A Christian Rite of Passage Ceremony

By Contributing Writer, Chelsey Hall

Our son turned 12 a few weeks ago. Twelve is a big deal in our home. Twelve was a big deal in Jesus’ home too. When Jesus was twelve, He was found sitting at the feet of the teachers in the temple; listening and asking questions. When He was 12, He said to His mother and earthly father, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 29:49).

So with the turning of 12, our son begins his journey into manhood. This year (before his 13th birthday), we will be having a Rite of Passage ceremony for him. Another name for this type of ceremony is “Bar Barakah” which means “son of blessing.”

Mircea Eliade, in the Encyclopedia of Religion, defines rites of passage as “a category of rituals that mark the passage of a person through the life cycle, from one stage to another over time, from one role or social position to another, integrating the human and cultural experiences with biological destiny: birth, reproduction, and death. These ceremonies make the basic distinctions, observed in all groups, between young and old, male and female, living and dead.”

There are four main goals of this Christian Rite of Passage for a young man:

1. To provide instruction on what it means to be a godly man.
2. To create a point in time for our son to accept responsibility for his own spiritual growth. Our son will enter into spiritual adulthood and we, as parents, move from being teachers to coaches.
3. To establish mentoring relationships with adult men. These men include his father, men from our church body, and other godly, spiritual men that are in our son’s life. They will help teach, encourage and guide our son in his walk with Christ. They are the his accountability team.
4. To extend a formal parental blessing upon our son.

In preparation for the Rite of Passage ceremony, our son has some books to read, some CD’s to listen to, and some Bible study preparation. Here is what we have chosen for him to go through:

1. Created for Work by Bob Schultz
2. Beyond Boyhood by Bob Schultz
3. A Young Man After God’s Own Heart
4. Daniel: A Model for Young Men by Rev. William Anderson Scott
5. How to be a Man by Harvey Newcomb
6. Rebuilding a Culture of Virtuous Boyhood (CD) by Douglas Phillips
7. What to Expect from a Twelve Year Old (CD) by S.M. Davis
8. Why Satan Wants Your Fristborn and What to do About it (CD) by S.M. Davis
9. Character Study from Plants Grown Up on Scriptural Manhood
10. Character Study from Plants Grown Up on Leadership; Setting a Godly Example, and Making Godly Decisions

Our son is reading through these with his father, and every night they meet together for devotions and prayer.

We are also doing a purity study with him to teach him the importance of keeping his body and heart pure for his future wife. Part of the ceremony will be a symbolic presentation to go along with this study.

The Sunday after my son’s birthday, my husband and all the men of our church laid hands on him and prayed over him words of encouragement and blessings. It was such a wonderful, moving and heartfelt time of prayer and blessing.

At that moment, his journey began.

All of of the books and CD’s listed above can be found at Vision Forum and Christianbook.com.  Plants Grown Up can be found at Doorposts.