Ruth Jackson looks at some of the resources available for those looking to be prepared for the tough questions young people ask
WEBSITES
Premier NexGen https://www.premiernexgen.com/awkward-questions
Free online material aimed at Christian parents but of value and relevance for youth and children’s workers
Reboot: reboot.org.uk
Reboot is an annual youth apologetics conference. Their website contains helpful short videos.
The Road: theroad-uk.com
This provides in-depth and relevant explanations of what Christians believe and why
Out of the Question: outofthequestion.net
This is a series of animations to get young people thinking. It’s particularly good with young teenagers and older children.
Be Thinking: bethinking.org
This is an initiative of student ministry UCCF. You can search for content via person or subject
GodPods:sptc.htb.org.uk/godpod
These podcasts cover a range of different topics and are less than 40 mins long
Unbelievable? https://www.premierunbelievable.com
Believer vs nonbeliever debate available as a podcast – some are quite complicated so may not always work for youth but they offer a lot of depth and a range of different views. Also a range of artlcles and other podcasts, and a growing youth apologetics library
BOOKS
For youth workers:
Apologetics For A New Generation – General Editor Sean McDowell
Sticky Faith, Youthworker Edition – Dr Kara E Powell, Brad M Griffin and Dr Cheryl A Craford
You Lost Me and UnChristian – David Kinnaman
General apologetics:
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism – Tim Keller
Addresses the frequent doubts that sceptics and non-believers bring to religion
What Kind of God – Michael Ots
Ten honest responses to common questions about God
But is It Real – Amy Orr Ewing
Subjects range from other religions to evil and hell
Tricky – Michael Dormandy and Carl Laferton
Covers topics including suffering, sexuality and science. Specifically aimed at teenagers
Tactics – Greg Koukl
A helpful guide to communicating the gospel, particularly by using questions
Corner Conversations – Randy Newman.
Eavesdrops on important hot-button conversations
Popologetics – Ted Turnau.
Why Christian approaches often fail and how to engage
The Bible:
Why Trust the Bible - Amy Orr-Ewing
This is a great place to start
Soul Survivor Youth Bible
It has over 500 extra bits from the team, young people and other experts, this digs deep into the Bible – its key themes, the big stories that run all the way through, the wisdom, stories and human lives that we can learn from
New Atheism:
Gunning for God – Prof John Lennox
He tackles atheist arguments and provides proof for many different elements of the Christian faith
Why God won’t go away– Rev Dr Alister McGrath
Like John Lennox’s book above, this challenges some of the key atheist arguments while providing helpful pointers to Christianity
Jesus/ Resurrection:
The Case for Christ – Lee Strobel
A former atheist set out to disprove the resurrection but was so overwhelmed by the evidence he became a Christian. There is a student edition of this
King’s Cross – Tim Keller
This book takes a deep and thought-provoking look at the life of Christ. Drawing from Mark’s gospel, he explains how Jesus’ identity as king and his purpose in dying on the cross have meaning and significance on a cosmic scale as well as individually
Other religions/ Islam:
Seeking Allah, finding Jesus – Nabeel Quereshi
This fantastic apologist tells the fascinating story of his journey from Islam to Christianity
Suffering:
Why – Sharon Dirckx
Weaving theological questions about suffering with personal stories
God On Mute – Pete Grieg
This book deals with the issue of unanswered prayer
Sexuality:
A War of Loves: The unexpected story of a gay activist discovering Jesus – David Bennett
The powerful story of a gay teen coming to faith and working out what that meant for his sexuality
Love Is An Orientation – Andrew Marin
This charts the conversation between Christianity and the LGBT+ community so the focus is moved from genetics to gospel, where it really belongs
Is God Anti-Gay? – Sam Alberry
A practical and sensitive exploration of the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality from a same sex attracted celibate vicar
For helpful resources, stories and advice, visit livingout.org
For help supporting LGBT young people, check out diversechurch.website
