Apologetics in Youth Groups

As I write this from the youth ministry's media computer, I sit in (what I would somewhat arrogantly label as) my youth group's main youth room. Two lamps and a projector give a striking atmosphere of elegance. A table complete with mommy's homemade cookies, a 2lb bag of Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, chips, crackers and room for sodas sit by the entryway. A small table opposite the snack table contains approximately 20 folded over pieces of paper with pens attached, for those interested in taking notes. Demon Hunter's newest album is blasting over the awesome speakers, and both parts of William Lane Craig's recent debate with Richard Carrier are being downloaded on the slower-than-average Internet connection.

Before I stepped down from the volunteer position that I hold, I was going to make a push for apologetics in the youth group. It needs to be done. We are losing students at unreasonable rates (some surveys show that upwards to 70%) when they arrive at college, precisely because we do challenge them intellectually. We expect them to succeed and do well in college and in high school, but when it comes to learning about the faith they hold, we balk. And it is precisely the reason why most Christians have a hard time in secular universities; they are never intellectually challenged or educated in church, and as a result, the best that they can offer in response to detailed critiques of their faith is a Bible verse or, worse, religious pluralism.

I am an exception to that rule, because I consider myself to be intellectually-driven as a Christian. I go to a secular university, and yet whenever someone (be it a teacher or a student) challenges my faith, it does not threaten me. I know how to assess and respond to challenges to my faith, and it was the most invaluable lesson that I learned in my senior year of high school, when I supplemented my other classes with self-training in basic apologetics. And it has paid off - I am thriving at school because I know that I can confidently answer objections brought against my faith.

Church, we must start including apologetic training in the part of youth group functions. They need to know things like:

• The Christian worldivew.
• How to address the problem of evil.
• The various natural theology arguments for God's existence (the Cosmological argument family, the Teleological argument family, the Axiological argument, and the Ontological argument)
• The accurate historicity of the Bible.
• The historicity of the New Testament
• Dealing with popular objections to God.
• An education into other worldviews.
• Conversational tactics for effectively and compassionately presenting the truth for Christianity.
• Logic and basic philosophy.
• The fundamentals of Christian theology.

It is time to start moving beyond emotion driven worship services, 5 minute devotionals, and celebrity-studded events, and start equipping our kids for war. We must stop sending them out with VBS-level educations in Christianity and begin showing them, in the safety and security of the church, how to handle doubts, address challenges, and think and reason with logic, and the things mentioned above. These kids are smart. They can handle it. And even if they don't use it right away, they will be challenged someday. And it is up to us to prepare them for that. If we don't, those of opposing worldviews will gladly continue to do so for us - and the results are always unfortunate.



This debate that I am showcasing is a push for apologetics in youth groups. It is a test to fine-tune my personal approach of integrating apologetics into youth groups. While I am stepping down for the summer, it is possible that I will return afterwards and resume a role of authority. If this happens, my focus will be nearly exclusively apologetics driven. I will push for it with all my might. The benefits are well worth the price of refusing to equip our kids intellectually for the intellectual war that is already going on.