Many Christians dismiss apologetics. Although proponents often cite 1 Peter 3:15 as justification for studying apologetics, many common objections still keep people from engaging in it. The most common is fear. Fear of conflict, of not having the correct answer, or fear of offending others. Christian educators are no exception to these mixed feelings on apologetics.
Janel Greig, co-host of Summit’s Upside-Down Parenting Podcast, wrote “Everyday Apologetics for Parents” to explain why it is essential to engage children’s questions. Let’s build on her article specifically for Christian educators who may be apprehensive about the topic. After all, apologetics shouldn’t elicit fear. Instead, educators can find hope and excitement in the topic, since two primary aims of apologetics connect closely with what Christian educators are already committed to doing.
Goal #1: Apologetics helps students understand what Christians believe and what claims opposing worldviews make.
Recent research shows that even professing Christians struggle to articulate, let alone adhere to, the core tenets of the Christian faith. According to George Barna, only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview. That means today’s students are growing up in a culture where even many professing Christians do not consistently live from within a biblical worldview. It’s no surprise that “only 1% of early teens, ages 13–14, hold a consistent biblical worldview.”
There’s no doubt that teaching students what to believe is essential to worldview formation. Apologetics addresses that.
Summit’s Bible Curriculum is one tool designed to help educators build that foundation, giving students a clear understanding of the biblical worldview while also introducing them to the competing worldviews they will encounter. Before students can evaluate competing truth claims or defend what they believe, they need to know what Christianity actually teaches—and how its answers differ from the alternatives.
Goal #2: Apologetics helps prepare students to respond to objections to their faith and defend what they believe.
Students are constantly encountering claims about identity, morality, truth, human nature, purpose, and God. Apologetics moves students beyond simply knowing the “Christian answer.” It helps them understand why we believe Christianity is true and recognize where other worldviews offer very different—and very false—answers to life’s biggest questions. The process matters if we want students to truly own their worldview rather than simply repeat what they’ve been taught.
Apologetics is not about arguing, conflict, or even training students to “win” debates. Apologetics work is about inoculating students against the many competing ideas and worldviews on display in their world and helping them recognize competing truth claims and respond with clarity and grace.
The idea of preparing students for challenges to their beliefs isn’t new. In the early 1960s, psychologist William McGuire studied what he called inoculation theory. Using widely accepted beliefs such as the value of brushing your teeth, McGuire found that beliefs people rarely had to defend could be surprisingly vulnerable to persuasive arguments.
But when people were first exposed to weaker opposing arguments and equipped with responses, they were better prepared to resist stronger challenges later. Much like a vaccine prepares the body to encounter a disease, McGuire proposed that encountering and responding to challenges can strengthen our ability to defend what we believe.
For Christian educators, this has an important implication: protecting students from opposing ideas may not prepare them as well as teaching them to engage those ideas thoughtfully.
Preparing Ourselves and Students for Apologetics Work
Greig’s article doesn’t leave you with a textbook explanation of apologetics. The bulk of the article is a list of resources to equip children and parents with the knowledge to achieve both those aims of apologetics. You’ll find vetted, strong recommendations for books and videos, saving you the time of researching on your own.
And here’s one more book recommendation to add to the list. Former cold case detective (and frequent Summit speaker) J. Warner Wallace’s book, Cold Case Christianity, offers an engaging, non-confrontational approach to the evidence for our faith. The detective framework invites students to examine evidence, weigh competing explanations, and reach reasoned conclusions. This models the critical thinking we want students to develop, rather than simply handing them conclusions to memorize.
The book, associated handouts, and downloads help students build a case for the evidence of Christ through analysis and processing that will serve them in a lifelong journey of worldview formation. The engaging stories, support resources, and overall format make it a ready-to-go, easily adaptable resource for educators.
Apologetics is essential in our classrooms. Our students are already encountering competing claims about identity, morality, purpose, truth, and what it means to be human. Giving them opportunities to examine those claims alongside Christianity helps them see that every worldview attempts to make sense of reality. The goal isn’t to produce students who have memorized the right response to every objection, but students who know how to think carefully, ask thoughtful questions, evaluate ideas, and ultimately give a reason for the hope they profess.