The other day I ordered some new confirmation materials. The materials that I ordered are from the Lutheran publishing house. The funny thing was that when I was about to finalize the order I got an email from the Methodist publishing house that was advertising a new confirmation set from the UMC.
Excited I took a look and it looked very outdated in both materials and in class format. The Re:Form stuff has a method of teaching that is experiential and conversational. It understands that confirmation is the beginning of a conversation and not a platform to set up young people to graduate from church.
I am stoked about the material that has great videos (wonderful graphic design), thoughtful questions and in a style and feel that we have been using for a while.
However my heart is sad by the disappointment of the Methodist materials have put out. I feel like the UMC is a denomination that draws from a wonderful heritage with wonderful resources of both lay and clergy. I would love for the UMC to take seriously the call to minister and resource the local church to tend to the needs of our young people (youth and young adult).
I hope that we do not wait much longer to hear the heart cry of youth and miss the opportunity to invest in the future of the church.
2 Responses
I have been waiting for 20 years myself. The UM publishing house seems to have its head in the sand so to speak when it comes to great youth materials. I think you should write something for them. – Matt
Chris – couldn’t agree more. UM materials (“Claim the Name”) were always a great mystery to me – how could anyone ever use them? I’ve been using Logos Making Disciples which isn’t “modern” at all (decidedly lo-tech, even recycled paper and line drawings), but seems to allow for the possibility of involving youth who have never even been to Sunday school AND teaches adult mentors to articulate their faith. I’ll take a look at Re:Form. Thanks!