Lee Strobel Hopes Church Leaders Use ‘The Story of Everything’ To Reach the ‘Spiritually Curious’

Lee Strobel, who says he is “an evangelist at heart,” is passionate about reaching non-Christians with the gospel and helping Christian young people avoid deconstructing their faith. The upcoming film “The Story of Everything” provides an opportunity to do both, and Strobel hopes church leaders will use the movie as an evangelistic and apologetic tool. 

“You know, we see a lot of young people ‘deconstructing’ their faith,” said Strobel in an interview with ChurchLeaders. “Why? Well, one of the reasons you hear often is they believe science disproves Christianity, or they’re taught in high school or college that neo-Darwinism explains the origin and diversity of life. So God’s out of a job.” 

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“That’s one of the key things that led me into atheism many years ago,” Strobel noted. “And so for a believing young person, I think it’s important to shore up their faith with this kind of evidence that says, ‘You’re not crazy. The evidence of science supports what we learn in the Bible.’” 

“But I’m an evangelist at heart. My goal personally is to drag as many people to heaven with me as I can,” he said. “And this film provides that opportunity. So if I were a pastor, I’d be encouraging people to go to the film, to invite a friend, then to go out to coffee together and to talk about it.”

Lee Strobel on How Churches Can Use ‘The Story of Everything’ To Reach Skeptics

Lee Strobel is a former award-winning investigative legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. He was once an atheist, but he became a believer in 1981 after a nearly two-year investigation into the evidence for Jesus.

He is now a leading Christian apologist and best-selling author of numerous works exploring the intellectual case for faith. Probably the best well-known of these is his book “The Case for Christ,” and several years ago, Strobel’s journey was dramatized in a feature film of the same name.

Strobel joined ChurchLeaders to discuss “The Story of Everything,” a documentary that comes out in theaters April 30. The film is adapted from “Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe” by philosopher of science Dr. Stephen C. Meyer. A synopsis of the film states:

The Story of Everything is a cinematic exploration of the cosmos that reveals the hidden hand behind our universe. From the precise laws that govern the stars to the intricate patterns found in every living cell, the film traces evidence of intentional design throughout nature. Whether examining distant star-forming clouds or the spiral structure of DNA, we discover a consistent signature woven into the fabric of existence.

The documentary features interviews with a number of experts including Meyer himself, mathematician Dr. John Lennox, and astrophysicist Dr. Sarah Salviander. The film mostly makes a positive case for intelligent design, although it does address some counterarguments and interacts with various skeptics, particularly “The God Delusion” author Richard Dawkins.

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