2024 Apologetics Conference

"I'm Glad You Asked: How Good Questions Turn Doubt to Faith"


The fifth annual Apologetics Conference was held in Smithville, Ohio on November 9, 2024.

You can watch recordings of the sessions below.

All of us have questions, from a simple curiosity to deeper struggles to understand the world around us. The secular world is providing answers; often without dialog, compassion, or a consideration of Biblical perspectives. At the 2024 Apologetics Conference we looked at how we are equipped to listen, support, and respond to each other with love, respect, and truth.

Main Sessions

Doubting Thomas: Apologetics and Its Historical Use in the Church

Fred Witzig (Washington, IL)

Historian Fred Witzig sets the agenda for the day by illustrating through Bible stories that doubt happens to the best of us. It's what we do with doubt, and what we allow others to do with their doubt, that is vital to each of us growing in our faith.

The Strength of a Simple Faith and the Power of a Probing Faith

Joe Gerber (Champaign, IL)

ETR Director Joe Gerber examines the strength of a simple faith and also the power of a probing faith, looking to the Scriptures to show us that both flavors of faith need one another. What if both actually complement one another rather than contradict?

Apologetics Around the Kitchen Table: Welcoming Questions and Doubts

Darren Plattner (Champaign, IL)

Educator Darren Plattner looks at "Who?" - Those around your kitchen table. "Why?" - Inoculation is far superior to isolation. "How?" - We have a God-ordained responsibility to teach our children.

Apologetics in the Church: A Safe Place to Ask Hard Questions

Brent Walder (Ellington, CT)

Elder Bro. Brent Walder explores the ways we can intentionally cultivate a church environment where we together realize the commonness of doubt, welcome the necessary questions, and nurture hope that God knows the answers.

Hymns as Apologetics and Closing Comments

Eric Strassheim (Indianapolis, IN)

Apologetics Committee member Eric Strassheim inspires us to see the goodness of God as we sing together through turmoil, celebration, loneliness, and in every place on earth.

Breakouts

How Do We Know Christianity is the One True Religion?

Barry Dietz (Bradford, IL)

Apologetics Committee member Barry Dietz reviews some methods for evaluating worldview religions and shows how non-biblical worldviews fail these tests, while demonstrating compelling evidence that Christianity is the one true religion.

Kids and Questions: a Woman's Important Role

Heidi Gerber (Champaign, IL)

Apologetics Committee member Heidi Gerber discusses a Christian model for belief formation that examines multiple ways (including, but not limited to argument and evidence) that beliefs are typically formed. This breakout encourages women to lean into being equipped to influence those around us in the midst of today's culture.

Are Science and Christianity Compatible?

Daniel Currier (Congerville, IL)

Apologetics Committee member Daniel Currier presents numerous science historians who demonstrate that the medieval Christian university system and its presuppositions gave birth to modern science during the Scientific Revolution. Ultimately, if the universe was created by God, science would affirm, rather than oppose, the order and design of creation, supporting the existence of the Creator.

Speakers

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A man and woman smiling together outdoors. The man wears glasses, a suit and tie, while the woman wears a black shirt.
Man with glasses smiles, seated in a chair against a bookshelf backdrop.
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