LifeTIMES
A monthly ministry of Lord of Life Lutheran Church of Maple Grove, Minnesota
Planting Seeds of Faith
W
e have one of the largest confirmation ministries in the Lutheran church. At Lord of Life it is called: Community, Confirmation, Christ or simply C3. There are lots and lots of young people. Our goal is for young people to grow deeper in their faith; for them to develop a meaningful and dynamic relationship with God, and to experience and understand God’s grace in their lives. All that, for over 500 people. It is a huge task.
Yet ultimately, we have faith this can happen.
It can happen because the Holy Spirit is at work in all of our lives—our youth and our small group leaders. And we need to be reminded of two very important things: First, the faith of the young people in Lord of Life isn’t up to an individual leader. Faith is a gift from God. We are planting the seeds of faith; it is the Holy Spirit who provides the harvest. A small group leader does many important things: has fun, listens, laughs, reflects, and is a role model. Although Secondly, it’s a very important job to listen. Our all are important, it is young people have so much to tell and it will ultimately God who gives take time...maybe the whole year...for them to growth in faith. A leader share. Yet God is working in their lives. Young must actually be willing to people seek out those who genuinely listen to let go of this responsibility their hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. Be that allowing God to work person for them. Be willing to listen. through them. Lord of Life’s C3 philosophy includes all of the following statements. We believe in relationships as a learning tool. Faith is caught, not taught. It is a sin to bore a kid. We build fun relationships with young people that say, “hey, look at me...look at me...” and just as we get their attention, we duck and they see the cross behind us. C3 builds an authentic community and is a safe place to explore issues of life and faith. It’s all about developing a passionate faith and love for the God who already passionately loves us.
And finally, you can’t test a kid into the kingdom of God.
—continues on Page 14
“For me to live is Christ” Philippians 1:21a
March 2012