Teens Trained to Defend Their Faith

This past year I got to do something new (and it was great.)

I got to teach a Christian Apologetics class to Home Schooled Highschoolers.

Apologetics comes from a Greek word meaning “to make a defense.” It’s used in the New Testament verse, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

So Apologetics doesn’t mean we’re out apologizing. It means we’re making a defense with gentleness and respect.

These Teens were terrific and smart and fun and mature, and they did a great job learning how to defend our faith and why Christianity is the only reasonable explanation for our existence. What a privilege!

Here’s a description of the class that I posted on the Homeschool Coop Website:

Is the Christian faith “blind” and foolish, or is it reasonable, logical, and able to be defended?

This class will equip the student to understand the claims of the Christian Gospel Message and be able to share it with an unbeliever. This class will give practical instruction on how to answer the most commonly heard objections, including “The Problem of Evil,” “Evolution,” “Sexuality,” and more.

Please be aware that we will be discussing how to Biblically answer adult-themed topics, such as “same-sex attraction” and “transgenderism.” These topics are OFTEN brought up by unbelievers we meet. Parents, please make sure your student is ready emotionally for those topics.

I gotta gotta GOTTA share an AMAZING way God used one of the Teens. (This gives me chills.)

One of the students pulled me aside to tell me what happened to her that week. She said she was challenged to ask God to open an opportunity for her to share her faith.

That night she took the courage to write about God on a group forum.

One of the members of the forum contacted her to tell her she said exactly what he needed to hear at exactly the right time. He had told God that he was going to commit suicide that night unless God showed Himself to be real, and what she wrote was exactly the proof he needed.

She lead him to salvation in Jesus that night, and he told his parents about his suicidality and he’s getting help.

Yeah, teaching these Teens is pretty awesome. Hallelujah!

Here are some photos to encourage you…

These Teens are terrific. They've been paying attention, and participating by asking good questions and answering the questions I throw at them!

Here the kids were watching a superb short video on the "chances" of just a few Messianic Prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus. It powerfully demonstrated that the Bible truly is The Word of God. Feel free to watch that at: https://youtu.be/2WDOOt4qZL0

When the students are late with their homework, my punishment is they have to bring in a treat for my dogs. As you can see, there were quite a few late assignments this day.

And my Golden Retriever was REALLY HAPPY about it!!!

Can you have FUN learning how to defend the truth of Biblical Christianity? You betcha you can! (Especially when watching a Tim Hawkins video.) Here's Tim's funny video: https://youtu.be/26nJjNDsbmk

A Group Photo for the Homeschool Coop Yearbook.

On April Vacation week, when we missed a class, 5 of the students volunteered to come down to Boston to put their Apologetics Skills into practice. They did GREAT!

It's sooooo good to have a van that fits people and Evangelism equipment, and can drive reliably where we need to go. Thank You Jesus!!!

This man engaged Chip in a heated confrontation. I'm glad the students got to witness that, and see how Chip diffused the situation by speaking kindly, all without wavering from the Gospel message.

All 5 Teens did an AMAZING job - seriously. They boldly and lovingly handed out hundreds of Gospel Booklets, and engaged with a bunch of people in one-on-one conversations. They also got to experience Open-Air Ministry and see for themselves people responding. They learned that people are interested in talking about salvation and eternity, and that there's nothing more fulfilling than being used by Jesus Himself. Hallelujah!

This is Ji Yun, a sweet woman from China. Her English wasn't very good, so we chatted using the Google Translate app on my phone. She was happy to take a Gospel Booklet from me in Mandarin Chinese!

The students got to see Chip give this homeless man a food gift card and a Gospel of John.

And afterward, we celebrated with Boston's BEST Falafel sandwich!!!

On the day of our final class, the Teens surprised me by bringing me presents! A Dunkin coffee and chocolate. YUM!

Each Student got one of these Certificates.

These are the terrific and smart and caring Teens I had the pleasure to teach all term.

One of the most important classes was the one on our response to the LGBTQ+ Community. This class was recorded, and you’re welcome to watch it below…

https://youtu.be/H7Syuco1BQU

I want to acknowledge my friend and mentor, Aaron Wentz. He is the head of The Michigan School of Apologetics, and he generously let me use all his course material for most of my curriculum. If you’d like to grow in your ability to defend the faith, I HIGHLY recommend signing up at: http://onlineapologetics.com/

We love you and thank Jesus for you!

Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support, and notes of encouragement, without which we would not be able to reach the Lost for Jesus Christ!

Please contact us anytime and let us know how we can pray for you!

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be blessed by it!

For Christ and His gospel,

Mark, Shelby, Vivienne, Juliana, Caleb, and Gabriella