The details for the "Own It" Nights:
- WHEN: Second and Fourth Friday nights each month – January thru early May. 7-9pm. (7 speeches total)
- WHERE: Our home (details emailed)
- Speech Delivery, Public Speaking Skill Games followed by for fun games, snacks, and fellowship!
- Having an Apologetics Speech to share is a requirement for attendance. (Kids can’t just attend to watch.)
- A parent is welcome to, but doesn't have to stay. (Space and scope of the evening does not allow for younger siblings to attend).
- 30 different apologetics speech topics to choose from (these questions from the STOA league, but most are compatible with the NCFCA league should you decide you want to do Speech and Debate formally in the future. We will be formally joining a STOA club next year)
- I’ll provide training on how to write a 6-minute speech, including how to come up with an attention getting story hook for the beginning of your speech, how to wrap it all together with a conclusion.
- Speech template provided – providing a great starting place for each of your speeches, making it easier.
- Links to articles, help on finding quotes, and book recommendations provided. (HERE!)
- Opportunity to give their speech to their peers and hone previously prepared speeches which boosts confidence.
- January 11th – will be the first night. We will do an introductory night where the kids will hear some examples of apologetics speeches and I’ll go over the outline and how to write a speech and prepare cards. First speech will be due on January 25th.
The teen years are a period of great growth. It's an age when young people begin to grapple with things at a deeper level. They begin to ask deeper questions about the world around them, about themselves. This grappling can push them away from Jesus or draw them closer. This is the age when many come to saving faith in Jesus and it is also the age when many make their faith their own.
The purpose of these "OWN IT" nights is to provide our kids an opportunity to ask hard questions, to research and formulate a response. Understanding your own faith helps you to own it at a deeper level and can prepare you to "give an answer for the hope that is in you." (I Peter 3:15)
Before we moved back, we joined a Speech and Debate club. This particular club put emphasis on the Apologetics speech portion of the competitions and I loved how it challenged my kids (and myself) to think through theological and/or doctrine questions and formulate 6 minute speeches supporting our beliefs. It was so neat to watch my kids confidence soar as they learned along the way how to formulate speeches and deliver them in a safe environment where everyone was learning. I was a coach and it was so neat to see even kids who were reticent about presenting grow in confidence.
As I mentioned earlier, the teen years are a powerful stage where our kids are starting to think things through for themselves. I know for myself, while I came to saving faith at a very young child, it was in the teen years where I really owned what I believed as I asked questions and explored what the Bible had to say about topics.
I won’t be teaching theology on these nights. Those discussions should be happening at home as you all prepare your speeches. But I will provide links to helpful websites and recommendations for books that will help your kids in their preparation.
While we didn’t want to jump mid-year into a competitive Texas team, we thought it would be fun to have a teen night at our home where we prepare 2 speeches a month and come share them, play some games that promote public speaking skills and then end the night with “just for fun” games and snacks!
General Apologetics and Theology Resources
(affiliate links may be used. Disclosure)
Systematic Theology - Wayne Grudem
Bible Doctrine - Wayne Grudem (a shorter volume)
Who Made God? And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith - Ravi Zacharias
More than a Carpenter - Josh McDowell
A Ready Defense - Josh McDowell
The Case for Christ - Lee Stroebel
Know Why You Believe - Paul Little
The Apollos Project Video Course: Great course for helping with Apologetics Speech Development
Free Online Resources
Naves Topical Bible - online
DesiringGod (Click here for the Topic Index)
Websites for finding "QUOTES"
Websites for finding Sermon Illustrations
Illustrations can make your speech come alive. They take complex topics and make them relatable and understandable. A good illustration at the beginning can capture your audiences attention.
You can draw from personal experience, stories in the news, statistics and studies, historical events, and songs/hymns or even a description of a scene from a movie or book.
