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Why We Must Teach Apologetics Unapologetically

When we live on mission and people begin to trust us, they will have sincere but sometimes difficult questions.

If we are living missionally, befriending our neighbors and building trust out in the community, people will become curious about our faith, and questions will naturally arise.

We need to be trained in how to respond to difficult questions. In this cultural setting, it may take longer to build trust and a curiosity about faith than it did in the past, but the trust will come, and with it, legitimate questions.

Missional living certainly leads to apologetics.

This is a time of great openness to Jesus and faith.

Despite the lack of knowledge of the biblical narrative and despite the way Christians and the Bible are being portrayed, there is so much openness for discussion about these topics.

When I hear someone say younger generations aren’t interested in apologetics, I wonder who they are talking about, because that has not been my experience at all. All around the country, younger generations are experiencing a revival of interest in apologetics and learning theology.

We must be prepared.

Now, it is easy to say, “We must teach apologetics to new generations,” but what does that look like in the church? Here are four suggestions.

Teach a series on tough questions every year.

Not just a class, but in the main worship gatherings of the church. When we teach apologetics classes, it seems the apologetics-heads come out.

This is why it is important to teach it in all-church settings, so everyone gets taught, and it whets the appetite and mind to learn more.

But don’t just select the questions yourself; ask college-age, youth and 20-somethings what questions they have. Create a survey to distribute or post online to determine the top five questions.

When we do series on apologetics at Vintage Faith Church, we see attendance increase, with non-Christians coming on their own as well as being invited by others.