Christian Education > Confirmation > Objectives of Confirmation Ministry

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The mission of confirmation is to continue the faith formation process begun at baptism by providing students with guided learning and practice in the basic spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, prayer, worship, in thinking theologically, living faithfully, and in participation in fellowship and service. Confirmation is “basic training” for followers of Jesus Christ.

In order to accomplish this mission, four questions shape the objectives of our Confirmation ministry at Trinity:

1. What do we want confirmation students to know?
2. What do we want confirmation students to do?
3. What do we want confirmation students to experience?
4. What do we want confirmation students to be?

1. Our goal is for students to know the Scriptures, to know what makes the Lutheran denomination unique, and to know what it means to confess one's faith. These goals are specifically stated:
   1. To know basic principles about God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit found in key scripture passages
   2. To know how to read and gain a basic understanding of scriptures
   3. To know key Bible stories in both Old and New Testaments; to learn to see the connections between the history and needs of the ancient Biblical people and ourselves in our contemporary settings.
   4. To know basic Lutheran principles of understanding the Christian faith, which are found in Martin Luther's Small Catechism:
      1. to know and to understand the Ten Commandments
      2. to know and to understand the Apostle’s Creed
      3. to know and to understand the Lord’s Prayer
      4. to know and to understand Holy Baptism,
      5. to know and to understand Holy Communion and
      6. to know and to understand Confession.
2. Our goal is to help confirmation students:
   1. to begin to develop life-long patterns of faithful living:
      1. to develop and maintain a routine of reading scripture devotionally seeking depth of meaning
      2. to develop and maintain a daily personal prayer life
      3. to learn to depend on the assurance of God’s presence
      4. to develop and maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
      5. to develop and display an understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ
   2. and to begin to learn what it means to live out and to more faithfully keep the promises they will make in the service of Affirmation of Baptism:
      1. to live among God's faithful people (participation in congregational life)
      2. to hear his Word and share in his supper (worship)
      3. to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed
      4. to serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ
      5. to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
3. Our goal is to help confirmation students:
   1. experience a deeper relationship to Jesus Christ, and to the body of Christ, the Church
   2. experience a sense of community bond that transcends school/community loyalties
   3. experience a sense of God's presence and ongoing relationship in their lives, trusting that God is working by the power of God’s word and the Holy Spirit despite evidence that might seem to the contrary
   4. experience deeper ties of faith within the family setting, by helping families develop and maintain a daily family prayer and devotional life.
4. Our goal is for confirmation students to integrate their Biblical knowledge, their Christian faith tradition, and their responsibility to others into a pattern of faith for life---to be increasingly faithful and disciplined Christians.

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