So, does re:form work with my denomination?
If you’re a youth minister, pastor, or educator working from within a denomination, chances are you answer to some version of a Christian Education committee, Elder Board, Church Council, Synod, Session, or Curriculum Search Committee. And when it comes to confirmation, some of these groups have some ironclad specifics that need to be handed down to the next generation.
You’ve already heard us talk about designing re:form in such a way as to have broad appeal over multiple denominations. But will re:form work with my denomination and their specifics?
Easy Answer? Yes!
Below are three examples of re:form practitioners in three different contexts.
- Susan is an associate pastor teaching a mid-sized confirmation program at a Lutheran church. Susan’s Synod required a confirmation unit on the Protestant Reformation plus a little history on Martin Luther thrown in for good measure. It turns out re:form already covers both topics really well in the sessions “Why are there so many different Christian Churches” and “Why do we say we believe in ‘the holy catholic church’ if we’re not Catholic?“
- Jeff is a Presbyterian youth pastor with 300 kids in San Diego. Jeff’s Session reviewed the curriculum and loved it. They just wanted him to offer some denominational clarification on the topic of “election.” Jeff didn’t have to modify anything in his normal re:form lesson prep: he simply added two fireside chats into the mix — re:form was a perfect springboard for these conversations, and the videos and Anti-Workbook didn’t detract from or get in the way of Jeff’s church’s request.
- Finally, Courtney is an evangelical Baptist working as a parent-volunteer in a church exploring confirmation for the first time. Courtney’s Baptist church had never done confirmation before. As the head of the curriculum search team, she was able to confidently come back to the elder board and show how re:form does a great job of helping them articulate traditional Baptist distinctives, like Biblical authority and religious freedom.
There’s a lot of ways to customize re:form. Since most churches don’t have the time to use all 40 lessons, confirmation leaders can pick and choose which lessons to use. When you want to emphasize a point, units can be expanded into multiple weeks to allow time for the group to look at the fruit of the Individual Activity pages. Plus, the Anti-Workbook is chock-full of blank Doodle pages at the end of every unit that you can commandeer for your own church’s activities. And the re:form gallery website is a perfect place to share how your group has taken a given lesson, improvised, and made it your own!
At sparkhouse we truly believe that the theological concepts that are baked into every video and every Anti-Workbook page are generous enough and substantial enough to placate even the curmudgeonliest council out there. But here’s the deal. We’re also completely fascinated with the exceptions to the rule. And we want to hear from you guys, too. We’re more than happy to field questions about the curriculum. Got a theological question to ask before you buy? Call or write to us. Want to make sure there’s a way to bring up a specific doctrinal statement? We’re here to help.
Do you have a lesson/unit on confession and forgiveness?
Your blurb said nothing about small churches with two or thres and only one child.
How does this material work for United Methodists? That is the denomination they are joining at this time and the samples seem to only cover the basic Christian beliefs.
Hi everyone, thanks for the great questions!
Tom – re:form doesn’t have any specific sessions on confession and forgiveness, but there is an entire unit about Discipleship that incorporate confession and forgiveness into their lessons. Similarly, the “Tough Questions” Unit includes lessons like “Can I do something bad enough to make God stop loving me?” and “Why does God let bad things happen?” For a full list of Units and Sessions, go to http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=345955030434&topic=17212
Ed – re:form could absolutely work for a congregation that has a small youth ministry. The great thing about this program is the flexibility with lessons, group size, and length of program. The hands-on Anti-Workbook is the centerpiece of each student’s experience and its chock full of activities and ideas, with space to journal and doodle, and extras like pullout cards and cool stickers. Also, re:form prompts kids to make videos, take pictures, interview people, and create stuff, all of which can be done with a smaller group. Then they can upload all of their artifacts to an online portfolio – the re:form gallery, which will be available in mid-August – where kids can share with the whole congregation what they’ve been learning.
Sheryl – re:form definitely works for United Methodists! The program was developed by contributors from a variety of denominations – United Methodist, UCC, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Lutheran – and focuses on the historic Christian faith rather than specific denominational topics. Let us know if you have any more questions!
