Confirmation

Our Confirmation page is currently being re-done. It will have a new look in the future! If you have any questions about confirmation in the meantime please contact Pastor Jim at pastorjim@ctrockford.org

Confirmation  at Christ the Rock

These next sections will give you the "Who", "What", "Where & When", and "Why" for all you need to know about Confirmation here at Christ the Rock

Who

6th 7th 8th graders

What

You learn the 6 chief parts of the christian faith

  • In 6th and 7th grades its family centered. You read through “Luther’s Small Catechism For Kids” with your family. There is a companion workbook that is completed.
  •  In 8th grade you meet with Pastor and the Youth minister to go through “Luther’s Small Catechism” in more detail.

WHere And When

in the home and together at the church

  • 6th and 7th grade learning is folded into the family routine-dinner. Bedtime, weekend, vacations,..when the family has time to read, they do.  The student completes the appropriate sections in the workbook that correspond to the section being read.
  • 6th and 7th grade students and parents are invited to meet with pastor and the youth worker 3 times per year to cover 3 of the 6 different sections together as families with the other families.
  • 8th grade students meet monthly to discuss and dive deeper into the assigned monthly sections. These students meet 11 times over the year for an hour and a half each time.

Why

to pass on the faith as faithfully as possible

  •  Families are the central place of learning-we want to help equip parents to partner in this process
  • Repetition is core to lasting learning-in three years the students will, ideally, hear the content 3 times.
  • Flexible and responsive to our current lifestyle with so many other competing activities.

A note from pastor

Teaching the faith to the next generation is important and valuable, not only to the recipient but also the teacher. As the material is read and discussed truths are discovered and remembered. I love this part of being a pastor since I get to spend time with the next generation of church members and leaders, but I also get to speak into the homes and lives of the families there students are connected to.


It is with this passion that we have adjusted the 100+ year old program of confirmation in the Lutheran Church. Times have changed, culture has changed, the internet is here, not to mention AI and so many other new things. We modified confirmation with two driving ideas: repetition and in the home. “Little bits repeated over a longer period of time will pay larger dividends in the thoughts and lives of our young kids.. We have also brought some of the teaching back into the home in simple ways. The simple plan for our new Confirmation Program is repeat Luther’s Small Catechism 3 times in the home and in the church in fun and integrated ways.


We have also heard the tension folks feel about a full calendar. This format frees up families in any one given year. Families can work their reading time into the fabric of their life-when it works best for them. Then in 8th grade we dive deeper into the same content over the course of the year at monthly meetings.

As we develop this program, we will continue to invite feedback and add things to help equip the families and make the teaching engaging. 


Pastor Jim McCoid