Introductory letter

Welcome. That you are reading this is evidence that you at least have a desire to make Jesus Christ Lord of your heart, soul, and mind. It is estimated that 51% of Christians that attend college will forsake their faith during these formative years of mental and spiritual development. We believe that this is avoidable and attributable to a lack of a firm foundation in the things of the Lord. With this in mind, the following course has been developed with the intention of “equipping the saints for the work of service” and helping young students “sanctify Christ as Lord in [their] hearts [so that they will] always [be] ready to make a defense to everyone who asks [them] to give an account for the hope that is in [them], yet with gentleness and reverence.”

The Foundation is a 14-week course designed to solidify your faith in Jesus Christ and the Christian religion. The course will progress as follows:

Week One: Absolute Nature and Knowability of Truth
Week Two: Seven Main Views of God (part 1)
Week Three: Seven Main Views of God (part 2)
Week Four: Cosmological and Moral Arguments for a Theistic God
Week Five: Nature and Character of God
Week Six: Bibliology: Introduction and Inspiration
Week Seven: Bibliology: Canonization
Week Eight: Bibliology: Transmission (the Text of the OT)
Week Nine: Bibliology: Transmission (the Text of the NT)
Week Ten: Bibliology: Translation
Week Eleven: Jesus: Historicity and Deity of
Week Twelve: Jesus: Resurrection of
Week Thirteen: The Man Born Blind (John Chapter Nine)
Week Fourteen: Tactics for Dialogue with non-believers

Do NOT expect to be “hand fed” this information. You will be expected to participate and think for your self. The “hard” questions will not be avoided; in fact, I expect you to ask the questions that have been a source of doubt or confusion for you and we will address them head-on. Some of this material may be challenging to wrap your mind around. However, to be challenged in a setting where everyone present has made a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is much “safer” than facing the same challenges at the hands of unbelievers and secular professors in college.

This course is NOT an attempt to change doctrinal positions that may be held by your home church. This is also NOT an attempt to “proselytize” people to Calvary Fellowship. Rather, the intent is to help the Christian youth in this town (you) gain an adequate understanding of the foundations of the Faith that we all share, despite the varying expressions that we may have in our individual congregations. There will be a minimal fee to help cover the cost of the materials that will be provided [book(s), binder], but if for some reason you are not in a position to provide this financial responsibility, arrangements will be made to ensure that you are not held back due to monetary restraints. The Kingdom of God does not consist in dollars and cents. Please bring a ready mind, your nagging questions and doubts, a notebook and pen, and your Bible.