By Serena Konkola
Staff Writer

People at the Christian Apologetics Club. Photo by Austin Barrett

Do you think you can defend your faith? Answering this question, Christian Apologetic Club founders, Cody Thompson and Savannelise Lundblad, explained the goals of the Clackamas Community College group.

“Apologetics is a word that basically means to defend, right?” Thompson said. “So, how to understand evidence and the reasoning that makes you believe what you believe? That’s the word apologies. I take it so it’s specifically Christianity, and having you defend the faith, but mostly to yourself, is the idea…Because we’re defending the faith to ourselves.”

They discuss a bit of everything: Jesus, church schisms, traditions, and different interpretations of prophecy. But these topics are decided by the members of the club each week.

“We talk about big subjects people want to talk about, how to interpret them, and then how to practically apply them to life, and then people have different views on that, and opinions on how they can be done,” Lundblad said.

People sit down and listen to people speak. Photo by Austin Barrett

The club invites anybody to join, pitch their questions and have a conversation. “Come on in, we’ve got snacks, and we’re here to answer any questions, no matter how hard. No matter how difficult,” said Thomspon.

Crystal Andrade joined the club last winter, and after a couple of months, they say they feel stronger in their faith and mind because they haven’t always been in the best shape.

“I wanted to connect myself better with God, as a teenager, before going to the adult level. I had to postpone that and honestly, that was hard,” Andrade said.

People sitting down and listening to a person play the guitar. Photo by Austin Barrett

“I grew up Christian my whole life, and I‘m grateful for that. I love going to my church, relationship with god. I’m hoping that this club can really enhance my relationship with god. They’re very open-minded and I love that.” Andrade said.

Club meetings are held on Thursdays in the Wacheno Welcome Center in room 153 from noon to 1 p.m.. The club meeting begins with singing which everyone is invited to join. Then there will be a lesson about the day’s topic, and some questions. After that, the meeting concludes with suggestions for next week and prayer.

The club’s members are invited to talk about all things pertaining to the topic at hand, but they can also receive support when they’re struggling. At the end of the meeting, club members are invited to share prayer requests for anything they need help with and stick around to pray.