Is apologetics a part of your teaching? Why is it important to teach our students to defend their faith?
1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
It’s a biblical command to be prepared to have an answer for the reason for the hope that we have. So, when we’re training our students how to have an answer, we’re not training debaters or arguers; we’re training ambassadors of the Gospel. An ambassador is defined as an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.
The Bible calls us foreigners in this land because earth is not our home. For those of us who follow Jesus, Heaven is our home. Heaven is where we always experience Jesus along with love, peace, joy, and acceptance, and that’s a good place to call home.
Motivating our students to revere Christ as Lord is an ongoing goal. Empowering them to have an answer to give when peers ask them why they live differently or spend so much time at church or carry their Bible everywhere gives them more confidence to be bold Christ followers.
Check out this article from Cold Case Christianity about preparing to defend our faith. I love how it says it’s not about defending our honor, it’s about honoring Jesus, our Lord.
Prepare and send out ambassadors to a broken world that so desperately needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Lives will be changed, your Youth Ministry will be changed, and the Kingdom will be advanced in ways we might not even know until we get Home.
Arianna Eckart
Director of NTS Camp