2025 Apologetics (Foundational) Network
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The words apologist and apologetics come from the Greek word apologia, which means to defend or to convince and persuade. So when Peter writes, “Always be prepared to give a defense (apologia) for the hope that is within you,” he is teaching that Christians must be willing and able to communicate the Gospel persuasively to their neighbours.
Europe today is in great need of gifted persuasive evangelists who, like the Apostle Paul, can demonstrate that Christianity is true and relevant. The Forum's Apologetics Network Foundational Track is designed to train, mentor, and resource Christians so they can effectively demonstrate that Christian beliefs are reasonable, true, and relevant for the 21st century. This track provides the vision and strategy for a renaissance of apologetics in Europe today.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "This is my first time at ELF and my experience so far has been incredible! I am learning a lot, as well as strengthening my knowledge. I have never been to a Christian event where I can meet and talk with so many educated Christian leaders. This environment is really motivating me to keep on learning and growing in my ministry." - Dimitar Spassov, Senior Front-End Developer, Bulgaria
- "Being at the European Leadership Forum is so helpful for me because it gives me the ability to train the members of our church. As I am learning how to do apologetics in the Forum’s Apologetics Network, I can help the people in my church answer difficult questions about Christianity and create opportunities for conversations with unbelievers. I have learned a lot about secular culture and how to respond biblically to different issues."
- Zsolt Kapitany, Pastor, Hungary - "Apologetics is a new area of interest for me and I am still trying to understand where my place in this is. But it is a very special opportunity for me to meet with other Christians and think about the basics of apologetics. In my Network and the workshops, I am trying to understand how I can be useful and faithful to God’s work in Hungary. As I am in a transitional period in my life at the moment, I am so thankful for the support and encouragement of the truth of the body of Christ."
- Julia Berecz, Disciple–Maker, Hungary
Applicants should be those with evangelistic or apologetic gifts who have NOT attended the European Leadership Forum Apologetics Network in previous years. The purpose of the Network is to train, mentor, equip, and resource those evangelists and apologists who are seeking to communicate the Gospel in their local communities.
Network Leadership
Network Speakers
Lindsay Brown is a native of Wales. He studied European history at Oxford (MA) and theology at the Free Faculty of Theology at Vaux-sur-Seine, near Paris, under Henri Blocher. Lindsay has worked with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) for the past 45 years in a variety… Read more
Lars Dahle is a theologian, educator, preacher, and apologist. Having a long previous experience in various academic leadership roles, he now works as Professor in Systematic Theology (with a speciality in Christian Apologetics) at NLA University… Read more
Stefan Gustavsson is a member of the European Leadership Forum Steering Committee. He is the director for Apologia – Centre for Christian Apologetics and makes his home in Stockholm. He was the founding general secretary for 16 years of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. Stefan travels widely… Read more
John Kirkpatrick is the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Previously, he was the pastor of Portrush Presbyterian Church for over 20 years. John is the director of the apologetics course Reality316 aimed at equipping a wide range of people to be relevant apologists. For a number of… Read more
Peter Saunders was born in New Zealand and originally trained as a general surgeon before serving with the Africa Inland Mission in Kenya and completing two years of mission training at All Nations Christian College in the UK. From 1992 to 2018 he served full-time with Christian Medical… Read more
Network Programme
Sunday, 18 May
Paul’s famous words in 1 Corinthians about the foolishness of the cross and his decision to preach the cross, but not with wisdom, have often been misinterpreted. For many they stand as evidence of a strong anti-intellectual strand in Paul’s thinking and a clear reason for us to neglect apologetics and instead focus on other issues. In this talk we analyse Paul’s understanding of wisdom and foolishness as we look at four particular issues: (1) Paul’s thinking when he started the church in Corinth, (2) Paul's thinking when he wrote to the church in Corinth, (3) the cultural context of the church in Corinth, and (4) Paul’s message in his first letter to the church in Corinth.
Monday, 19 May
Despite its prominence historically, apologetics is seen as controversial in many Christian circles. Where and when it is practised, contemporary apologetics is often characterised by a neglect of biblical foundations and models. Through discussion of an article written by the speaker, this session seeks to identify, explore, and apply such key biblical material. The focus will be on Acts 17:16-34 as a relevant case study.
Jesus was a preacher, healer…and an apologist! Based on an article written by the speaker, this session will explore the role of apologetics in Jesus’ ministry by examining John 5, a passage which provides an excellent example of how Jesus related to the questions and objections of his contemporaries. It will conclude with a discussion of how Jesus’ model of apologetic engagement can and should mould and shape the modern apologetic task.
Tuesday, 20 May
Reflecting on 1 Peter 3, this session will help you explore how you can be most effective in engaging in apologetics in your context. It will help you reflect on your own personality, gifts, and experiences as well as the people in your context and the questions they are asking. It aims to help you think about what shape your ministry will take and the part apologetics might have in it after completion of this Network.
What can we learn from some of Europe's leading apologists like John Stott, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Francis Schaeffer, Jurgen Spiess, Michael Green, and John Lennox? In this session, Lindsay Brown will reflect on years of partnership with these leading apologists. He will share insights, lessons learned, and best practices from these modern "Apostle Pauls" who persuasively argued why the Gospel is true.
Wednesday, 21 May
Originally designed by the Christian Medical Fellowship to help medical students share their faith, and refined over 25 years, the Confident Christianity course is designed to help you understand the non-Christian mindset and share your faith confidently and articulately in the way the Apostles did it – in understandable language, in a safe place and with the opportunity for discussion. It covers such questions as: Making a worldview diagnosis, what makes Christianity unique, the journey to faith, exposing presuppositions, God’s role and ours in evangelism, the Gospel message, Apostolic models of sharing it, dealing with our fears, answering difficult questions, the best reasons for belief, starting with the truth they know, avoiding circular arguments, dealing with relativism, the elements of successful evangelism and the faith decision. It is a programme which once caught can be taught to others.
The last session together will focus on what we have learned this week and how to apply it in our contexts. Participants will have an opportunity to share their thoughts with others for encouragement and feedback. This session will bring together the key points that have emerged across the four days with some curated time that will help embed key learnings at an individual and group level. We will look at:
– How can we apply what we have learned to our own lives?
– What can we take back to our home churches and ministries to teach and encourage others?
– We plan to end the Network by reflecting on lessons learned this week and putting together a personal action plan.