Confirmation Statement of DC

What does Jesus mean to me?

I believe that Jesus is the son of God. As the son of God, Jesus means forgiveness to me.

I can make mistakes and ask Jesus for forgiveness and I will always be forgiven. Jesus saves me from myself, and he will always be with me throughout my life. I have had times in the past when I was worried, or even scared. Last year I was in a car accident. We were driving on the interstate in New York during the daytime. All of the sudden a deer ran across the road in front of us and hit our car. If the deer had started just a few seconds later, it might have hit the windshield and broken into the car, hurting me or my family. Fortunately, the deer bounced off of the side of the car and we were all okay. That experience showed me how Jesus is always there with me.

Now I am in 8^th grade, and I am one of the older students at my Middle School. Next year though, I will be going to high school and I know that Jesus will always be there too, to help me to get through my new challenges and experiences.

My hockey coach once told me, that when a good coach considers bringing a new player on a team; that the coach asks three questions about the new player: 1) What kind of a person is he? 2) How are his grades? and 3) What kind of hockey player is he? When I first heard this, I didn't understand why being a good hockey player was the third question asked (instead of the first question). When I thought about it, I understood that my coach, like Jesus, wanted me to be a good person before anything else.

How have I grown in faith and understanding of God's grace these past few years?

I was baptized at Christ the King. I know that I have grown in my faith and I have also grown in my understanding of my faith over the past few years. Before I went through confirmation, I didn't really understand what grace was. I now understand that grace is a great gift from God, and I definitely accept God's grace.

I have learned that God is love, understanding, and forgiveness. I also know that as a person, I am not perfect. Even though I am not perfect I know that God will understand me and he will forgive me when I do the wrong things. It is hard to do the right thing all of the time, because even if I do the right things, I have to say the right things and even think the right things. We are lucky that we always have the gift of God's grace.

I have also learned a great deal about what it means to be a Lutheran. I didn't know that much about being a Lutheran a few years ago. Now I understand more about Martin Luther and about the ways and the reason for our beliefs. One thing I didn't understand too well before was communion. I think that I now understand and appreciate communion and how important it is to have our sins forgiven.

Why do I wish to affirm my faith in baptism at this time?

I believe that I am ready to affirm my baptism as a confirmed member of our church. I think that I have grown a great deal in my faith over the past few years and that I am ready to be an actual adult church member.

Baptism is one of the sacraments of our church along with communion. I understand that both baptism and communion have the forgiveness of sins, and also the presence of Jesus. It is important that in confirmation that I can affirm my faith in baptism to show that the forgiveness of sins and my faith in Jesus are both very important in my life.

How am I using my spiritual gifts for the ministry of the church?

I have learned that helping others is very important, and that this is what Jesus wants us to do. I have been an acolyte, a reader, and a cross-bearer at church, and I enjoy helping out. I was a little bit nervous the first time I did all of these things, especially the first time I read a Bible passage in front of the church. I know that the church must have people to do these things, and I am glad that I was able to help.

Last summer I went with our church confirmation group to the work camp near Lancaster, PA. We were there for one week, living in college dormitories, and assigned to teams with other Christians of all faiths. For the entire week, my team assisted elderly and disabled people by painting their homes. It was hot work, but I enjoyed helping the people in need. At the end of each day, we would have worship and prayer services. This week of helping people in need made me think of how important it is to serve others.

I hope that as I get older that I am able to help people and to help my church. I know that I will be very busy in high school with academics and sports, but I also know that I need to find the time to help the church and to help others.