Over the last several years, I have been writing my own Confirmation Curriculum. We use a large group/small group model for the class. Small groups are chosen based on age and gender (for example, all the 7th grade girls are in a group together). Currently, our basic model works like this:

Opening Game / Devotion

  • We have an opening game together. At our church, High School and Middle School meet on the same night and time, so we do the game together as a way of getting to know one another across grades and schools.
  • After the game, a High School student shares a devotion with the group based on the lesson topic for the day. Students receive a copy of my teaching notes so that they can prepare an appropriate devotion. We ask them to include a personal story from their life, a Bible verse and how God helped them in the story they shared with the group.

Group Building

  • Small groups have an opportunity to check in with one another about how their week was. They also receive a sheet with all the Bible references for the evening and look them up ahead of time and mark them in their Bible for easy access.

Content and Life Application

  • I teach for about 20-35 minutes depending on the number of questions that we receive during the lesson. Students come to the front to read a Bible verse, then we underline, circle or otherwise note passages in the Bible and make notes in the margin.
  • Afterwards, students break into small groups to study a section of Scripture that relates to the topic at hand. The small group time is focused on individual life application. I give some general applications during the large group time, but the small group time is where the personalizing of Scripture happens.

Closing

  • Each night, one of our small groups prepares a prayer for the group during their small group time. Sometimes it’s reading a Psalm, other times it’s an activity themed around our topic for the evening. After we’re all back together, the group leads us through the closing prayer.
  • After the prayer, students have an opportunity to bless each other. One person in the group reads a blessing from Scripture over the group, using everyone’s name in the blessing. I provide the blessing on screen for them to use.

Lessons

Below is a list of all the topics we cover. Clicking the link to be taken to the blog entry where I detail what we cover that night, plus all of the materials for the lesson that are ready for publication at this time. Lessons will be added over the next couple years as we continue to develop and refine the program.

The 10 Commanments

Apostles’ Creed

The Lord’s Prayer

Baptism

Confession and Absolution

The Lord’s Supper