Inviting Our Friends to Question Christianity
Since its earliest days Redeemer has prioritized being a church that welcomes and engages people who don’t typically go to church. One of the cornerstones of our Redeemer vision is to be a community where people who are exploring the claims of Christianity feel their questions are heard and addressed, and where it is safe to deliberate on the plausibility of the gospel.
One of the ways we do this is through being public with our faith. 1 Peter 3:15 instructs Christians to share the hope we have within: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." To share the hope we have in Christ, we have to be open with our friends about our faith and have conversations with them about the questions they have about belief, Jesus, God and the Bible. In those conversations and relationships, the joy of our salvation becomes intriguing.
This spring there will be a special opportunity to help engage with our friends and neighbors who don’t identify as Christian. The family of Redeemer churches will host Questioning Christianity (QC), a seven week series meeting on Thursday evenings (March 7- April 18), led by Tim Keller. This series offers a unique opportunity for us to invite our friends who are not Christians to come ask questions. Together you and your friends can process the claims of the gospel.
In preparation for QC, you can find ways to grow and be better equipped to have a more public faith through: weekly sermons, CG studies and other online resources at redeemer.com/shareyourfaith. In January at Inspire Night, Tim Keller gave a talk on the natural outcome of our faith—sharing the joy of our salvation. Through these efforts we hope to see hundreds of Redeemer congregants bring their friends who are exploring Christianity to QC to process their doubts and ask questions about the Christian faith.
This is a unique opportunity for us to invite our friends to consider the plausibility and attractiveness of the Christian faith. In addition to Tim’s teaching, QC provides an opportunity for our friends to experience hospitality as the evening includes a time of conversation over food and drinks after the talk and Q&A concludes. We can demonstrate love and understanding to our friends as they ask their questions, by listening to them and inviting them into conversation and community. And as we engage with them, we will get to learn more about their worldviews, interests and challenges.
Registration is required for all and if you are a Christian, you must come with someone who is exploring Christianity in order to attend (unless you are volunteering to help with one of the teams hosting the event). If you’re exploring Christianity, or if you are a Redeemer congregant who is bringing a friend who does not identify as Christian, you are invited to register at: redeemer.com/qc
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