Meaning and Purpose
Traditionally, in the Evangelical Covenant Church, confirmation is linked with baptism and implies the confirming by the child of the vows made on his behalf at the time of his baptism. Or, more accurately, it speaks of the necessity of a personal appropriation by the confirmand of all that is implied in his baptism. Through such personal appropriation of the faith he is made ready for full, adult membership in the church, the body of Christ, and for responsible service as a Christian in the world.
In those Covenant churches where infant baptism is not generally practiced, confirmation is not essentially different. It still provides the opportunity for the child to confirm the faith in which he [or she] has been instructed in the home, Sunday school, and church. For [the child] also, confirmation is an opportunity for a “making certain” of [their] faith. It should lead to [their] own decision to be baptized and become a member of the church....
As the organizational life of our Covenant churches developed over the years, the following convictions became basic concerning confirmation:
1. Confirmation because the church recognizes its responsibility for the young people who have been marked for Ch exists rist in baptism. (This responsibility extends also to those children of the church who because of the baptismal views of their parents are not baptized.)...
2. Confirmation is a pastoral opportunity of unsurpassed importance. What an enviable position the pastor has when he [or she]...will meet every young person of [a] church for one or two years of study, discussion, and prayer....
3. Confirmation must not be understood as a “graduation” of any kind. It is part of the total educational and pastoral program of the church.... More and more our churches are seeing the value of confirmation as one aspect of a lifelong catechumenate in which every member of the church family should be involved.
4. Confirmation cannot guarantee that a child has committed or will commit...to the lordship of Christ. In these matters there can be no compulsion except that of the Holy Spirit.... To ask [confirmands] to make vows for which they are not ready is to violate their freedom....
5. Confirmation is a reminder to the whole congregation of the necessity of a continuing personal response to the Gospel.... While confirmation as a ceremony occurs only once, it is a symbol of the “confirming” of our faith which must occur throughout our entire Christian life.
6. Confirmation is increasingly understood in our fellowship to include “commissioning for service.” A young person’s decision for Christ is also a decision for involvement in God’s mission in the world.... [The confirmand] takes his [or her] share of [personal] responsibility for witness, for evangelization, and for involvement in the struggle to actualize God’s will in the world in which he [or she] lives.
Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), The New Life in Christ (1969), pp. 55,56,57.
Parents should...remember that our Covenant stresses as vital and necessary a personal experiential knowledge of the saving grace and power of God. The Confirmation Class is not considered by us as a process which opens automatically the way to holy communion and church membership. It is rather a class in which young people in their early teens are taught more fully the way of life by the pastor...; are urged to yield heart and life to the Lord; are instructed in the meaning, privileges, and obligations of church membership; are offered guidance in meeting and solving the life problems which confront them in this period of life choices. It is hoped that either during this period of fellowship and guidance or just after its completion the young person will make [their] choice of Jesus Christ as Lord. To some this will mean a conversion experience; to other it will mean a voluntary consecration of a life already yielded to God and lived in fellowship with him.
Nath. Franklin (1887-1980), The Covenant Home (1935), p. 40.
During the confirmation process, the focus of this care and responsibility is two-fold. First, students have an opportunity to learn of the church's history, truths of the Christian faith and the stories of Bible. The second aspect is the development of a discipling relationship between the pastor, mentors, and the students. At whatever point a student is in their faith journey, this balance of learning and relationship is critical to the impact of the confirmation process on their lives. They learn what the Bible says, and through this discipleship aspect, learn to be able to articulate what they believe about what the Bible says and about how biblical faith translates into Christian living and responsibilities in the world.
“Confirmation Rubric,” from Proposed Book of Worship (2002).
Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), The Covenant Church at a Glance (1952), pp. 8,9.
Confirmation and Baptism
For those who are baptized as infants, confirmation underscores the purpose of the sacrament and the promises which were made on the child's behalf at that time. The young person now has the specific opportunity to affirm personally what was promised on his or her behalf at the time of baptism. Thus baptism and confirmation form two great arches of anticipation and fulfillment in the bridge of Christian experience. Where children are presented to the Lord without the sacrament of baptism, the prayers of believing parents are similarly given occasion for answer and fulfillment in confirmation.
When young people come to the day of confirmation without an evident profession of personal commitment, their faith is confirmed as far as it has grown. Confirmation, as an act of the church, affirms these youth as belonging within the circle of the church's care and responsibility.
The confirmation course of study covers two years (the time period recommended by the Covenant) and includes a sequential study of the Bible, church history, and Christian doctrine. It is generally taught by the pastor, enabling pastor and confirmand to become personally acquainted and establish a trusting relationship. Other members of the church staff and congregation, however, may also assist in this teaching ministry. What is important is that the teacher care about the students, teach in a creative and exciting fashion, and establish trust and rapport with teen-agers so that the educational experience will combine a rich balance of the cognitive and relational aspects of learning.
It is well for the pastor to include one or more personal consultations with each pupil prior to the confirmation service. Such moments can be among the most fruitful in the pastor's confirmation ministry.
“Confirmation,” from The Covenant Book of Worship (1981), p. 214.
If you were baptized as an infant, confirmation has the added meaning of “confirming” or placing a seal upon the promises made when you were baptized. At that time you didn't understand what baptism meant, but your parents and the Church acted on your behalf. Your father and mother promised to instruct you or have you instructed in the Christian faith in the expectation that you would, when you reached the age of understanding, personally accept Christ as your Savior. Confirmation, therefore, should be the time when you, of your own free will, because you want to do so, accept Christ and pledge yourself to live for him from that time on. In that way you confirm all that was promised in baptism.
“But what if I have not been baptized as an infant?” some in the class may say. “Do I then lose this value of confirmation?” No, there is a sense in which you also must confirm the faith in which you have been instructed through your home, Sunday school, and church. You may have been dedicated to God as a child, but whether there was a special service or not, your parents in all likelihood prayed earnestly that you would grow up in the Christian faith and would eventually make that faith your own. For you also confirmation may be a “making certain” of your faith.
Everything that you will learn in confirmation is of high importance, but nothing is more important than that you come to understand your need of a faith in Christ which is your own. If, during your weeks of study, you come to a decision to accept him, your confirmation will be a true one, for it will mark the beginning of your life as a Christian who takes his [or her] place openly among those who are not ashamed of the Gospel.
Clifford W. Bjorklund (1921-1986), Harry J. Ekstam (1918- ), Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), and Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), According to Thy Word (1954, 1955), p. 313.
While we should not repeat the sacrament of baptism for any one person, it is likely that at times of renewal in our relationship to God there will be occasions for renewing our baptismal covenant. In this act of renewal we are reminded of what God has done in his grace and of what we have promised to him. For those who have been baptized as infants a significant time of such renewal is confirmation. This is appropriate for two reasons. First, in confirmation God confirms his promise to those who were too young to understand that promise when they were baptized. Second, these persons confirm their personal commitment in a public witness they were unable to make as infants. In the Covenant Church, confirmation is also a time of instruction and of preparation for church membership in that it challenges confirmands to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
“Holy Baptism,” from The Covenant Book of Worship (1981), p. 89.
