Chosen Together: Cross+Gen Curriculum

Introduction

Have you been trying to shoehorn your confirmation program into a “one-size-fits-all” curriculum?
Do you have specific needs to address, or a unique format that you want to use in your confirmation ministry, but are not sure how available curricula can address them?
Do you want to move your confirmation ministry from the “right” answers to a ministry focused on building relationships within confirmands’ families and connecting them with the whole congregation?

Welcome to a unique new confirmation curriculum: Chosen Together: A Cross+Gen Confirmation Experience! Created by Natalie Gessert Hall, Chosen Together is an innovative approach to confirmation. Chosen Together is more than a standard confirmation curriculum, it is a personalized approach to transform your confirmation program into an inclusive, flexible, and relationship-building experience that will engage confirmands, families, and your entire congregation in the conversation.

With Chosen Together, everyone is a teacher, everyone is a learner, everyone is valued, and everyone is chosen in Christ together.

Pricing is based on your estimated attendance range, and the purchase of a single license covers the entire congregation. You can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as your payment is processed. You can print whichever pages you would like, and even access the PDF files through your mobile devices!

NEW: Join our Online Community for a private, feature-rich digital meeting space and Chosen Together as an online course. Perfect if you cannot meet in person due to COVID-19 or any other reason!

The Cross+Gen Advantage

Cross+gen is shorthand for “cross-generational,” meaning that all people of every age and stage of life benefit most when they are in conversation together. Every person has insight and energy to share! By encouraging regular faith conversations at home, at church, and beyond, Chosen Together helps confirmands connect Christian faith with life experiences, relationships, decision-making, and a sense of vocation and calling. Chosen Together helps confirmands recognize their place in God’s story. Therefore, they are equipped together to share experiences of God and the content of Christian faith.

Read more about this on our What is Cross+Gen Ministry? webpage.

A Unique Approach

Chosen Together students, families, and leaders participate in an unfolding conversation about Christian faith and life.

Apply the Bible: Confirmands engage a simple, accessible way to read the Bible and apply it to real life, in real time, in conversation with people that matter.
Gifts & Abilities: Confirmands discover gifts and abilities in themselves and others throughout the congregation, becoming part of a tradition of raising up new leaders for ministry and service.
Full Members: Confirmands find that confirmation is no longer “graduation” from church, but movement into full membership, including leadership. Confirmands thus walk into deepened Christian faith and relationships of substance.
Everyone Renewed: Parents and adult members also discover a renewed commitment to their own discipleship and answers to many questions left untouched by their own confirmation experiences. Everyone – families, church members, leaders, and more – is renewed!

A Flexible Approach

Chosen Together is based on the understanding that—together—parents, trusted adults, church leaders, and youth create the best kind of confirmation experience – one that can be accommodated to any congregation, student, and circumstance.

Chosen Together provides substantial flexibility for all congregations. It’s designed to assist congregations to identify the most effective combination of at-home, online, and in-person meetings, keeping your confirmands, their families, and the church connected.

A Personalized Approach

The written curriculum (student and leader guides) for Chosen Together is bundled with a consultation between your leadership team and the creator, Pastor Natalie, either a Full Consultation for two (2) hours or a Limited Consultation for one (1) hour. See the Chosen Together: Coaching description for more information. Through conversations, she will customize the curriculum and provide recommendations on how to successfully introduce Chosen Together to your congregation.

What’s in a Student Guide?

Each week Chosen Together introduces a new commandment, article of the Apostles’ Creed, section of the Lord’s Prayer, and more. Confirmands will encounter:

Read: A Scripture text that helps place the week’s topic into a biblical context, as confirmands activity engage and connect with their contemporary experiences.
Reflect: A brief reflection that helps confirmands understand the point and purpose of the week’s topic.
Respond: An activity that moves knowledge to action, related to the week’s topic, available as both a group activity and an online activity.
Relate at Home: A brief devotion using the FAITH5™ faith practice developed by Dr. Rich Melheim for the confirmand to practice at home with their family.
Relate at Church: A brief activity during or after worship that connects confirmands with other members of the church community.

Each section has an accompanying leader’s guide which includes helpful material for leading small group conversations. It’s that simple.

Scope & Sequence

Chosen Together covers a summary of Christian faith and life using the organization and explanations found in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

Chosen Together has four sections:

Ten Commandments
Apostles Creed
Lord’s Prayer
The Sacraments and Holy Conversations

Check out the Chosen Together Scope & Sequence for the complete list of lessons.

Ordering & Download Information

To order, go to the Chosen Together product page and select your best estimate of the attendance range of your confirmation ministry and whether you would like a full consultation or a limited consultation. You only ever need to have a quantity of one. After you add the product to your cart and complete the rest of your shopping, you can proceed to checkout. There, complete the form and select your payment type.

All lesson materials are available as digital downloads (PDF files) for printing or using electronically. The end user licensing agreement (EULA) allows congregations to download, print, and use the curriculum lessons as often as you would like if the use remains in the purchasing congregation.

After your payment is processed, you can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each unit is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). Each unit comes in a single compressed (ZIP) file, which your operating system should be able to open and extract the folders and PDF files, at which point you can read, print, and/or share with your teachers as you please! The materials you download will be “generic,” while personalized materials will be emailed to you by Pastor Natalie after your coaching conversation.

For more detailed information on ordering, downloading, and other topics, please go to our Customer Service FAQ page.

Other Related Products

Are you looking for a confirmation curriculum to teach the story of God in the Bible from creation through the early church? We have that too! Check out our Living the Word: Teaching Youth God’s Story product for more details!

Are you excited about cross+generational ministry? We publish three other cross+generational products, all in our Narrative Lectionary-based series, Living the Word: Teaching God’s Story.

Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education– For leading interactive, intergenerational learning experiences in a classroom setting.
Living the Word: Cross+Gen Worship– For creating interactive, intergenerational worship experiences.
Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home– Bulletin insert bringing faith formation home with a weekly devotional tool.

Jump to: