Confirmation Sunday: Seed Chapel UMC Edition

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well and have been busy raking leaves into enormous piles! It’s the perfect weather to make a leaf pile and jump in! Have you ever done that before? I remember in 3rd grade, my dad raked all the leaves from the yard into one enormous pile and to get to the top one had to climb a ladder… which I did. I climbed that ladder and jumped! Leaves went everywhere as I gently came crashing down to earth, crushing leaves as I did so, but it was so much fun! My dad raked them back up, and I jumped again. We did this all afternoon! November is a leaf pile kind of month; and I hope you get to jump in some leaf piles!

For today’s topic, I want to share with you what I shared this Sunday at Seed Chapel United Methodist Church. This Sunday, four young adults/youth, were confirmed into the church, becoming members of the church. Then they were baptized in front of family and friends. It was truly a special day! As they were experiencing the day, I shared a message with them from the prophet Jeremiah, who thought he was too young to do anything for God. And I thought, I would share this message with you, hoping that you remember that you are never too young to do what Jesus needs you to do. Jesus looks upon you with favor and love and has a plan for you whether you are 0 years old or more than 100 years old. You are never too young! Enjoy this message…

First of all, congratulations! Today, you stood before this congregation and confirmed your faith. You said “yes” to God, “yes” to this church, and “yes” to the journey of following Jesus. It is an incredible milestone. But I want to let you in on a secret: confirmation isn’t a graduation. It’s a commissioning. It’s the starting line, not the finish line.

But if we’re being completely honest, standing on this side of confirmation can feel a little intimidating. Right now, you might be sitting there thinking, “Okay, but what am I actually supposed to do now? I’m just a teenager. I don’t have my life figured out yet. How am I supposed to make a difference in a church or a world full of adults?”

If you are feeling that way, you are in excellent company.

Thousands of years ago, a young man named Jeremiah felt the exact same way. When God called him to be a prophet—a person who is believed to speak for God to deliver divinely inspired revelations—Jeremiah panicked. He was scared. He felt a little intimidated. He looked at his hands, looked at his age, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

But God stopped him immediately. In Jeremiah 1:7, the Lord replies: “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.”

God didn’t wait for Jeremiah to get a college degree. He didn’t wait for him to buy a house, get a steady job, or turn thirty. God chose him, equipped him, and sent him exactly as he was—a young person. God wanted Jeremiah exactly as he was, right then. And He wants you exactly as you are, right now.

Confirmation isn’t a graduation ceremony where you finish learning; it is a commissioning ceremony where you begin serving, you continue learning, and you realize that everyone here is willing to help you grow in your faith. You don’t have to wait until you are older to be a leader, to show kindness, to stand up for justice, or to share God’s love. The church doesn’t just need you twenty years from now; the church needs your energy, your questions, and your faith today.

You are not just the future of the church; you are the church right now. God has given you unique voices, passions, talents, and gifts to make a difference in your schools, your families, and this community today. God has made you a blessing to this church just as you are.

In front of my home congregation in the early spring of my eighth grade year, I was confirmed. In front of many people who helped change my diaper, I was finally accepted into the church. And my pastor at the time told us confirmands that “the church can’t survive without you.” From behind this pulpit, I want you to know that the church can’t survive without you. We need to hear your dreams, your ideas, your suggestions, and most importantly, we want to know how we can be there for you. You are not too young to make a difference. God has a plan for you today and for tomorrow, and we, your church family, are blessed to witness that plan come true.

Now, stepping into that plan can feel scary. The future is a massive question mark. But that is where God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 comes in—a verse many of you know well: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Notice what that verse doesn’t say. It doesn’t say you need to know the whole plan. It says God knows the plan. Your job isn’t to map out the next fifty years of your life today. Your job is simply to take the next step of faith, trusting that the God who called you today already has a beautiful, hopeful future waiting for you tomorrow.

Your confirmation is a declaration that your life is part of a bigger story. God has already mapped out a future for you filled with hope, purpose, and impact. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. You just have to be willing to take the next step.

So, as you walk out of these doors today as fully confirmed members of this church, drop the excuse that you are “just a kid” or “I’m too young” to make a difference. Remember this: You are not just the future of the church—you are the church right now. Do not let anyone look down on your youth, and don’t look down on it yourself. You are not too young to make a difference and to help your church survive. Go where God sends you. Speak the truth in love. Trust His plans.

We are so proud of you, and we cannot wait to see how God uses you. Amen.

Have fun jumping in those leaf piles!

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!