The training challenge

One of the great challenges facing the church is how we train the next generation of apologists, pastors, evangelists and other workers.

The needs are great. I know many churches who are looking to recruit pastors but struggling to find someone appropriate. Likewise, how do we train apologists? Many online apologists using YouTube and other forms of social media are self-taught, mean well, but sometimes mislead.

The most natural place for training is in the local church, where we serve alongside our brothers and sisters and, hopefully, get some steer from more experienced believers. However, if you feel a call to more specialised ministry – in apologetics or leadership – the local church may seem more limited. We may not get the training we need in languages and wider scholarship from the local church. So where do we turn?