Why Apologetics?

VBS 2014 will not only teach kids about Jesus and the work that He did on the cross for them, but will also teach them to defend their faith in Him. We are so excited about kids diving deeper into apologetics, or a defense of their faith in Jesus. Through learning that Jesus is the absolute truth, kids will dive deeper into their relationship with Him and be challenged to tell others.
Michael Kelley works at Lifeway with Discipleship in Context providing customized biblical content for churches. He’s authored a few books (Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God; Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow; and Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life). Above all, he’s a husband and a father to three kids. Michael talks about the importance of apologetics for kids, even his kids, in the following:
“I don’t know if you’ve felt it, but the winds of culture are more than changing; they’ve changed. At one point, we talked to our kids about Christianity in terms of “defending the faith.” When we did so, we meant for them to learn the distinct parts of Christianity and what separated them from the other religious of the world:
How is Christianity different than Islam? What about Hinduism and Buddhism? What makes Christianity a unique expression of faith?
All valid questions, and all good ones to know the answers to, but times have changed. See, each one of those questions is built upon a fundamental issue that was assumed. The issue, I believe, goes something like this: One of these religions is right; the others are wrong. As Christians, we must be prepared with scientific and logical arguments as to why Christianity is the right one.
But that issue can no longer be assumed. It can’t because we live in a day and time now when the primary objection to Christianity is not that it’s wrong and that another religion is right; it’s that no religion is wrong and they are all right.
Here’s how that works out practically. You might tell someone you believe in Jesus, and then ask them what they believe. They might believe in something completely different, but that’s where the conversation is likely to end because the cultural climate is such that it’s fine to believe in Jesus. And it’s fine to believe in something else. They are all fine; the question isn’t what’s “right and true”; the question is what works for you as an individual.
That’s why we have to help our kids not just think about the proof of Christianity; we have to help them think about the nature of truth. We have to help them understand that some things are absolutely true, no matter where you are and what you are doing. It’s a challenge indeed; one that we must embrace if we want our kids to not just know the nature of Christianity, but also be prepared to be uniquely Christian in a day and time when no one is uniquely anything.”