As the Christian faith comes under attack more and more every day, the very survival of our way of life hinges on our ability to teach and train future generations about the authority and veracity of the Word of God.

1. Investing in the future of our faith: The importance of teaching Christian apologetics
Imagine your children (or yourself as a child) starting a new school year. The first day of class
they go to science class and learn about the Earth. During the course of the lesson your children
are taught that grass is blue. Your child raises their hand and says, “I thought grass was green”.
The teacher politely says, “No, not any more. Scientists have found new evidence that proves
that grass is blue, not green.” Trying to make sense of it all, your child inquires, “But isn’t the
sky blue?” “Yes, the sky is blue, but so is grass now”. “But how can that be when they don’t
even look the same?” “We don’t know exactly, but since scientists go to school and study these
things every day we just have to trust what they tell us.
Your child comes home to you that day with a question. “Mom (or Dad), what color is grass?”
You confidently reply, “Well it’s green of course, you know that.” Relieved but still uneasy, the
child tells you, “But my teacher told me that scientists figured out that grass is actually blue.”
“Really? You say with a surprised look. Is that what they are teaching you in school? That’s
interesting. Run along and play outside with your friends”. So your child goes outside and plays
with their friends. They are having a great time running and playing. In the process, your child
gets tackled and knocked to the ground. They get up and brush themselves off and realize that
there is now a big grass stain on their jeans. “Oh no, he exclaims, now I’ll have a big green grass
stain on my pants.” The other kids chime in, “don’t worry about it, remember grass is blue, so it
will blend right in with your blue jeans!” Later that afternoon, your child comes back to you,
“Well Mom/Dad, did you figure out whether grass is green or blue?” Unsure of how to respond,
you say, “Well, the important thing is that grass is grass. Some people say it is green, and some
say it is blue, but the important thing is to just respect everyone’s belief and not make anyone
mad.”
That evening as you grab the newspaper you see the front page headline ** Scientists say grass
is really blue…parents shocked…kids confused…..church leaders revising Bible again.**
The word green appears approx. 38 times in the Bible, nearly every time referring to the color of
some sort of vegetation.
One simple verse from the Bible could have answered this child’s question.
Mark 6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
According to some polls, 90% of children between the ages of 12-18 start having doubts or
serious questions about their faith and the truth of the accounts of the Bible
Children grow up learning the Bible as nothing more than a collection of stories; like something
out of a fairy tale book, instead of learning it as a textbook; the History of the Universe and
mankind’s dealings with God.

2. According to a Harris Poll, 90% of American adults believe in God.
84% believe in the survival of the soul after death
82% believe in heaven
69% believe in hell
63% believe they will go to heaven,
but 75% of Christians believe they will go to heaven
18% don’t know where they will go after they die.
6% believe they will go to purgatory.
1% believe they will go to hell.
Where did all of these confused adults come from?
They came from 12-18 year olds who had questions that Christian parents and leaders couldn’t
answer, not because the answers weren’t there, but because of a lack of training and teaching
from generation to generation.
Do we send our soldiers out to battle with a gun that has no bullets? Do we send them out with
armor that has gaping holes in it?
Yet, we heave our children out into the battlefield unequipped and unprepared for the spiritual
attacks launched at them from every angle. We give them nothing to fight back with and yet we
are surprised when they succumb to force of the enemy! Before we blindly send our children
into a situation, we had better prepare them.
Public school classroom
Field trip
Zoo or Theme park attraction
Spending the night at a friend’s house
Going to college.
I’m not saying, don’t let them experience these things, but prepare them ahead of time for
misinformation and conflicts with Bible doctrine that they may encounter.
Prepare to help adolescents think through the big questions. “Because the Bible says so” is not
always going to be good enough. Sometimes we will need to help them through the logical
reasoning process that accompanies faith.
Can you explain to your child or anyone for that matter?
- Did Noah take Dinosaurs on the ark? And if so how did he fit them on?
- Why don’t we find human fossils and dinosaur fossils together?
- Who or what created God?
- Why didn’t God just kill Satan a long time ago?
- Who was Cain’s wife?
- Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?

3. We as parents and leaders need to
1) Know God’s Word. Understand Christian apologetics (why what we believe is true)
2) Talk openly about the claims of God’s Word
3) Show your children and others how the Bible makes sense
4) Practice what you say you believe – Walk the walk don’t just talk the talk
5) Provide resources and literature that support a Biblical worldview
One of the saddest things I can think of as a parent, would be to spend 18+ years trying to raise a
child to love God and to serve Him and to obey His Word, just to have the World get a hold of
them and ruin their life.
What they want and need is not a flashy sound and lights rock band worship service to keep them
excited about church. What they need out of the home and the church is solid preaching and
teaching that makes the Bible relevant to their lives. It has to be real to them. They want
answers to their questions. They want ammunition for their arsenal so that they can defend their
faith and live a victorious Christian life.