Why do we have parents participating in Confirmation at Trinity?

1. Parents reached out and expressed a desire to be engaged and connected in the faith formation process for their middle school students. At Trinity, we are committed to ministry being a partnership of staff and the congregation, so we saw this as an opportunity to build the partnership with Confirmation families.

2. Research and experience both point to the number one observable factor in a student developing a lasting faith is whether that faith is lived out at home. Parents (not pastors, youth leaders, or peers) have the most powerful and lasting influence on their teen’s spiritual life. Knowing this, we wanted to foster faith conversations and connections between parents and students in the Confirmation program.

3. When we trialed having parents participate in Confirmation for parts of the program over the last few years, it was met with very positive reviews from parents and students.

We also know it’s important that students continue to develop an ownership and affirmation of their own personal faith. We have included opportunities for students to have faith formation without a parent present through the special events (like the kickoff game night on August 24th), Confirmation Retreat, Middle School Huddle, and more! Lenten Mentoring remains one of our integral pieces of Confirmation where students spend time with a mentor learning and worshipping alongside each other during the season of Lent.

Want to know more about what is going on in Confirmation and Middle school ministry at Trinity? Check out the youth hub here: https://tlcms.org/project/high-school/