The Confirmation Project

The Confirmation Project seeks to learn the extent to which confirmation and equivalent practices in five Protestant denominations in North America are effective for strengthening discipleship in youth. These denominations include the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church in the USA, and the United Methodist Church. It seeks to provide Christian leaders with examples of good practice and with strategies that are effective in helping young Christians grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Strengthening discipleship includes nurturing faith in Jesus Christ and facilitating youth encounters with Christian traditions (Scripture, creeds, confessions, and practices) to support lifelong Christian vocation. This project is funded by the Christian Youth: Learning and Living the Faith grant provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc..

CO-DIRECTOR(S)
Katie Douglass
Richard Osmer

What is the state of confirmation and equivalent practices within five Protestant denominations that practice infant baptism?

The primary objectives were:

To carry out empirical research on confirmation and equivalent practices across five denominations. A concurrent, mixed-method approach will be used, including quantitative surveys and qualitative portraitures.

To interpret and analyze findings that will strengthen youth discipleship within the church.

To disseminate the findings of this study through articles, monographs, webinars, conferences, and an interactive website.

The secondary objectives were:

To offer new theological thinking about confirmation and equivalent practices, inviting congregations to think in fresh ways about the nature of Christian discipleship and young people.

To serve as a catalyst for discussion among practitioners and ministry leaders involved in confirmation and equivalent practices.

To provide resources for the development of effective pedagogical approaches for confirmation and equivalent practices that take into account contemporary and contextual
challenges.

The primary audience is practitioners and ministry leaders in congregations. And the secondary audiences for this research are leaders of denominations, so they may provide guidance to the educational ministry of their church, and professors in seminaries and divinity schools teaching in the area of confirmation, as well as Christian education more generally.