Resources

As much as anytime in history parents of Christian high school graduates have less certainty about the future for their children. To Know With Certainty was written because of this concern that extends to the direction of our country and the Christian faith. I believe the direction of our country is directly linked to the trend and status of the Christian faith in America.

Reliable surveys suggest that for decades there has been about a 70% loss of Evangelical Christian youth to the church following graduation from high school. Over time this loss translates into a permanent loss of about 30% from the faith. Other surveys show a decline in church attendance and knowledge, understanding and acceptance of faith fundamentals dating from the time of Jesus. Graduates site the reason for opting out is a failure in not having had their most important questions addressed. In other words, a missed opportunity has been taking place for decades. The opportunity for addressing this crisis is while students are in the church and the home. Student questions should be addressed on an intellectual and faith basis so as they enter post high school life Knowing With Certainty where they stand in their beliefs.

To Know With Certainty cites scientific, historical and theological resources to provide need-to-know information and evidence for graduates and parents to strengthen their faith on an intellectual basis. Among the topics for which evidence is provided is the existence of God as sovereign creator of the universe, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the reliability and authenticity of the Bible, the origin of man and the weaknesses of the Theory of Evolution. In the understanding, the evidence of these fundamentals the graduate is equipped to not only defend but to contend for the faith on an intellectual basis in any setting including adversarial ones like the college campus and classroom. In addition, the graduate can be a more effective witness to non-believing seekers who require facts and data to support belief. 

Some Basic Questions

  1. Does God Exist?Five 30-minute video plus lessons and discussion guide. TruU.org.
  2. Habermas, Gary R. and Michael R. Licona.The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2004.
  3. Hanegraaff, Hank.Has God Spoken? Proof of the Bible’s Divine Inspiration. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011.
  4. McDowell, J and McDowell, S,Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson Publishers (2017). https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-That-Demands-Verdict-Life
  5. Ross, Hugh. The Creator and the Cosmos: How the latest Scientific Discoveries Reveal God. Covina, CA: RTB Press.
  6. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 1.
  7. Strobel, Lee.The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998. (Also as DVD)

Is The New Testament True?

  1. Bierle, Don.Surprised by Faith. Lynwood, MA: Emerald Books, 1992.
  2. Ehrman, Bart D.From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity. Chantilly, VA: The Great Courses.
  3. Habermas, Gary R. and Michael R. Licona.The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2004.
  4. Hallquist, Chris.Why atheists don’t think the Bible is historically reliable. Patheos, The Incredible HallQ, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hallq/2012/07/why-atheists-dont-think-the-bibl- is-historically-reliable/,July 2012).
  5. Is The Bible Reliable?– Five 30-minute videos plus lessons and discussion guide.TruU.org.
  6. McDowell, J and McDowell, S,Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson Publishers (2017). https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-That-Demands-Verdict-Life
  7. Metzger, Bruce M.History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.
  8. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 2.
  9. Strobel, Lee.The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998. (Also as DVD)
  10. Witherington, Ben III.“Why the ‘Lost Gospels’ Lost Out.” Christianity Today, June 1, 2004.

How Did the Christian Church Develop?

  1. Chadwick, Owen, A History of Christianity. London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1995.
  2. Collins, M and Price, M, The Story Of Christianity: A Celebration of 2000 Years of Faith, New York: DK Publishing (1999).
  3. Jones, Timothy Paul.Christian History Made Easy. Torrance, CA: Rose Publishing, 2009.
  4. Kennedy, DJ and Newcombe J,What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? Thomas Nelson,  1994. https://www.amazon.com/WHAT-JESUS-NEVER-
    BEEN-BORN/dp/0849920795
  5. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 3.

What is Your Spiritual DNA?

  1. Barton, David.America’s Godly Heritage. DVD, 1.5 hours, Aledo, TX.
  2. Chadwick, Owen, A History of Christianity. London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1995.
  3. Collins, M and Price, M, The Story Of Christianity: A Celebration of 2000 Years of Faith, New York: DK Publishing (1999).
  4. D’Souza, Dinesh.What’s So Great About Christianity? Carol Stream, IL:  Tyndale House Publishers, 2007.
  5. Jones, Timothy Paul.Christian History Made Easy. Torrance, CA: Rose Publishing, 2009.
  6. Kennedy, DJ and Newcombe J,What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? Thomas Nelson, 1994. https://www.amazon.com/WHAT-JESUS-NEVER-
    BEEN-BORN/dp/0849920795
  7. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 4.

