Confirmation Camp - We Can!

Last Sunday we talked about celebrating and honoring our great Lutheran heritage and tradition. Change does not mean we are breaking that tradition, rather, we are building off of it. It is important that we do not change simply for the sake of changing. Change, like tradition, should be effective in reaching out to our communities and bringing new people into our "fellowship of believers." Any change that is made should be evaluated after it is instituted and discerned for effectiveness. "Confirmation Camp" is a new ministry we have formed and is one we can explore together for its effectiveness. Through two years of this camp, ten young men and women have attended. Attending Confirmation Camp does not guarantee confirmation into our churches. Those who attend are faced with a challenging curriculum and must demonstrate a basic understanding of Scripture and Lutheran Doctrine. They must discipline themselves to attend full days of class, which can prove to be difficult coming out of the school year looking forward to their summer off. Their final requirement is an essay, which they must share with the congregation the Sunday morning they are confirmed.

Of course, there are positive and negatives to everything. The students receive all the basic instruction they would get with a two or three year program. The memory work, however, is not as big a part of this camp as with the other programs. This is certainly a negative, and effective ways to do this will need to be implemented in the future. However, the biggest positive of this camp is that the students receive instruction they can use in practical ways during the most peer pressure filled years of their lives. They receive Biblical instruction that will help them overcome the pressures they face NOW!

Unfortunately, Confirmation Camp has not been 100% effective in producing confirmands. While that is to be expected, 100% effectiveness should always be the goal. However, of the ten students who have attended this camp over the past two years, seven have been confirmed following this camp. For you math majors out there, that’s 70% (I hope I got that right. I didn’t use a calculator). Although it is not 100%, Confirmation Camp, in the staff’s opinion, has been proven effective.

Please make it a point to read the essays that our confirmands have produced for you today. This will give you a good idea of what they received in instruction this week. If you have any questions or would like to see copies of the curriculum these young people were put through, feel free to contact the office and a copy will be provided for you.

• Chayne Sauders
• Lisa Crear
• Laura Crear