As a Confirmation Sponsor, you should talk to your Candidate about the importance of community service and, if possible, do some service projects together. Community service is a fundamental aspect of our Christian faith, because it allows us to put our faith into action. When we serve others, we are able to reflect the love of Christ and make a positive impact in our communities.

In Matthew 22:39, Jesus teaches that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Your Candidate should understand that doing service provides a tangible way for them to love and serve their neighbors by meeting their needs and addressing issues in the community.

Community service also allows Candidates to share the love of Christ with others. Serving others gives them the opportunity to share their faith and show the love of Christ in a very real and practical way. Through their actions, they can demonstrate the love and compassion of God to those around them.

As a Sponsor, you should also consider the fact that serving others can help Candidates grow in their own faith. By serving others, they are often required to step out of their comfort zones and rely on God for strength and guidance. If you reflect on the experience with them, it’s an opportunity for them to deepen their relationship with God and develop an even greater understanding of their faith.

Emphasize to your Candidate that community service is important to Christians because it allows us to make a positive impact in our communities. When we take action to address issues such as poverty, hunger, and homelessness, we bring hope and change to the lives of those around us. This is a powerful and concrete way to bring the light of Christ to the world – and Candidates can do it as they prepare for their Confirmation!

What most sponsors don’t realize is that they have been given an incredible opportunity to play a critical and necessary role in the life of a young person. We live in a busy society and things are NOT like they used to be. Although teens and young adults may seem hyper-connected thanks to social media and the veritable super computers they carry in their pockets, the reality is much different.

Young People Feel Alone

In spite of all the amazing technology that keeps us “connected” 24×7, recent studies by Springtide Research Institute show that 1 in 3 of our young people feel completely alone much of the time. Think about that: Over a third of our youth and young adults, ages 13 to 25, feel utterly alone in this world – a world that also seems like we’re always “on.” And if that wasn’t bad enough, almost 40% of these young people say they have no one to talk to and they feel completely left out.

When I’ve spoken to sponsors about this, their initial reaction is almost always something like this: “Those studies are probably done with ALL young people – but I bet those who are active in their Church and are in programs like youth group or Confirmation Prep don’t feel that way!”

It’s a nice thought… but the researchers considered that too. These same studies showed that participating in religious groups had “virtually no protective effect” when it came to the experience of loneliness. Based upon both survey results and face-to-face interviews, the researchers concluded that “participation” is definitely not the same as feeling like you “belong.”

My youth was spent in the 70s and 80s – a time when you either saw someone in person or you called them on the phone. (Full disclosure: I was a HORRIBLE pen pal!) For someone my age – or even 15 or 20 years younger – it’s hard to believe that today’s technology isn’t bridging the gap and allowing young people to stay far more connected than we ever could. And yet young people today feel socially isolated. In fact, almost 10% reported they had NO meaningful social interaction in a typical day!

Lest you think that’s no big deal, you must also consider that over half of 13- to 25-year-olds said they experience multiple stress factors; and 35% of them indicated that they have absolutely no one to turn to when they’re stressed.

Wow. Lot’s of bad news, right? But there is actually some very good news – and that’s where you come in as a Confirmation sponsor!

One Caring Adult Makes a Difference

These same studies by Springtide found that young people who have a meaningful relationship with a trusted adult in a religious organization feel less isolated, less stressed, more confident about their future, and more connected overall. Simply having one trusted adult to rely upon reduced the experience of social isolation that was so common among the young people who participated in the study.

Springtide identified what they call the “Belongingness Process,” which can be thought of as a progression through levels of relationship.

The first level is the feeling that “I am noticed.” It sounds so simple – but many young people feel completely overlooked and ignored. As a caring adult, you need to start by noticing – by paying attention to – the young people you encounter.

The second level is the feeling that “I am named.” Again, it sounds simple, but most adults don’t even bother to learn the names of the young people around them – even those they encounter on a regular basis. It’s not enough to just notice young people, you also have to remember their names.

The third level is the feeling that “I am known.” Noticing young people and remembering their names is relatively easy. Getting to know them as human beings with thoughts, feelings, and lived experiences – and genuinely understanding and KNOWING them – takes time, energy, and focus. But the payoff is tremendous because it benefits both the young people and the church community. As I said, having a relationship with just one caring adult within the parish community helps the young person feel less isolated, less stressed, more confident about their future, and more connected overall. And that feeling of connection makes it much more likely they’ll remain in the Church as they get into college and then out into the workforce, which is when many, many young adults drift away from the faith.

