When I started going to church at age 16, church was practically a foreign landscape to me. Having been raised by non-Christian, non-churchgoing parents, I didn’t really know what to expect, and I was terrified of somehow embarrassing myself in that “Christian judgment zone.”

This post is adapted from Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry and was written by A. J. Mastic.

Maybe serving in youth ministry is a new journey for you. Perhaps you trained for this—or maybe you’re a new volunteer and you’re wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into! No matter how you got to this point, what’s important is that as you take your first steps in youth ministry, you do so with an awareness of not only your skills, but your roles. Am I a teacher? chaperone? dodgeball referee? friend? mentor? A good understanding of your roles will help define your work and the nature of your relationships with the youth.

Thinking back to your confirmation, were you given the choice to pick out your verse? If so, how did you do it? Was there a specific reason you selected it?

I remember at my own confirmation service, the pastor read each student’s verse out loud before they were confirmed. For many confirmands, the idea of selecting a meaningful confirmation verse can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few suggestions to help you, your student, or your child to select a meaningful confirmation verse.