“Apologetics” is a difficult word.  Most people have never heard of it and have no idea what it means.  It sounds like something that involves saying “I’m sorry.”  For others, it connotes something that only concerns academics.  To avoid these concerns, Brian Auten has come up with a helpful list of alternative expressions that conveys the purview and purpose of apologetics without using the word itself:

  • defending Christianity
  • the defense of the faith
  • thinking through the issues
  • being thoughtful about your convictions
  • being thoughtful about the faith
  • critically examining Christian truth
  • contending for the faith
  • answering the tough questions
  • examining worldviews
  • studying Christian defenses
  • handling tough issues
  • answering skeptics
  • discussing your convictions
  • pre-evangelism
  • persuasive evangelism
  • showing Christianity is true
  • giving good answers
  • asking the big questions
  • evaluating the evidence
  • answering questions; questioning answers
  • making the case for faith
  • defending and confirming the Gospel
  • showing why Christianity is true
  • reasoning with unbelievers
  • searching for truth

Good communication often involves the use of a fitting word.  Perhaps you’ll find that people are more open to the field of apologetics and its usefulness in evangelism if you package it using one or more of the descriptions above.