Ruth Jackson looks at some of the resources available for those looking to be prepared for the tough questions young people ask

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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