Confirmation Students Write Their Own Affirmations of Faith (2024)

On April 25^th, we had 13 youth (in grades 6-8) profess their faith publicly in worship. Their Confirmation journey was nine months, on Zoom, led by our Confirmation teaching team, joined periodically by guest teachers, as we followed a full curriculum. On that day in April, the Confirmands crossed a new threshold in their faith journey and became active members of our congregation. We are so proud and grateful to the youth families, the Session, Amos and Rebecca, and the Confirmation Partners who helped these youth grow along their journey of faith. We are now delighted to show you edited faith statements from our youth, giving you a glimpse into their faith journeys.

Gratefully, the Confirmation Teaching Team,

Mary Kate Bevel, Marilyn Hammett, Bill Hammett and Sarah Leer

AVA

God created us, the earth, and animals…. When you do things wrong he will forgive you and still love you. When I pray I feel close to God. I see the Holy Spirit working around the world when there is no violence in the world and people help each other.

ABBY

God is everything good.

I feel like I am close to God when I’m in between prayer and asleep.

The Holy Spirit is with us all the time; the Holy Spirit is what gives us hope inside.

WILL

The most important thing about God is that He forgives, but desires in us a change in attitude or behavior. Jesus also showed us how he forgave people in his life (Luke 5:20).

God’s means of communication with us is through The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also called The Comforter in John 14:26, and I feel comfort in God and closest to God when I pray.

In 1st Corinthians 12, Jesus says that the body of Christ has many different parts, and there are many different ways to serve the Lord. Wherever God has planned for me to go and where I am needed, I will go, even if I don’t yet know where that may be. But I’ll be listening for my calling.

JAMES

I believe that God created the heaven, earth and universe from complete darkness. I believe that he is the ultimate good and is always with us and that God is the father of Jesus and helps people who are in need. I think that God helps guide us when we are in tough times and motivates us to do the right thing.

I think that the Bible is meant for us to expand our understanding of God and what he did and to make us better people in the present. I believe that the purpose of our church is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, worship God, and help people in need. I think that us as members of our church should spread the word of God and turn away from sin.

I feel that my role as a Christian and servant of God is to turn away from sin, and help others in need. I feel that I also need to spread the word of God, and to help others as I would myself.

JADEN

I believe the most important thing I know about god is that he loves everyone no matter what and that the most important teaching of Jesus is to love your neighbors as yourself. I see the Holy Spirit working whenever someone is kind to someone else and they really mean to be. I feel closest to god when I’m playing music or petting my dogs. My favorite scripture in the Bible is ruth 1:6-1:17. It’s the story about Ruth and Naomi.

OWEN

I believe that in the beginning, God created everything we know from nothing. I believe that he was the Father of Jesus and is our shepherd and guides us. I believe that He loves us more than we can imagine and loves everyone equally, but also loves all of us in different, special, and independent ways. I believe that God is always with us in times of need, and also in our day to day lives. I believe that He is the ultimate good, and knows that we will sin, but he wants us to try to do our best not to.

I believe that The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in us. I believe that The Holy Spirit guides us to do good things and is with us. The Holy Spirit is there when we make a second choice or a second thought about the right thing to do.

WILLA

I believe in God and that God is love. I believe that God will always love us even when we make mistakes and that God will always forgive us. I believe that God is everywhere and is there to guide us through all of our ups and downs.

I believe in Jesus Christ and that he taught us to love each other and love everyone for who they are. He taught us to love God and how to be a good person. I believe that Jesus understands us and knows all of the things we go through.

I believe in the Holy Spirit… I see the Holy Spirit in my relationships with friends and family helping me choose to be kind and patient with them. I see the Holy Spirit when I do things I love, like being in nature and spending time with my family.

ANDREW

ANGELA

By saying that I Believe God is the Anchor in my life, I am stating that in any situation, whether it be joy, grief, pain, or stress, I can rely on the steadfastness of God’s love to find comfort and reassurance.

I Believe Jesus

Emmanuel

AUGUST

And sometimes I can almost hear God in my head. In church when we pray to apologize to God, and when we have the silence player, I can almost hear him accepting my forgiveness. And I can see the Holy Spirit working and moving around the world like when doctors heal, when firemen put out fire, when builders build, and when plants grow.

The most significant thing about me going to church is me singing for the church. It’s my favorite thing/ most meaningful part of worship. But my favorite/ most meaningful thing would be going to church and seeing everyone. … Like I believe the most important thing part of the church's mission in the world is for everyone to be equal.

I feel called to give my energy as part of the body of Christ when I help people because I am kind and I show people that I care. I use my gifts of art to make people happy. I will use art to serve God and the world.

EVE

I believe that God is the creator of all things. I believe that Jesus is our lord and savior. And important teaching that Jesus has taught us is to be patient with others and to be kind to everyone even if they might not be so kind to us. My favorite thing that Jesus did is open the eyes of two blind men in Matthew 9:27-31 because it shows Jesus’s healing power and show us to have faith even when it seems as if all hope is lost. … My favorite part of worship are the hymns because it is easy to connect with others through song for me because I enjoy singing. I feel called to give my energy to the body of Christ by doing Community service and giving to others. This is my faith statement for now and I know as I grow my faith will change and grow.

Grayson

I believe in God, who loves us.God created all things in the beginning and put humans on earth to take care of it.

I feel God’s presence when I am laying down in my bed at night and thinking and praying before I go to sleep.

I see the Holy Spirit working in the world when I see people of all kinds helping each other and reaching out when natural disasters or fires or even this past year’s COVID-19 Pandemic, when people donated food and clothing and supplies to those that lost their jobs.The Holy Spirit kept our church together when we could not meet in person. Zoom, phone calls, letters and cards to friends we missed seeing at church.

I believe we are all God’s children and Jesus calls us to be the church, the body of Christ. When I participate in worship, I am showing my faith to others.I believe in the holy sacraments of baptism and communion.I believe God has a purpose for me, even though I may not know exactly what it is yet.I am called to help and care for others.The gift of service and the gift of song.Singing God’s praises.I am called to be a light to the world, and I will let my light shine.