How to Be a Caring Adult

YOU can make a huge difference as a sponsor! YOU can help a younger person deal with the struggles of life now, and then make it much more likely they’ll stay in the Church during the years to come. I think that’s worth a little extra time, energy, and focus on your part, don’t you?

If you’re willing to make the commitment to have such a profound impact in the life of your Confirmation candidate, then you should take either the Confirmation Sponsor Crash Course LITE or the Confirmation Sponsor Crash Course FULL version. But in the meantime, start with these three basic steps:

Action 1: Give your candidate the experience of being noticed and named. Contact your candidate regularly, call him or her by name (frequently), and show a genuine interest in what’s going on in his or her life… not just in regards to Confirmation!

Action 2: Help your candidate experience a feeling of “belonging” by practicing “nonjudgment.” Ask open-ended questions and then listen to understand. Try not to dole out all kinds of advice because it’s often perceived as judgment, and the Springtide studies indicated that accepting young people without judgment was absolutely essential for feelings of deep belongingness to happen.

Action 3: Be intentional with building a relationship. Don’t be hit-or-miss, showing interest in spurts (when it’s convenient for you) and never being consistent. Come up with a plan – make yourself a schedule – and commit to it. If you are intentional and don’t rely on things “just happening,” you’ll find that it’s much, much easier to have a significant positive impact in your candidate’s Confirmation prep and life!

Remember that most young people are only one adult relationship away from a better life. Be that adult! Make a difference! With the help of the Holy Spirit, I know you can do it.

Well, since Catholic Confirmation sponsors are supposed to help their candidates fulfill their Baptismal promises, you’ll have to learn what those are – and then be willing and able to discuss them with enthusiasm! Confirmation Sponsors should pray regularly with their candidates, attend classes or retreats when invited, and show their candidates how to more fully take part in the life of the Christian community.

Especially when the candidates are young people – in middle school or high school – it’s important for sponsors to be very supportive and encourage their candidates to build the foundation for a strong faith life. Sponsors must therefore be comfortable talking openly and honestly about their own faith journey, with the goal of guiding and mentoring the young candidate.

And although Confirmation sponsors are not catechists, it’s important for them to be fully prepared to discuss the core beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church with their candidates. These discussions must be faithful to the teachings of the Church. To be blunt, sponsors shouldn’t guess or say, “Well, what I think is…”

HINT: If your candidate asks you a question about the Catholic faith and you aren’t absolutely sure of the answer, then just say so! And then use it as an opportunity for you and your candidate to do a little research.

One great way to brush up on the core beliefs and teaching of the Catholic Church is to take our Confirmation Sponsor Crash Course FULL Version!

The candidate is allowed to choose only one sponsor and, although the Church recommends it, the sponsor need not be one of the candidate’s godparents. The sponsor’s role, according to the Code of Canon Law (892), “is to take care that the confirmed person behaves as a true witness of Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations inherent in this sacrament.”

The Church requires that Confirmation sponsors be full members of the Christian community and that they be mature people. The Apostolic Constitution on the Sacrament of Confirmation actually describes three activities for sponsors.

1. Sponsors are asked to bring their candidates to receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
2. Sponsors must present their candidates to the Bishop or the priest for the anointing.
3. Sponsors must help their candidates fulfill their baptismal promises.

The first two are pretty clear but there’s a lot that goes into that third activity!

Not sure how do you do that? Would you like to learn what you need to KNOW so that you CAN do that?

Then sign up for our FREE Confirmation Sponsor Mini Course and we’ll get you headed in the right direction on this amazing journey of faith!

So what does that mean for you? It means you should be a Confirmed, practicing Catholic, who is in good standing with the Church (i.e. you’re receiving the Sacraments). Oh – and you have to act like a grown up!

The Apostolic Constitution on the Sacrament of Confirmation actually describes three activities for Confirmation Sponsors:

1. Sponsors must bring their Candidates to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. (Pretty straight-forward.)
2. Sponsors must present their Candidates to the Bishop or the priest for the anointing. (Again, pretty clear.)
3. Sponsors must help their candidates fulfill their baptismal promises. (This is where the work comes in!)

My guess is that you know all about the first two activities because your sponsor did them with you when you were being Confirmed. However, depending upon what your Sponsor did (or didn’t do), you might be a bit unsure of the third activity.

To learn more about helping your Candidate fulfill her or his baptismal promises, register to take our Confirmation Sponsor Mini Course. It’s self-paced, online, and absolutely FREE!

Don’t wait. Take two minutes and register right now. Your Candidate is definitely worth it!