Confirmation

Confirmation at Light of Christ is a three-year interactive program for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students (typically) that takes place during the school year on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:00 pm. After three years in the Confirmation community, the Rite of Confirmation (Affirmation of Baptism) is celebrated in the spring of their 10th grade year during a Sunday worship service.

Confirmation is an exciting time for relationships, outreach, community and growth in the knowledge of who God is and how God is at work in the world. During these 3 years, youth dive deeper into their faith, ask questions (in fact, questions are encouraged!) and learn more about the promises that were made in their baptism. Confirmation isn’t just an academic process or a requirement for membership at Light of Christ. Rather, the goal of Confirmation is to use the Bible, fellowship, small group conversations, service-learning, retreats/trips and testimonies to create a strong community of young people who have the tools necessary to live out a life of faith!

The curriculum is structured around the promises that are made at the Affirmation of Baptism.  The Confirmands are first asked to confess their faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed.  The creed is a formal, public way of confessing: “I believe I am a beloved child of God, who is loving, gracious, and forgiving.”  Then they are asked if they will continue in the covenant God made with them in Holy Baptism.  This promise has five parts:

1) to live among God’s faithful people
2) to hear God’s Word and to share in the Lord’s Supper
3) to proclaim the good news of God in Jesus Christ
4) to serve all people following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ 
5) and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.  

This curriculum is designed to prepare our Confirmation students to make this profession and promise: I believe I am a beloved child of God, and I promise to strive to live as a beloved child of God.  

We accomplish this with various learning tools and fellowship strategies:

Wednesday Nights
Confirmation meets on Wednesday nights throughout the school year, normally from 6:15-8:00 pm (note the time change for 2024-2025!). These evenings take various forms, from Teaching nights (where we discuss and learn in both small and large group settings), to Service nights (where we serve our church and community), and Fellowship nights (where we have fun together!). During Lent, Confirmation does not meet, however students are still expected to attend Wednesday night worship services (must complete 3 Worship Notes during Lent), as well as complete a personal project.

Small groups
All Confirmation youth are placed in a small group of 6-8 peers. Over the years, these groups form trust and grow friendships as they discuss and have fun together!

Service
Jesus loved and cared for all people and we strive to do the same! We want Confirmation youth to find the joy in giving and develop a passion for serving others. In that regard, all youth are expected to complete 12 Service Hours each year (approximately 1 hour/month). Of these 12 hours, we encourage half of them to be completed at church, since participation and leadership in worship is an important way to service and grow in faith!

Worship
Worshipping as a family is important for so many reasons... too many to list. In order to support families in their faith journey, we ask that Confirmation youth attend worship a minimum of 15 times/year and complete a Worship Note. Notes can be done in many different ways: a paper form (found at church), online (links found above) or even by submitting a selfie of your family after discussing worship. The most important thing is to attend and then talk about faith together as a family! 

Retreat
Each year we hold a weekend retreat for all Confirmation youth where we can get away, have fun and grow in faith! All Confirmation youth are expected to attend this retreat, as we feel that it is one of the most important events of the year! This fall, our 7th - 9th grade youth will be going to Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp in Amery, WI for our fall Confirmation Retreat! We will meet at Light of Christ at 5:00 pm on Friday, November 1st and return around 1:00 pm on Sunday, November 3rd. This retreat will be done in conjunction with Wapo's Ignite Fall Retreat, so there will be youth from other congregations present as well. But LOC youth will be with each other and our leaders for all activities, discussions and lodging. Please contact Kirsten with any questions! Click here for LOC's specific registration link for this retreat (through Wapo's site)!