CONFIRMATION: Faith Journeys

 My husband started doing something in confirmation this year that I think is a great idea. He was having trouble feeling like the kids were connecting with their faith. After all, they're 13 and 14 years old. Hearing about God or faith from a pastor is expected. Hearing about God or faith from the pastor's wife is expected. Hearing about God and faith and life from people in the congregation that you know, however, is something else. 

Kids these day see everyone's best life online and most people don't talk about the challenges they face in life, either online or face-to-face. Many parents have a tendency to want their kids to be happy, not understanding that they should teach them how to cope with life's physical and emotional challenges by how they cope in word and deed. Nobody wants to admit that life can be disappointing, painful, and full of unexpected sorrow. Some dreams come true, and some don't. Happiness is elusive, it comes and goes, and is not a good life goal. How do we get through the hard times? Faith. If you don't see how your parents' faith uplifts and encourages them in hard times, you won't know how valuable it will be for you too. There are also people the kids see every week in church that they may not realize have had or are having challenging lives. Kids just don't see it. 

To help kids understand the benefit faith is in navigating life, my husband (who has a 2 hour confirmation class with a 10-15 minute break), personally invites a member of the congregation to come and tell their faith story. He gives them 10-15 minutes of class time. 

Of course, you want to give them a bit of guidance regarding what to share. My suggestion is to give them a few questions to think about: 

• Since faith is not a feeling, how and when did you realize that you had it? 
• Do you pray? How do you find it helpful? 
• We often forget about our faith during good times. How did your faith help you during a hard time?
• How does faith affect your daily life?
• How does attending worship help you in your everyday life? 

This could be a great idea for high school Sunday school as well. Help kids connect faith and life!