By Brian Auten

I want to write this blog post to challenge you. Don’t continue reading if you prefer not to be challenged.

What You’ve Been Doing
If you’re reading this post, I’ve got a suspicion about what you’ve been up to. So I’m writing this blog post for a specific audience in mind. Here’s the audience:

First, you’ve been studying apologetics in some way. You’re interested in defending the faith probably more than others because you’ve found your way here, willing to be challenged on a blog post about getting apologetics in your church.

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Second, if you’re like many others who have ‘found apologetics’ or gotten into this area of study, you’re passionate about it. This passion has made you ask yourself a question like, “why aren’t others interested in apologetics?” or, “how can I get apologetics into my church?” So you’re looking for strategies or tips on how to equip others in this area—or at least get others interested.

Third, you’re aware of this blog series: How to Get Apologetics in Your Church. In case you aren’t aware, this is series 2 of 2. Series one index can be found here, and series two index can be found here. If you’ve been reading these posts, you’ve been getting some ideas.

But have you taken any action? If the answer is not a solid yes, then keep reading.

What You Could Be Doing
I’m going to give away the goal of this post right now, before I actually get to my closing “challenge.” My goal is to put a spark under you and ask you to think about whether or not you’re willing to take action. If you haven’t taken action in some way, then I’d like to suggest that there are some very simple things that you could be doing:

First, you could be making a plan based on what you know. Don’t let the unknowns prevent you from moving forward with the things that you do know. If you need ideas, you’ve got series one and two at your disposal—perhaps the best resource for starting a church apologetics group on the web at this time. So why not just make a plan?

Second, you could be presenting this plan to your church leadership. When I started Reasonable Faith Belfast I didn’t have all the knowledge or answers. I just had a real desire and prompting that I should “take the challenge” and do something. To not do something felt quite wrong. As a matter of fact, looking back on things now, I’m so glad I just decided to start. Taking the step to communicate my plan/idea to my church leadership was one of the crucial first steps to get things off the ground. So why not present your plan?

Third, you could actually be taking the first step. You could be the person who reads through all these “how to get apologetics in your church” posts and did nothing. Or, you could be one of the people who reads them and actually takes the information and runs with it. Why not just take the first step?

What I’m Challenging You To Do
Here’s my challenge: Start a church apologetics group. Yes—you. And here are a few short bits of advice.

First, just do it. If you are the sort of person who knows more apologetics “stuff” than others and you really have a passion for this and you study it all the time… then do something with it. Get out there—out of the books—and start some sort of something: a book study, an apologetics movie night, a once-a-month apologetics talk, a youth seminar, a dialogue, a coffee shop talk, a small group topic, a DVD series, a read-along, an event… or just take your group to an apologetics conference. Just do something.

Second, adapt along the way. Things won’t be perfect. The journey will require course corrections. Don’t worry about that now. Just adapt along the way. Resources you need will appear as you look for them, God will give you insight and wisdom as you seek Him, and you’ll get feedback from others. Take action and adjust when things need adjusting.

Third, get some coaching and advice from others. If you have specific questions you can email Apologetics315. Additionally, I can point you to groups and people who can provide support if you need it. Support from those who have been down the road already can be invaluable when you are starting out.

Finally, let us all know if you’re going to accept this challenge. Leave a comment below—you’ve got support from others as you step out to get apologetics in your church.