ELDERS TEACHING RESOURCE
APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE 2024
The “Truth in Love Apologetics Conference” helps the Apostolic Christian Church love as Jesus loves by:
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Motivating worship by developing a Christ-centered life of the mind
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Increasing confidence in the Bible’s reliability and truth claims
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Shepherding those dealing with doubt
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Equipping to evangelize by removing intellectual barriers to faith and answering difficult questions
"I'm Glad You Asked: How Good Questions Turn Doubt to Faith"
Smithville
All of us have questions, from a simple curiosity to deeper struggles to understand the world around us. The secular world is providing answers; often without dialog, compassion, or a consideration of Biblical perspectives. At the 2024 Apologetics Conference we looked at how we are equipped to listen, support, and respond to each other with love, respect, and truth.
Session 1: Doubting Thomas
Doubting Thomas: Apologetics and Its Historical Use in the Church
Historian Fred Witzig sets the agenda for the day by illustrating through Bible stories that doubt happens to the best of us. It's what we do with doubt, and what we allow others to do with their doubt, that is vital to each of us growing in our faith.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Session 2: The Strength of a Simple Faith and the Power of a Probing Faith
The Strength of a Simple Faith and the Power of a Probing Faith
ETR Director Joe Gerber examines the strength of a simple faith and also the power of a probing faith, looking to the Scriptures to show us that both flavors of faith need one another. What if both actually complement one another rather than contradict?
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Session 3: Apologetics Around the Kitchen Table
Apologetics Around the Kitchen Table: Welcoming Questions and Doubts
Educator Darren Plattner looks at "Who?" - Those around your kitchen table. "Why?" - Inoculation is far superior to isolation. "How?" - We have a God-ordained responsibility to teach our children.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Session 4: Apologetics in the Church
Apologetics in the Church: A Safe Place to Ask Hard Questions
Elder Bro. Brent Walder explores the ways we can intentionally cultivate a church environment where we together realize the commonness of doubt, welcome the necessary questions, and nurture hope that God knows the answers.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Breakout: How Do We Know Christianity is the One True Religion?
How Do We Know Christianity is the One True Religion?
Apologetics Committee member Barry Dietz reviews some methods for evaluating worldview religions and shows how non-biblical worldviews fail these tests, while demonstrating compelling evidence that Christianity is the one true religion.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Breakout: Kids and Questions
Kids and Questions: A Woman's Important Role Apologetics Committee member Heidi Gerber discusses a Christian model for belief formation that examines multiple ways (including, but not limited to argument and evidence) that beliefs are typically formed. This breakout encourages women to lean into being equipped to influence those around us in the midst of today's culture.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
Breakout: Are Science and Christianity Compatible?
Are Science and Christianity Compatible? Apologetics Committee member Daniel Currier presents numerous science historians who demonstrate that the medieval Christian university system and its presuppositions gave birth to modern science during the Scientific Revolution. Ultimately, if the universe was created by God, science would affirm, rather than oppose, the order and design of creation, supporting the existence of the Creator.
Resource - Presentation slides in PDF format