Hi! I am loving the re:form curriculum for confirmation! Could you tell what age group was in mind when it was written? Middle school? High school? Both? No matter what, I’m sure I can make it work for my group – just curious! Thanks!
Hi Caroline – Thanks for the great question. re:form’s target audience is 7th and 8th grade confirmation students, but we’ve been hearing from more and more congregations who are planning to use it with their high school youth groups and adult Bible study programs! The hands-on activities, humorous videos, and focused discussion topics are highly flexible, and the re:form gallery, which will be available in August, encourages an even greater level of interaction with the curriculum. To see the full list of units and session topics, head to re:form’s Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/2fxzwwh. Let us know if we can answer any other questions for you!
I also am LOVING the curriculum. We are currently trying to decide whether or not to make the financial leap (I am pushing, hard…)
There is one thing holding us back: Will you be creating new lessons for the following school years?
Is there anyway to get a list of the questions that are asked on Re:form? and the answers given?
Are these questions asked:
1. Can I lose my salvation?
2. What happens at the end of time?
3. Do I go right to heaven when I die?
I found it disappointing that on the page that specifically speaks about different traditions AND different denominations the pop ups included Quakers, Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Baptists, Mennonites, Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, Anglicans & Pentecostals but our tradition, Presbyterianism, was not mentioned. This is a pretty comprehensive list except for the absence of Presbyterians. Since John Calvin AND John Knox (2 of the founders of Presbyterianism) are 2 of the 4 reformers depicted at the beginning of the video on the Apostle’s Creed it is inconsistent not to include Presbyterianism in the list of denominational traditions flowing from the reformation. I hope you will correct this omission.
Hi everyone, thanks for the great questions!
Gibson – re:form includes 40 session (broken into 6 units), but you don’t have to use all 40 sessions in one year. You can design your own “scope and sequence” from the 40 sessions offered to customize the length of the program to fit the length of your church’s confirmation program. We’ve heard from some congregations who have longer programs (i.e. full year or 2 year programs), and are choosing to use half of the material during the first year and the other for the second year. We’ll let you know if more sessions, beyond the 40 that are currently included in the Anti-Workbook, Leader Guide, and DVD set, become available.
Peg – You can find a full list of re:form’s unit and session topics on our Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/2fxzwwh. To answer your specific questions, there is a session dedicated to salvation that covers exactly what you’re looking for, and is entitled “Can someone lose their salvation?”. A session called “Does Revelation really describe how the world will end?” covers question #2. “Do cremated people go to heaven?” covers overarching questions regarding death and afterlife. Hope this helps!
Cordelia – thanks for your feedback. We had several folks from across mainline denominations, including Presbyterians, contribute to the creation of re:form curriculum. re:form focuses on the historic Christian faith rather than specific denominational topics. Throughout the curriculum, there are instances within the ‘encounter’ phase that open up conversation for students to discuss and compare denominations. These activities provide great opportunities to pull in your church’s specific traditions and views.
Still confused about the denominational piece. You say there were folks from each denomination who contributed. Who are they (knowing they are connected as educators / youth ministers within the denominational leadership is important to me and my church.) While all denominations are focused on discipleship – how our worship, doctrine and understanding of how to read scripture is different.
Hi Sharon –
Thanks for your inquiries. Here is a list of contributors, reviewers, and test congregations who played a role in the creation of re:form:
Leader Guide Team: Erin Davis, Sarah Walker Cleaveland, Kristan S. Potter, Darin Wiebe, Erik Ullestad, Tony Jones, Holly Inglis, Vicky Goplin
Video Team: Paul Soupiset, Wes Halula, Aaron Christopher, Jared Neher, Dizilu, Matthew Keller, Damian Johnson, Jill Bernard, John Goodman, Jay Ness, Shane Nelson, Mike Turner
Anti-Workbook Team: Patricia A. Stroup, Darin Wiebe, with Julia Wiebe, Elida Wiebe, Steven Boggess, Jacob Friehauf, Aidan Baack, Daniel Meador, Hannah Meador, Evan Bergo, Kenz Scobba, Michel Meador
Review Team: Jessicah L.K. Duckworth, Adam Walker Cleaveland, Edwin DuBose, Holly Rankin Zaher, Andrea Hall, Drew Ludwig, Erik Ullestad, Todd J. Query
re:form Test Congregations: Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church, St. George’s Episcopal Church, Windsor Heights Lutheran Church, Williamsburg United Methodist Church, Lafayette Presbyterian Church, The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek.
