A catechism is an educative and regulative formulation of church doctrine. It provides both a faith and learning tool for initiation into the full life of the church and a formal expression of the essential teachings that the church expects its members to understand and believe.

The goal of catechesis is to train initiates to understand, recall, profess and enjoy the church’s essential teachings. This includes the essence of the central theological confessions of the Church universal as well as the essential doctrinal commitments of the denomination.