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Worship and Spirituality
How we encounter God
- Baptism: Forgiveness of Sins
- Supporting your Role
- Ages & Stages
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- Confirmation
Tried and Tested – Resources for Confirmation
Are you thinking about what resources to use to prepare people for Confirmation? You may be looking for the first time and want some advice, or you may already have your favourite, and we’d love to know! The resources in this section have all been tried and tested and come with a personal recommendation.
Below are a range of resources used by church leaders across the churches of the diocese in preparing people for Confirmation. All resources have been tried and tested, and come with a personal recommendation.
Preparing people for Confirmation
Confirmation is a sacramental act in which a baptised person affirms their desire to deepen in their Christian faith as a member of the Church, and re-commits to a life of discipleship. This intention is ‘Confirmed’ by a Bishop through the laying on of hands, asking God to give them power through the Holy Spirit to enable them to live in this way. For many, ‘Confirmation’ is a pathway to receiving Holy Communion.
The key requirements for Confirmation are: anyone who has been baptised, is old enough to answer responsibly for themselves and has received appropriate preparation, also known as Catechesis.
Preparing a person for confirmation is usually carried out by the local Incumbent (Priest) or their delegated person, and will be shaped by many things, including their age, previous experience, church tradition, and the leader’s own skills and context. Here are a range of resources that are used to support people in this stage of faith.
Confirmation into a life-long journey
Consider how you and the church community will continue to nurture the newly confirmed in their
discipleship journey. Consider:
- setting up each candidate with a ongoing mentor, small group or prayer triplicate.
- encouraging the person to develop ‘holy habits’ which will feed their relationship with God.
- supporting them in identifying their gifts and talents – develop opportunities to share them within the Church and beyond.
- meeting them to hear how their faith is growing
- continuing to pray for them.
Pilgrim – Turning to Christ
‘Turning to Christ’ is a short six-session course, exploring the questions that are used in a baptism service:
Do You Turn to Christ?
Do you believe and trust in God the Father?
Do you believe in his Son Jesus Christ?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
Do you repent of your sins?
Do you renounce evil?
It is part of the Pilgrim ‘Follow’ programme, and is supported by DVD/online audio-visual resources. All sessions combine a simple framework prayer, reflection on the Bible in the lectio divina style, an article by a modern writer, and time for questions and reflection.
Revd Judith Simons explains:
We use “Turning to Christ” with our Confirmation candidates as the questions that it uses for each chapter are those they respond to in the confirmation service. The discussion questions allow everyone in the group to offer their personal experiences and as the group leader, it helps you to see where they were at on their faith journey. A recent group enjoyed the Pilgrim course resources so much that we then went on to do another course.
Revd Judith Simons, Bollingbroke Deanery
These materials along with the whole suite of Pilgrim resource can be borrowed for free from the College of St Hugh Resources Library.
Youth Emmaus
Youth Emmaus helps young people (11-16yrs) explore the basics of the Christian Faith. Broken down into 13 sessions. Youth Emmaus explores:
What Christians Believe (5 sessions)
How Christians Grow (5 sessions)
Living the Christian Life (3 sessions)
What is included?
The course includes leaders’ notes, fun handouts for group members, cartoons and graphics and comes with a disk with all the resources needed and more. Each session is planned with a variety of activities that you can pick or choose from to suit your situation. Each session provides activities for up to 2 hrs long.
Revd Julie Miles writes:
We invited members of the congregation to help run the course, provide refreshments etc which was a great way to build relationships between the young people, school and members of the congregation.
Our young people feel comfortable in asking their questions in a safe and affirming environment. I like how planning is provided for every session but you can also adapt it to suit your local needs.Revd Julie Miles, Isle of Axholme Deanery
If your group want to keep meeting, then there is also Youth Emmaus 2 which covers ‘Big Issues and Holy Spaces’.
Both these materials can be borrowed for free from the College of St Hugh Resources Library. As usual, you will need to work within the usual DBS and safeguarding requirements.
Being Christian – Confirmation Book Club
‘Being Christian’ by Rowan Williams (2014) is an accessible short book (96 pages) exploring the meaning and practice of four essential components of the Christian life: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist and Prayer. It works well with adults, especially for those who have busy lives.
Run a confirmation Book Club using this as a core text to help the discussion along. It works best with a group of no more than six people to get everyone involved and explore the chapters in depth. It can be used in-person or online. Cost c. £10 per person, ordered through your local Christian book shop.
Revd Rebecca Rock suggests:
Participants can come having read the chapter ready to talk about:
– the bit that inspired them or spoke to them
– the bit they didn’t understand or didn’t fully connect with
– what will they do now, having read it.
I’ve even invited them to take it in turns to lead the discussion each week.Revd Rebecca Rock, Lafford Deanery
The group could then progress to ‘Being Disciples’ by Rowan Williams to continue to grow after confirmation.