So, you’ve been asked to serve as a confirmation mentor.  Now what?

Let us be the first to thank you for your willingness to help guide our young people in the faith. Mentors have been part of the confirmation process at FPC for many years. Consistently, our young people have mentioned that those positive relationships with adults other than their parents have been incredibly important to their maturity as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Mentors exist so that our youth can see an adult living out their faith in real life.

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS?

1. Pray.  Being a young adult can be challenging.  We should be lifting our confirmands in prayer.   Pray for their families, their schoolwork, their extra-curricular activities, and their time in church.  Here are some sample prayers that might inspire your imagination.

Almighty God and Father of our children. 

It is your desire that all may know of your Son, Jesus Christ.  We pray for these confirmands as they begin time of equipping.  Encourage them to wrestle with the questions of the faith.  Help them to embrace the promises made at their baptisms.  Gude them as they learn, serve and fellowship.  Protect them from harm.  Show them your love.  In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Loving God,

Help these confirmands to live each day as your disciples.  Lighten their burdens.  Strengthen their trust of you.  Make their love apparent to the world. May each grow in wisdom and stature.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

2. Meet regularly with your confirmand.  We are asking every mentor to meet with the confirmand about once a week in person, by phone, or even Zoom. Meetings are one-on-one, but NEVER alone. They can be in a public place, during Fellowship after worship, or even in a home with other adults present. Cover the following list of topics over the course of the Confirmation Class.

•  Luke 1-3 The confirmands will be developing a simple journal to record their questions about the Gospel of Luke. Talk with them about these specific chapters. For more information about their Luke Journal, check out this link.
• Luke 4-6
• Luke 7-9
• Luke 10-12
• Luke 13-15
• Luke 16-18
• Luke 19-21
• Luke 22-24
• Cloud of Witnesses Each confirmand will be sharing with the class the faith journey of another Christian. (This could be anyone — an athlete, a historical figure, a family member, or even you.) Talk to them about the project. Did the person have struggles? How did they learn about the faith? Ask about lessons learned.
• Memory Work We are asking the confirmands to memorize some things like The Lord’s Prayer, Apostle’s Creed, Serenity Prayer, and some key Bible verses. The confirmands may be reciting some of these things to you. Let us know that they have completed the work. The point is not perfection but the exercise of getting to know some of the keys to his faith.
• Faith Impact Statement, Part 1 For their final projects, the confirmands will be developing a statement about how the faith has impacted their lives. Work with them on picking a Scripture. They must choose by March.
• Faith Impact Statement, Part 2 The confirmands will be presenting their statements to the church at the end of the class. Review their work. Talk with them about what they have discovered.

3. Participate in the Confirmation Process. We are asking all the mentors to connect with the class three times. After worship on February 6, we will be having a luncheon for both confirmands and mentors. We also would like the mentors to participate during the Sunday School class on prayer. Finally, we will be having a wrap-up near the end of the confirmation process.

4. Be a helper. During the course of the confirmation process, there will be events, field trips, and the like. We might need chaperones, drivers, or helpers. Perhaps, you could bring doughnuts and coffee on a Sunday during the classes.

5. Be an encouragement.  Say, “hello,” during worship. Talk about the confirmation class’ subject of the week. Just share what you believe and how you integrate your faith into your life. What are your confirmand’s struggles? What inspires your confirmand? How can they integrate the faith into their lives?

Thank you again for your willingness to serve.