Endorsements
“Jeremy is a dynamic speaker, thought leader, and apologist. The work he’s done to equip teens to understand their faith and share it effectively is powerful. Jeremy is an A+ Executive Director, has a passion for excellence, and has done a great job in creating conversations that amplify impact. Teens across the nation really need to experience ReThink315’s programs.”
— David Alexander
Co-Founder of Social Origin, [Former] Director of Legacy Impact Network
“A.W. Tozer once wrote, ‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’ Unfortunately too many Christians have inherited a static, too-small view of what it means for God to be the Creator. Jeremy Smith and the ReThink315 team care deeply what today’s young people think about God, and because of that they’re willing to lead them through the tough questions raised by modern science. I have high hopes that the students impacted by ReThink315 will be able to articulate and defend their faith, not at the expense of science, but as respected members of tomorrow’s scientific community.”
— Kathryn Applegate, Ph.D.
[Former] Resources Editor, BioLogos
“Jeremy Smith is an iconic communicator and group discussion facilitator. Whether he is one on one or with a group, with adults or students, he speaks the truth in a very relational and caring way. The messages he brings to his sessions are phenomenal. They can change the trajectory of people’s lives. CBMC is using Jeremy to speak to our men and equip them to think about what they believe and why they believe it.”
— Stan Bower
Area Director of CBMC, Dallas / Fort Worth
“Jeremy is a dynamic communicator who is deftly able to navigate the ever-changing cultural conversations without compromising Biblical truth. He remains relevant and engaging yet approachable, even vulnerable, while wrestling through various apologetic topics. Jeremy challenges students, parents, and pastors to think critically and explore the implications of what they believe and why they believe it. I’m so excited for Jeremy and the team at ReThink315 and I can’t wait to partner with him again!”
— Joshua Boyer
Online Campus Pastor, Hope Christian Church, Columbia, IL
“Jeremy Smith has years of valuable experience in this critical area of preparing the next generation to stand firm in their faith. The challenges of an often hostile secular culture will only get stronger with time, so I’m thrilled to see Jeremy and the ReThink315 team form this exciting vision for attacking the challenges head-on!”
— Natasha Crain
Author of three apologetics books for parents, including Talking with Your Kids about Jesus
“ReThink315 is the culmination of Jeremy Smith’s decades-long dedication to serve God and engage people in intellectual discourse that honors Biblical truth and enlightens and engages those seeking answers. ReThink315’s desire to help Christians address urgent questions, including mental health concerns, is refreshing and forward-thinking, and I appreciate their willingness to confront and de-stigmatize the need for mental health services that align with Christian faith. I pray this ministry will continue to inspire and ignite passionate enthusiasm for Christian apologetics in the local church, and will not back down from hard questions and difficult scenarios.”
— M. Catherine Downen, MA, MA, LPC, NCC
Founder, Christian Counseling Connection
“I serve on the ReThink315 advisory board and as a speaker. ReThink315 is an expression of our efforts to ‘ReThink’ and reconfigure an apologetics ministry based on 1 Peter 3:15 as a whole, not in part. In addition to ‘being ready to give an answer,’ we seek to emphasize ‘in our hearts revere Christ,’ and ‘do this with gentleness and respect.’ Jeremy Smith was and is deeply influenced by his time at L’Abri and the ministry of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. In that spirit, we plan events for high school students that are built around *current* questions regarding Christianity. As a team, we utilize our diverse networks to bring in incredible speakers that demonstrate the wide range of orthodox Christian thought on a wide array of subjects. I think this might be the most spiritually sophisticated youth ministry I have come across.”
— Rachel Ferguson, PhD
Professor, Concordia University Chicago
“For over a decade, Jeremy Smith has been facilitating discussions and organizing events to help young people think about life’s important questions. His work in St. Louis has edified many young people, and in some cases prevented them from falling off the deep-end and abandoning their faith in Christ.”
— Kurt Jaros, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Defenders Media, Affiliate Faculty, Colorado Christian University
“The mission of the church is clear: go and make disciples. We need to raise up a new generation of disciples who not only heed Christ’s call, but can do so with truth and love in a world that is desperate for both. And that’s why we need more organizations like Rethink315. If you’re leading young people, I urge you to partner with this incredible ministry.”
— Brett Kunkle
Author, Founder and President of MAVEN
“In my decade-long friendship with Jeremy Smith, I have continually been impressed with his energy and passion. His desire to see teens, parents, and church leaders be more grounded in Christian apologetics is infectious. He is one of the most joyful servants in ministry I know. He clearly loves people, his calling, and most of all, his Lord.”
— Sean Maney
Director, FirstLight St. Louis
“I’ve known Jeremy for over ten years now. Most presentations on Christian apologetics, useful as they may be, focus on a predictable list of questions and objections. Yet in Jeremy’s message and testimony, the idea of “apologetics” is liberated from its confining shackles. His personal testimony may be more powerful and unusual than he realizes. I have yet to hear anyone, other than Jeremy, link pre- and post-Christian life experiences, including the hard ones, to doubts and questions that they had regarding God and the gospel. Jeremy’s approach is unique. I am confident that Jeremy’s unique witness will break through to people where other apologists might not.”
