Faith Formation

Promises are made at baptism. These are the responsibilities entrusted to the adults who witness the sacrament; parents, sponsors/godparents, caring adults, and the congregation where the Baptism took place:

1. To live with the Baptized among God’s people
2. To bring the Baptized to the word of God and the holy supper
3. To teach the Baptized the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments
4. To place in the Baptized’s hands the holy scriptures
5. To nurture the Baptized in faith and prayer

These promises are made so the Baptized learn to trust God, proclaim Christ through word and deed, care for others and the world God made and to work for justice and peace.
– ELW pg 228 — from the baptismal service

Confirmation ministry is a pastoral and education ministry of the church which helps the baptized person through Word and Sacrament to identify more deeply with the Christian community and participate more fully in its mission.

Confirmation is a ministry through which you are encouraged to become aware of God’s activity in your life. Confirmation will help you to feel more at home in the church and teach you ways to share your time and talents. Zion’s Confirmation ministry is an opportunity for you to further these promises by saying “Yes” to the promises made for you at Baptism. This is a work we do together; the congregation, parents, important adults in your life, your pastor and Confirmation Leaders and you.

Confirmation is one step along your lifelong journey of faith which begins at Baptism and continues until you are called home with God. We hope this journey of faith fill you with new questions and answers, new discoveries, new relationships, new responsibilities, and new possibilities. God is with you each step along the way. Confirmation is not the end, nor the beginning. Rather, Zion’s Confirmation Ministry is a tool that helps you along your life-long journey of faith. You will have the chance to talk about what you are learning about your faith at home with your parents and caring adults and family and at church with your pastor, teachers, and each other.

Zion’s formal Confirmation Ministry leading youth and families to Affirmation of Baptism begins in Grade 5 with Communion Instruction. 6th and 7th Graders and parents will participate in periodic sessions designed to enhance their relationships with one another, the church and the community. 8th, 9th, and 10th Graders will experience weekly encounters with scripture and the Small Catechism culminating in Affirmation of Baptism in the Falls of 11th grade.

Zion Lutheran’s Confirmation Ministry engages youth and their families in the following areas:

• Worship: Learn how God blesses the beloved through the worship service and how they can express praise and thanks to the Lord, listening to God’s Word and applying it to daily living;
• Learning: become grounded in Scriptural teaching though the study of key biblical texts, Luther’s Small Catechism, hymns, and prayers;
• Service: Learn to recognize the needs and hurts of those in the world around them and to be a part of helping, healing service. Learn about what makes the church unique in the way it functions as an institution and in society;
• Fellowship: Learn to relate to other Christians as friends, caregivers and teachers, as siblings in Christ, and as disciples of our Lord.