Bringing Truth to a New Generation
(Editor's Note: Today's guest writer is Addie Grace Putnam who is currently attending college and interning for The Stand. This article was first published in the April 2022 print edition of The Stand that may also be found online HERE.)
When witnessing the rampant immorality in our culture, it’s easy to become discouraged, to decide to throw in the proverbial towel and leave the world to the wrath of God. But Alex McFarland, acclaimed speaker, writer, and defender of the Christian faith, continues to urge determined action even in the face of great evil.
Apologetics conferences
McFarland has spent over two decades in ministry to the young people of America, instilling biblical values in today’s youth. He is often on the platform with other prominent apologists such as Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, and Kay Arthur. He teaches an annual seminar at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
However, his primary ministry strategy is traveling across the nation at the request of churches, to lead weekend Truth for a New Generation (TFNG) conferences teaching Christian students and young adults what Christian faith is all about and how to properly defend it. At the end of the first day, he points attendees to John 3:16, allowing them to remember the basis of their faith.
“You can’t really defend the faith unless you have the faith,” McFarland explained to The Stand. “So, before we go any farther, [we] explain what it means to be a Christian.” He shared that “roughly 5-7% of the audience will make a first-time salvation decision.” It’s not only the youth who are affected; McFarland said that many times, even ministerial staff members will come forward expressing doubts about their salvation and asking for prayer.
Accordingly, the conferences are “helping people come to the Lord, helping people come back to the Lord, and helping people really understand what it means to be a disciple.”
Summer camps
Once a year, McFarland hosts a summer camp for high schoolers. In July, he and his team are cooperating with The Refuge camps in North Carolina for a weeklong session featuring the theme “Unashamed: Building Your Biblical Worldview.” McFarland will be partnering with Andy Lorenson, whom he considers “one of the premier youth pastors in the nation,” and Wil and Meeke Addison of AFR’s Airing the Addisons.
Campers will have a fun-filled week including traditional camp activities while also hearing the Bible taught by some of the nation’s foremost teachers. The sessions cover everything from the meaning of discipleship to creationism to the importance of American citizenship.
McFarland is passionate about helping Christians understand their duty to their country and teaching them to develop a willingness to serve in some of its highest offices. He looks to Augustine’s City of God as an example. “Our home is the city of God,” he paraphrased, “but until we get there, we have an obligation to the city of man.”
The worst thing believers can do, he said, is give up and step out of the public arena while evil continues to rage unchecked. He envisions that in time, there will be multiple camps at cities across the country. “We believe God wants more things to happen,” he concluded.
In addition to his trademark TFNG camps and conferences, McFarland often appears on radio and television shows, speaks at apologetics events, and preaches revivals, continuing to instill in Christian people a desire to grow in their walk with God and learn how to bring others to Him.
Learn more about Alex McFarland’s ministries
▶ To register your high schooler for TFNG summer camp July 17-22 in Ayden, North Carolina, visit ncrefuge.org and click on Programs.
▶ Hear McFarland on American Family Radio (online at afr.net)
Exploring the Word, with co-host Bert Harper, 3-4 p.m. CT weekdays
Truth for a New Generation, 1:30-2 p.m. CT Saturdays
