Claim the Name Christian
To confess Jesus Christ as their Savior, put their whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as their Lord. In union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races.
Claim the Name United Methodist
To be loyal to The United Methodist Church, doing all in their power to strengthen its ministries, by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, and their service.
Helping Youth Claim The Name
The word “confirmation” means “with firmness.” The Confirmation year seeks to make firm what has gone before. It is closely linked to and dependent upon all that has taken place in the student’s life already, including God’s prevenient grace, the sacrament of baptism, the Christian nurture provided by family and the faith community, and the ongoing activity of God’s Spirit.
As United Methodists, we believe that God’s grace is at work in our lives at all times, in different ways. John Wesley named that grace as pervenient (coming before we are even aware), justifying (calling us to a decision and setting us on the right path) and sanctifying (helping us go on toward perfection in our ability to love God and love others). Confirmation is distinctively Wesleyan in approach.
Through this year we will be helping your students have a greater sense of being a part of a community of faith, a community of the past and present that is working in their lives, shaping and preparing them. We will be leading them in the practices of the faith, developing in them holy habits and giving them an understanding of grace.
We will be bringing them to a point of decision: This is what Christians believe and what Christians do; this is the offer of salvation; this is the God who calls them. The decision to claim the name Christian is just a beginning. We will challenge them to go on to perfection and help them discover what it means to live as Christians, walking with God’s Spirit. We will offer food for a lifetime that is there for the claiming!
Intentional Commitment
As students reach the age of accountability, they are ready to take more responsibility for their faith. Confirmation is a call to discipleship, a call to claim the name Christian for themselves—not just because it is their parents faith. They are invited to make firm the foundation and build upon it. The ultimate goal is Christian formation, being transformed—over time and through God’s Spirit—into the image of Christ.
Whether your student has been baptized as an infant or has never been baptized, they each need the opportunity to respond personally and publicly to God’s call. Our Wesleyan tradition is clear that every person must accept for himself or herself the salvation offered through Jesus Christ and that this commitment is to be made publicly.
In order to empower and enable your students to respond to God’s call in faith, confirmation education has two focal points: information and formation. We use a building block method where each step builds on the next step and forms a strong Christian foundation.
View Block One: Information
View Block Two: Formation