What is Science?

  1. “Intelligent Design versus Naturalism: What about Truth?” 10-minute video,https://www.youtube.com/watchv=Jm3TDkRWjJohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3TDkRWjJo.
  2. Meyer, Stephen E.Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent  New York: Harper Collins, 2009.
  3. Schroeder, Gerald L.The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom. New York: Free Press, 2009.
  4. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 5.

What is Evolution?

  1. Darwin, Charles.On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. 6th Ed. London: John Murray, 1876.
  2. Behe, Michael.Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: The Free Press, 1996.
  3. Rana, Fazale.Through the Lens: Evolution Under the Microscope.  http://shop.reasons.org/product-p/d1501.htm.
  4. Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the Mystery of Molecular Machines.60-minute  Discovery Institute, 2016.
  5. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 6.

What About Creation?

  1. Ham, K,Six Days: The Age of the Earth and the Decline of the Church. Green Forest, Arkansas: Master Books. (2013) ISBN 0890517894.
  2. “How Old Is the Universe? Astronomers Debate the Scientific Evidence.”Six hours of video. John Ankerberg Show, jashow.org.
  3. Ross, Hugh.Probability of Life on Earth. Reasons to Believe, RTB30, April 2, 2004.
  4. Ross, Hugh.Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity’s Home. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2016.
  5. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 7.

What About the Origin of Man?

  1. Rana, Fazale and Hugh Ross.Who Was Adam? A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Humanity. 2nd ed. Covina, CA: RTB Press, 2015.
  2. Swamidass Joshua, The Geneological Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press (2019).
  3. Southard G, To Know with Certainty Bloomington, Indiana (2017). Chapter 8.

Loss Of Young People to The Faith

  1. Barna, George.Third Millennium Teens: Research on the Minds, Hearts and Soul of America’s Teenagers. Barna Research Group, 1999). Barna Research Group. https://www.barna.com/research/parents-accept-responsibility-for-their- childs-spiritual-development-but-struggle-with-effectiveness/. May 6, 2003.
  2. Barna, George.“Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church.”  28, 2011. https://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church.
  3. Bock, Darrell and Daniel B. Wallace. Video:“The Battle to Dethrone Jesus.” The John Ankerberg Show, Program 3, 2007.
  4. Ham K, Beemer B and Hillard T (2009) Already Gone. America’s Research Group and Answers in Genesis: Master Books, Green Forest, AK May 2009.
  5. Housman, Brian.“Why Are Teens Leaving the Faith?” Parenting Magazine, June 17, 2013.
  6. Kinnaman, David and Gabe Lyons.UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why it Matters. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.
  7. Kinnaman, David and Aly Hawkins.You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving .. and Rethinking Faith. Ada, MI: Baker Books, 2016.
  8. Lifeway Research (2007) Church Dropouts: How Many Leave Church Between Ages 18-22 and Why? http://lifewayresearch.com/wp content/uploads/2014/01/Church-Dropouts_How-Many-Leave-Church-and-Why- 8.07.2007.pdf
  9. Lifeway Research (2019) Most Teenagers Drop Out of Church as Young Adults: Did you stop attending church regularly (twice a month or more) for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22? January 15, 2019. https://lifewayresearch.com/2019/01/15/most-teenagers-drop-out-of-church-as-young-adults/
  10. West, John G.“Are Young People Losing Their Faith Because of Science?” Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, April 2009. pewforum.org/files/2009/04/fullreport.pdf.

Decline in Christians and Rise in Religiously Unaffiliated

  1. Pew Research Center (2015) America’s Changing Religious Landscape.http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/
  2. Pew research Center (2016cWhy American “Nones” Left Religion Behind, August 14, 2016. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/24/why-americas-nones-left-religion-behind/
  3. Cox D, American Enterprise Institute (2019), The Decline of religion in American family life: Findings from the November 2019 American Perspectives Survey. December 11, 2019. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/the-decline-of-religion-in-american-family-life/

What Winning Looks Like

  1. Clark C (2018) “Adoptive Church (Youth, Family, and Culture): Creating an Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong”. Baker Academic, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI.
  2. Powell K, Mulder J and Griffin B 2016 Growing Young, 6 Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church. Baker Books.
  3. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 3

