ST. LOUIS – Questions are swirling around Christians in today’s culture, and 1 Peter 3:15 charges believers to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks for a reason for the hope in Christ.
Two events equipped both adults and youth to give those answers. A St. Louis Youth Conference was held on April 6 at First Baptist Church St. John in St. Charles, and an event called “Navigating Hot Topics with a Cool Head” was held for all ages at Fellowship of Wildwood (FOW), April 7.
Both events featured Greg Koukl, founder and president of Stand to Reason (www.str.org), and the author of a new book, Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges. He is a highly sought-after speaker, having spoken at more than 85 universities. As an author, Koukl has been quoted in the U.S. News & World Report and the L.A. Times.
“Our culture is currently undergoing a moral revolution that is moving at a breakneck pace,” said Ryan Bowman, FOW lead pastor. “It is crucial that the church be equipped to understand and navigate the current topics with biblical conviction as well as true compassion.”
Jeremy Smith, executive director of Rethink315, partnered with FOW to bring Koukl to the church. He agreed with Bowman on the compassion issue. “It is important to maintain a tone of mutual respect,” he said. “We need to really listen and realize the importance of the last section of the verse, ‘give an answer with gentleness and reverence.’
“Greg (Koukl) is very good communicating with non-Christians,” Smith continued, “using conversational tactics. Above all else, he is gentle and respectful but not soft on truth.”
Youth are facing many of the hard questions both for themselves and others. “Our young people find themselves at the center of many of these issues,” Bowman said, “and they must see their church willing to address difficult questions. Greg Koukl is not only a leading thinker in the field of apologetics, but he has also spent time on more than 85 college campuses, which has given him unique insight into the questions being raised by young people today.’
Smith pointed to the evidence of a youth crisis. “There are surveys and anecdotal evidence that young Christians are deconstructing and disaffiliating with churches,” he said. “They feel their questions are not welcome or not answered. A lot of young people have questions, but they don’t feel that church is a safe place to ask them.”
FOW created a safe place by setting up a question/answer time on April 7 at 5 pm for all ages. “Greg’s newest book, Street Smarts, is a valuable tool that encourages productive conversations that point to the hope found in the Gospel,” Bowman concluded, “and the messages Greg will be sharing on April 7 correspond to the material found in this book. We (were) excited to host Greg and look forward to seeing the impact of his ministry in our community.”