Clarissa Chung had the opportunity of interviewing some of St Mary’s youths who have recently attended confirmation classes.
Lara Ashwini William, 14, had thought that the Bible was just like any other book.
But after going through the confirmation classes, she now understands that the Bible is authoritative and important for everyday life. “We learnt that Jesus existed, even though some of the stories are difficult to believe,” she said.
Another candidate, Liza Ann Christian, 13, shared what she learnt about the Gospel in the classes. “[The class taught me] that God helps us. There is nothing we can do, but God will be there for us.”
Liza also excitedly shared about the memorable lessons learnt from the classes, which start a half hour after Youth every Sunday for about 2-3 months.
“Sometimes we do activities to reinforce what we’ve learnt. There was once we did a “trust fall”
activity so that we would remember the lesson about having faith in God.”
For Beth Cheah, 12, one of the lessons that struck her the most was the one about the Trinity. “He was comparing the Muslim God and the Christian God. In Islam, there’s one God so He needs love, so He had to create humans. But because the Christian God is Trinitarian, God
didn’t need us to love Him.”
“God shouldn’t have to need. He makes humans in His image for companionship, but He doesn’t need us because He’s already Three.”
She shared that she enjoyed the discussions in the confirmation classes because she was able to get a better understanding of theological concepts.
“Confirmation class is great because it takes you more in-depth with those questions that you
don’t really get answered in big groups.”
Hannah Henry, 13, found that the lessons she absorbed about God in Kids’ Church sharpened and became more real to her during confirmation classes.
“We’ve always learnt that God should be our King, but as humans we have made ourselves
king. The lessons showed me what a difference it is when we don’t have God in our lives, how
separated we are from Him.”
These lessons are not simply a matter of intellectual exercise. For Hannah, the confirmation process showed her how knowledge about God translates into a change in the way we relate to God.
“[After my confirmation], I think I am more aware of what I do now. It opened my eyes more, about how I should act,” she shared. “Whatever I do, I should be doing it for God.”
However, even as the Youth Confirmation candidates speak about how God works in their lives to bring them to a better understanding of the Gospel, they also shared about how ordinary church members can help youths as they go through the confirmation process.
For Beth, it is important for church members to take the time and effort to answer the questions youths may have about their Christian faith. “Answer questions and don’t fake an answer if you don’t know,” suggested Beth.
Hannah suggested that church members could walk alongside youths as they grow and mature in Christ. “I think church members can help by sharing their experience with what it’s like being part of the larger church community. They could also help youths walk that journey and also pray for us,” said Hannah.