Reasons Why Youth are Leaving the Church

  1. Barna Group (2011) Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church. https://barna.com/research/six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church/
  2. Barna Research (2017bTwo-Thirds of Christians Face Doubt, July 15, 2017.  https://www.barna.com/research/two-thirds-christians-face-doubt/
  3. Kinnaman, D and Hawkins, A (2016) You Lost Me. Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith. Ada, MI: Baker Books, 2016.
  4. Nippa M The Jesus Survey: What Christian Teens Believe and Why, Baker Boooks PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 (2012) National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Factshttps://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372
  5. Pew Research Center (2015f) Religious Landscape Study, 18-29-year-olds: Religious Composition of 18-29-year-olds. https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/age-distribution/18-29/religious-tradition/evangelical-protestant/
  6. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 4

Church Authority

  1. Barna Group (2005) Church Priorities for 2005 Vary Considerably. February 14, 2005. https://www.barna.com/research/church-priorities-for-2005-vary-considerably/
  2. Barna Group (2019) Who Is Responsible for Children’s Faith Formation. Research Releases in Family and Kids. March 19, 2019.
  3. Bergler, T (2012) The Juvenilization of American Christianity, Erdmans. Grand Rapids, MI. 2014. pp 281.
  4. Southard L, (2017) To Know with Certainty: Answers to Christian Student’s Questions Before Leaving High School. WestBow Press, Bloomington, Indiana 2017).
  5. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 5

Parent Responsibility

  1. Barna Group (2003) Parents Accept Responsibility for Their Child’s Spiritual Development but Struggle with Effectiveness. May 6, 2003.https://www.barna.com/research/parents-accept-responsibility-for-their-childs-spiritual-development-but-struggle-with-effectiveness/
  2. Pew Research Center (2020) S. Teens Take After Their Parents Religiously, Attend Services Together and Enjoy Family Rituals; But American adolescents often participate at parents’ behest, and tend to be less religious in personal and more private ways. https://www.pewforum.org/2020/09/10/u-s-teens-take-after-their-parents-religiously-attend-services-together-and-enjoy-family-rituals/
  3. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 6

Prioritization

  1. Clark C (2018) “Adoptive Church (Youth, Family, and Culture): Creating an Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong”. Baker Academic, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI.
  2. Editors and Advisors of Church Law and Tax (2014) Draw the Line: Relational Boundaries for Safe Youth Ministry. Christianity Today, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
  3. Powell K, Mulder J and Griffin B 2016 Growing Young, 6 Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church. Baker Books.
  4. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 7
  5. Walker M (2013) Intergenerational Youth Ministry: Why a Balanced View of Connecting the Generations is Essential for the Church, Overboard Ministries, Vision for Youth Publishing 2013.

Revive and Revise Christian Education

  1. Benson P and Eklin C (1990) Effective Christian education: A national study of Protestant congregations: A summary report on faith. loyalty, and congregational life. Minneapolis, MN. http://www.searchinstitutepress.org/faith_community_downloads/six_denomination s.pdf
  2. Crawford, M College for Less, https://collegeforlessinc.com/contact-us/
  3. English J T (2020), Deep Discipleship: How the church can make whole disciples of Jesus. B&H Publishing, Nashville, TN.
  4. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 8

Monitor and Assess Performance

Consequences

  1. Barna (2020aState of the Church 2020: Sign of Decline and Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith. March 4, 2020. https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/
  2. Gallup (2019bS. Church Membership Down Sharply in Past Two Decades. Gallup Politics April 18, 2019. https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.as
  3. Gallup (2019cS. Confidence in Organized Religion Remains Lowhttps://news.gallup.com/poll/259964/confidence-organized-religion-remains-low.aspx
  4. Pew Research Center (2015aS. Public Becoming Less Religious. November 3, 2015. https://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/
  5. Pew Research Center (2019aIn U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace: An Update on Americas Changing religious Landscape, October 17, 2019. https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/Pace October 17, 2019.Reinhart R (2017) Religious Giving Down Other Charity Holding Steady, December 21, 2017. https://news.gallup.com/poll/224378/religious-giving-down-charity-holding-steady.aspx
  6. Southard L The Battle We Must Not Lose. Chapter 10.