Please let us know if you have any other questions!
Our church (United Methodist) used William Willimon’s Confirmation curriculum “Making Disciples” last year. We had 26 students and 26 adult mentors – as the curriculum is a mentor based program. To my surprise, it worked out really well. I was amazed at the commitment we got from the adult mentors to make this work. We are now beginning to prepare for our next confirmation class to start in January. Does Re-Form lend itself to using mentors? If so, how?
Thanks,
Steve
Hi Steve – great question! re:form is the perfect curriculum for a mentor-based program because the hands-on activities, humorous videos, and focused discussion topics are highly flexible and encourage interaction between students and leaders. Each of the 40 lessons include an “Engage” section: 2 individual activities and 2 group activities (for 2 or more kids), allowing you to pick and choose the activities you want to use during each lesson. Each session also includes a “What about the Bible?” section that features activities and conversation starters related to specific scripture passages that help lay the biblical foundation for the rest of the session.
To see several different examples of Leader Guide pages, go to: http://www.wearesparkhouse.org/reform/samples/
Let us know if you have any more questions! We’d be glad to help.
I have two questions … I hope you haven’t already covered them. First, I see that the curriculum is designed for 7th and 8th graders. Our confirmation class this year is mainly 5th and 6th graders with a couple of 7th graders. Is this still appropriate for that age group? And second, we plan on having the class last about 8-12 weeks. Will that work???
THANKS!
Hi Tom, thanks for the post. The curriculum can work for 5th and 6th graders. Since your program is 8-12 weeks long, you can pick and choose which of the 40 lessons you’d like to cover. The remaining lessons could easily be used as curriculum for next year, or it could be used for Sunday school or retreats.
Hope that helps! Let us know if you have other questions.
Hi Tom.
I noticed that the leader guide is currently out of stock. Is there a PDF available for people who are willing to purchase and want to start using it right away? PS a downloadable PDF version would be a great resource.
Thanks for your help.
Kathy Yeager
Ecclesia Church
Hi Kathy – Great question! If you’re looking to start using re:form before Sept. 8th , please contact our Customer Care team (the toll free number is 877-702-5551) to request PDFs of the first two lessons. Let us know if you have any further questions.
Sparkhouse Team:
When you do an update of the AntiWorkbook, I would love to see it reflect the diversity that the videos show. I was very upset at the absence of people of color as well as women in roles of authority. After all the great work that was put into the images in the video, it is very disheartening to see the workbook reinforce the negative default setting that we Americans have for ourselves.
Hi Mackenzie – Thanks for your feedback, we’re so glad that you’ve been enjoying the videos! The sparkhouse team worked to diversify the videos, as well as the Anti-Workbook, by including many of the same recurring characters throughout the curriculum. Also, the hope was that in creating more ‘blank’ characters (e.g. stick figures and plain line-drawn people) in the workbook, students would be encouraged to create their own diverse cast of re:form characters. We appreciate hearing your reactions and will definitely take your feedback into consideration as we move forward. Thanks!
Do you know any churches that have broken re:form down into 8 – 10 sessions?
Hi Michael, great question! We’ve heard from a number of congregations who have used a select number of sessions with their youth ministry program. If you’re interested in picking and choosing, you may want to check out re:form a la carte (http://store.augsburgfortress.org/store/category/278766/re-form-la-carte?notFound=true). With a la carte, we offer downloadable versions of each session, including Leader Guide materials, Anti-Workbook pages, and the corresponding video. Let us know if you have any further inquiries!