Training Church Members To Integrate Apologetics With Evangelism At First Baptist Church of Walton, Kentucky

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to equip members of First Baptist Church in Walton, Kentucky, to boldly share the gospel of Jesus Christ by training them in apologetics and evangelism. Additionally, this project provides a reproducible program to be used by other churches to implement evangelism training.

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the entire project. This overview covers the demographic information of the surrounding community, along with information about the recent history of the church. Moreover, this chapter gives the rationale for offering apologetic evangelism training at First Baptist Church, Walton, Kentucky. Finally, this chapter serves as an outline for the rest of the project and includes project goals and research methodologies.

Chapter 2 provides a biblical and theological basis for apologetics and evangelism. The following passages of Scripture are examined in detail and serve as the basis for the project: Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 17:16-34, Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Peter 3:15, and Jude 3.

Chapter 3 evaluates the major taxonomies in apologetics. This chapter evaluates classical, evidential, cumulative case, prepositional, experiential, and reformed epistemological apologetics. Additionally, this chapter provides an integrated approach that employs aspects from some of the primary apologetic methods.

Chapter 4 describes in detail the fifteen weeks of this project. This chapter breaks down each phase of this project and includes details about the recruiting, training, and practicum.

Chapter 5 is an evaluation of the project. This chapter analyzes the short-term effectiveness of this project on the participants and the trainer. Furthermore, the final chapter includes the strengths and weakness of each phase, as well as suggestions on how to improve this project.