Why an Apologetics Course

A Christian philosopher and apologist, J.P. Moreland, writes:

“If a culture reaches the point where Christian claims are not even part of its credibility structure, fewer and fewer people will be able to accept them as truth. This is why apologetics is so crucial to evangelism. Apologetics aims to create a structure of credibility in a person’s mind, “favorable conditions”…so that the gospel can be accepted as true by a person.”

Maybe the secularization of the West has reached Albania faster than we Albanian evangelicals thought it would. Today, 30 years after the fall of communism, the ready crops do not seem to be the largest group of Albanians.

There is a growing group of people in Albania who are not ready to make a commitment to believe and follow Christ when they hear the gospel, because they have already created some misunderstandings or objections to Christianity. Without a doubt, we believe that it is the work of the Holy Spirit that draws people to God. However, He uses the art of persuasion in evangelism

We think of the apostle Paul who used different approaches to evangelism when meeting different audiences, depending on what they needed. He spoke differently to open-hearted Jews in Berea and differently to skeptical Greek philosophers in Athens.

Are believers in our local churches trained well enough to meet these challenges in evangelism and tailor the approach depending on the audience?

I believe that in our communities in Albania we have many brothers and sisters who probably know quite well how to articulate what they believe, but not so well about why they believe it and how to answer when asked about the hope they have in Christ.

Based on this context, we at IFCE are convinced that an apologetic approach to evangelism and discipleship is very necessary to reach today’s Albanians with the gospel.

Training in Apologetics means getting ready to “give an answer for the hope” that is in you as 1 Peter 3:15 teaches us.

For this reason, IFCE organizes the 1 Year Apologetics Course for Albanian Christians. Participants will receive a Certificate in Apologetics.

Duration: 12 Sessions over the course of 10 months.

The course includes: weekly assignments with readings, quizzes, lectures, presentations, role plays, personal evangelism, and essay writing.