LARGE GROUP — 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Our own youth band will lead upbeat music and have some fun with the youth to set the mood for the night. Key announcements are made during this time, a drama team of high school students may share a skit to compliment the theme/message of the night, a testimony of God’s work in one’s life may be shared, and the presenter/pastor delivers the most personal and interesting youth oriented teaching he/she can create
- SMALL GROUPS — 7:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Guides lead discussion in small group with questions related to the teaching, Scripture, and personal application, and end in prayer. Please refer to the top of page 6 to learn about Wednesday nights that are small groups only.
- Wednesday nights are on a monthly rotational basis. They include large group nights, small group fellowship/service nights, and an occasional guide huddle. Confirmands are required to participate in the Wednesday night confirmation program. Attendance must be at least 80% in order to complete this requirement.
2. Worship Notes
3. Worship participation and service
- Each confirmand student should participate in worship and life of the church by assisting in one of the following ways:
- Ushering – Greeting, handing out bulletins, seating people, assisting with offering and attendance records, cleaning up after worship. Ushering is one Sunday a month. Available at all services (8:00, 9:00, 10:15, 11:15).
- Sunday School assistant- Helping the adult Sunday School teacher with elementary students on Sunday mornings for the 9:00 or 10:15 Sunday School hour.
- Sunday Band - Helping lead sing alongs for Sunday School students on Sunday mornings for the 9:00 or 10:15 Sunday School hour.
- Nursery assistant – Helping in the nursery with infants and toddlers during either the 9:00, 10:15, or 11:15 worship services once a month.
- First Lutheran Winds – Providing instrumental music at worship services and playing as scheduled. Practices are on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m.
- Kitchen assistant – Helping in the kitchen, serving food and drinks, gathering used dishes, in connection with FIRST night on Wednesday nights from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. once a month.
- Sound Technician - Running the sound aspects (turning microphones on and off, adjusting sound levels) for any of the services at the sound booth.
Camps and Retreats
- 7th-8th Grade students-Confirmands are encouraged to attend at least one camp or day camp experience during the first two years of confirmation, by attending camp either after the 7th grade year or after the 8th grade year. The church takes a group Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp June 17-22 and has Confirmation Reloaded July 9-13.
- 9th grade students- Are required to attend the 9th Grade Retreat and one of the Senior High Trips
Release Days
- Release Days are an optional series of events for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade confirmation students designed to be “hands-on” learning experiences.
- Youth will be picked up at school so please be there and be ready. We will drop youth off at school in time to catch a bus or ride home. We can’t pick up or drop youth off anywhere but school.
- Parents must sign and return the Release Day permission form provided by the church in order to be able to attend a Release Day.
- To download a Release Day form please click here.
Special Note to Parents and Students
Confirmation is not a sacrament in the Lutheran church. It is not a means of salvation and is not required. It is an optional program of lessons, worship, Christian fellowship, and fun, meant to lead students to a personal and living relationship with the Lord Jesus.
- If a youth registers for First Lutheran’s Confirmation program and wants to be confirmed, the program and its requirements are no longer optional. To preserve the integrity of this entire educational system, expectations are set and must be reached.
- As with any set of expectations involved in a church function, the purpose of completion is not to finish, but to learn from the experiences that lead up to completion. We need and expect the cooperation and support of parents in helping us meet our requirements, thereby helping us reach our goal of youth who believe in God, know God, and live for God.
- Youth are expected to complete each year of requirements successfully before being considered a student of the following year. Students who have not completed the requirements will stay with their own class, but may not be confirmed with their own class. While the program is set up for three years, students who need more time to finish the requirements will be given as much as needed. Only after all requirements are fulfilled will the student be confirmed.
Requirements (to be confirmed)
7th grade year:
- 80% attendance on Wednesday nights and regular participation in your assigned small group (remember your Bible for attendance to count!)
- 25 worship notes, 5 of which can be from Lenten services
8th grade year:
- 80% attendance on Wednesday nights and regular participation in your assigned small group (remember your Bible for attendance to count!)
- 25 worship notes, 5 of which can be from Lenten services
9th grade year:
- 80% attendance on Wednesday nights and participation in your assigned small group (remember your Bible for attendence to count!)
- 25 worship notes, 5 of which can be from Lenten services
- Participation in the 9th Grade Retreat
- Between summer of 9th and 10th grades participation in either 2008 senior high summer trips(Mission Trip to Colorado June 19-29 or Big Stuf Camp July 18-26)
The Fall of the 10th grade year:
- Completion of a faith paper
- Completion of a personal interview with staff and council members
- Participation in planned meetings before the Celebration of Confirmation in the fall of 10th grade year
- Attendence of the Celebration of Confirmation on the last Sunday in October.
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