16. Ask The Hard Questions: How to Utilize Christian Apologetics in Student Ministry (Andrew Gutberlet, SFMLT 2022)

One Hope Research recently released a 54-page report on religious attitudes and behaviors of teenagers in the United State. In this study, they found that 51% of teens (ages 13-19) identify as Christian. However, the research also revealed that only 8% of those who identified as “Christian” would classify as a “committed Christian” who upholds a biblical worldview. From this research, we can conclude that the majority of teens are graduating from student ministries without a firmly grounded and fully formed biblical worldview. In this session, we will seek to establish that apologetics (defending one’s faith) is a vital aspect of student ministries, overview the types of apologetic topics that are most relevant to Gen Z, and demonstrate how to effectively teach apologetics in a student ministry setting.