Strobel Center Launches Applied Apologetics Degrees
The Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University is excited to announce the launch of a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Apologetics and a Master of Arts in Applied Apologetics, beginning this fall. The programs are available 100 percent online and focus on apologetics — the study of defending the Christian faith through intellectual means.
"We want to equip our students to be able to effectively share the Good News — the grace of Jesus Christ — in their spheres of influence," said Lee Strobel, the founding director of the Strobel Center. "We also want to equip them to be able to confidently defend the truth of the Christian faith. Both are important."
Offered through CCU Online, the undergraduate and graduate degree programs will each include four emphases: Cultural Engagement, Global Apologetics, Innovative Evangelism, and Practical Apologetics. Each emphasis is uniquely designed to equip students to be effective communicators and defenders of the Christian faith in a world increasingly skeptical of Christian values and ideals.
"Christian apologists have a long and storied history. Early Christians were defending the faith in the second and third centuries against Roman misconceptions of Christianity. Scripture also records the Apostle Paul conversing with Greek philosophers in Athens in their own language, on their own terms, and in praise to God," said Dr. Earl Waggoner, dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies. "Through the Lee Strobel Center, we will train contemporary apologists to do exactly what Paul did 2,000 years ago."
The courses for both the undergraduate and graduate degrees were designed by Strobel and his ministry partner, Mark Mittelberg, in conjunction with leading apologetics and evangelism experts from around the world. All courses are offered completely online, allowing students the ability to study nearly anywhere with internet access.
"These courses provide life-giving information that will grow our students in their own faith, while training them to be more effective at helping other people really consider the claims of Jesus Christ, with the hope that they become followers of Christ," said Mittelberg, executive director of the Strobel Center.
In addition to the new academic programs, Colorado Christian University is pleased to announce the launch of Strobel Center Live, a new weekly simulcast featuring Strobel, Mittelberg, and Dr. Donald Sweeting, president of Colorado Christian University. Strobel Center Live is a live discussion of important and timely topics related to apologetics and evangelism, including the current COVID-19 pandemic and how this crisis presents both challenges as well as opportunities for Christians, local churches, and the global church. Strobel Center Live will be hosted live each week on Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. (MDT).
The Strobel Center is a unique partnership between CCU Online and two of the 21st century's leaders in evangelism and apologetics. A primary goal of the center is to train apologists and evangelists to be a resource for local churches and ministry leaders. More churches and parachurch organizations are seeing a greater need for individuals and leaders prepared with the right training to become actively involved in the marketplace of ideas, with the goal of influencing the culture for Christ.
About the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics
The Lee Strobel Center at Colorado Christian University seeks to equip Christians, ministry leaders, and churches to effectively share the grace of God and confidently defend the truth of the gospel, in order to reach our world for Christ. The founding director of the center, Lee Strobel, is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 40 publications and a former award-winning journalist for the Chicago Tribune. The former atheist has been described in the Washington Post as "one of the evangelical community's most popular apologists." The center's executive director is Mark Mittelberg, a best-selling author, international speaker, and leading strategist in evangelism and apologetics.