JEFFERSON CITY – Wil Hoffmann, pastor of Rising Son Baptist Church in Auxvasse, and Dave Van Bebber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Buffalo, have been elected officers of the Missouri Baptist Apologetics Network (MBAN).
Network members elected Hoffmann president and Van Bebber secretary-treasurer at their meeting Oct. 29 in Branson, held in conjunction with the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting. The new officers serve two-year terms.
Hoffmann and Van Bebber will lead the network into its sixth year of ministry. MBAN was launched in 2015 to help equip Missouri Baptists to defend the Christian faith. The network currently has 17 members – consisting of pastors and lay leaders – who are available to speak at churches and conferences on topics ranging from arguments for God’s existence to apologetics training for women and children.
Each network member is approved by the MBC, is an active member of a Missouri Baptist church, and is well-versed in one or more areas of Christian apologetics. Biographical and contact information is posted at mobaptist.org/apologetics/mban.
MBAN’s vision is to equip every Missouri Baptist to defend the Christian faith with gentleness and respect, according to 1 Peter 3:15-16.
The network’s mission is to equip others to defend the faith by speaking and providing resources that enable Missouri Baptists to become bolder and more effective in sharing Christ with others.
Demand by MBC churches for apologetics training is growing, with more than 50 presentations at 20 MBC-affiliated churches so far this year. More apologists are added as the network grows.
Current apologists, listed alphabetically, are as follows:
Dr. Chris Bass
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Versailles
Topics: Apologetics through family worship; men as spiritual leaders; world religions; evangelism
Tim Carter
Student & Administration Pastor
Cornerstone Baptist Church, Sedalia
Topics: Presuppositional apologetics; the Canon of Scripture; science and faith; worldview apologetics; contemporary issues Christians face
Bruce Clark
Director, Reasonable Faith (South St. Louis Chapter), DeSoto
Topics: Kalam Cosmological Argument for the existence of God; historicity of the resurrection of Jesus; reality of the human soul
Adam Cochrun
Layman/teacher, “T.A.G. You’re It! Ministries,” Springfield
Topics: Presuppositional apologetics; Freemasonry; the problem of evil
Dr. Jeanie Crain
Layperson/teacher, Fredrick Blvd. Baptist Church, St. Joseph
Topics: Reading the Bible as literature; biblical studies; philosophy; Christian apologetics
Ed Croteau
Lay pastor and apologist, Abundant Life Church, Lees Summit
Topics: Introduction to Christian apologetics; American cultural worldviews; creation vs. evolution; biblical reliability; the deity of Jesus Christ; the doctrines of salvation
Tristan Crotinger
Elder, youth pastor, worship leader
CrossBridge Baptist Church, Marshfield
Topics: Apologetics and evangelism for students in junior high, high school, and college
Dr. Timothy Faber
Director of missions, Lake of the Ozarks Baptist Association, Eldon
Topics: What it means to be created in the image of God; ethics; religious liberty; God-ordained government
Wil Hoffmann
Pastor, Rising Son Baptist Church, Auxvasse
Topics: LDS Church; Catholicism; Jehovah’s Witnesses; the Church of Scientology
Travis Horinek
Lay leader/teacher, First Baptist Church, Buffalo
Topics: Biblical inerrancy and authority; combatting false approaches to Scripture (Rationalism, Mysticism, etc.); covenant theology; hermeneutics
Dennis Jackson
Layman/teacher, Anchor Point Baptist Church, Greenwood
Topics: Resurrection of Christ; reliability of Scripture; creation
Julie Loos
Director of Prayer and Contributing Writer
Mama Bear Apologetics, Ballwin
Topics: Apologetics training for women and children; how apologetics can inform your prayers, especially for youth/college; youth exodus and faith retention
Rob Phillips
Director of Ministry Support and Apologetics
Missouri Baptist Convention
Topics: Introduction to Christian apologetics; worldviews; Islam; the Trinity; the doctrine of salvation; the afterlife; a biblical perspective on same-sex attraction; identifying false prophets
Jim Schurke
Layman / Apologetics Instructor
Southgate Baptist Church, Springfield
Topics: LDS Church; Jehovah’s Witnesses; inter-faith witness
Charles Smith
Director, Witnesses Now for Jesus Midwest, Farmington
Topics: Jehovah’s Witnesses; LDS Church; Islam
Dave Van Bebber
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Buffalo
Topics: Presuppositional apologetics; informal fallacies; the problem of evil; apologetic debate (and debate training); worldview analysis of current events; first-level doctrines; incorporating apologetics into preaching; how to organize an apologetics conference
Bill Victor
Scholar in Residence
Missouri Baptist Convention
Topics: The Gospels as history; historicity of the resurrection; formation of the Canon.