— Michael McClymond, Ph.D.
Author, Professor of Modern Christianity, St. Louis University
“I travel and meet people in ministry around the world, and I can tell you that Jeremy Smith is a rare guy. He has a heart for the next generation, a love for the local church, and the experience to help people who love students to more effectively reach and disciple them. I expect great things from Jeremy and the team at ReThink315.”
— Sean McDowell, Ph.D.
Author, Associate Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University
“Jeremy Smith is a Christian leader worth following. He’s a unique combination of smart and savvy, confident and humble, culture-engaging and Jesus-loving. He wants people to know Christ, and not only know Christ but follow Him, and not only follow but communicate Christ’s gospel in ways large and small in their every day lives. That’s a mission and leader to support whole-heartedly.”
— Bob Oesch
Director, Midrash & Theology at the Bottleworks (a ministry of The Journey Church , St. Louis, MO)
“In our increasingly secular culture, Christian beliefs and practices are being challenged more than ever. As a result, Christians who haven’t been grounded in what they believe or why, end up becoming easy prey for advocates of counterfeit gospels. In short, we need to completely re-think our approach toward discipleship and evangelism, because at the present moment, the world is beating us at our own game. Jeremy Smith and his team at ReThink315 are not only aware of this problem, but are also finding and implementing creative solutions.”
— Shane Rosenthal
Founder, Host, The Humble Skeptic Podcast
“Jeremy Smith is a winsome, honest, and skilled communicator who sharpens those around him. His relational apologetics style embodies speaking the truth, in love, without compromising one’s convictions. ReThink315 is an essential and much-needed ministry that our culture needs to equip Christians to evangelize and to provide answers to unanswered questions. I highly recommend Jeremy and the ReThink315 team to help you equip your church, school, or conference with the gospel and apologetics skills they need to radically change hearts and minds and win souls for Christ.”
— Jannique Stewart
Pro-Life Speaker at Life Training Institute
“If you found out that 75% of your current customers left for a competitor, would that cause you to rethink your approach? Well, that’s how many young people leave the church, often because they don’t get adequate answers to their questions or any evidence for Christianity. Jeremy Smith is helping churches and pastors all over St. Louis to rethink and reinvigorate their ministry to young people. I can’t recommend Jeremy and the ReThink315 team highly enough!”
— Frank Turek, Ph.D.
Author, Founder and President of CrossExamined
“God desires for His people to be witnesses inside and outside of the church. Jeremy led two separate 12 week equipping classes for laypeople and leaders at our church. Everyone left those sessions feeling more confident connecting with people outside the church. While Jeremy is great at modeling relationship building and teaching inquisitive dialogue, I truly appreciate his heart for Jesus and for empowering others to share the gospel.”
— Rev. Ben Tzeng
Pastor of Evangelism and Community, Central Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, MO
“Jeremy Smith has been an ardent supporter of our local Reasons To Believe chapter. His enthusiasm and genuine concern for the advancement of Christian apologetics in the local church is inspiring. I have always known him to be very welcoming, even with those with whom he disagrees, and his teaching and speaking style is down to earth and easy to apply. Any youth or adult group who desires to be challenged and equipped should consider partnering with Jeremy and the team at ReThink315.”
— George Vicari, MS, MO
President, Reasons To Believe, Saint Louis Chapter
“From the first time I met Jeremy 10 years ago to today I see his heart, passion, and love for God. Jeremy is allowing God to use him to minister to and disciple the next generation of leaders and influencers with the truth of God’s Word. Jeremy and the team at ReThink315 are helping today’s young people stay engaged and equipping them to stand strong for God.”
— Merv Wagner
State Director, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Kansas
“I’ve known Jeremy Smith for nearly 15 years. For 10 of those years he led a local ministry focused on preparing Christian teens for life in college. My wife and I partnered with him on several events and my own daughter, who is currently in college, benefited greatly from the ministry. I have seen his heart for equipping people of all ages to share and explain their faith in an increasingly skeptical world. I am excited for Jeremy and everyone associated with ReThink315.”
— Conway Wong
Chapter Director, Reasonable Faith, Saint Louis
2022 Student &
Volunteer Feedback
I’ve been to a lot of different youth camps and events and, being the son of a pastor, I’ve had a lot of different experiences. But the thing about ReThink315 that I like is the depth and seriousness here. There are a lot of different talks and topics that come to mind that you may not hear in other contexts.
-2022 Student
Growing up we’re never told why the Bible is true or how we even got these books… Here I learned why we have different books in the Bible, how they were chosen, and why they were put into the Bible. I learned how they were copied and translated, and now I know that what’s in there is accurate.
-2022 Volunteer
Even though all of the panelists here agree on the fundamentals, there are other topics Christians have different views on. That concept of “mere Christianity” that C.S. Lewis talks about, in terms of all the things all Christians should agree on, is a great start. But I feel like it is very important to hear different views.
-2022 Student
What I found here isn’t something you experience in other places. It’s not just the concrete, evidenced based apologetics. It’s also all about the more emotional and relational… In terms of other camps or even church events, there aren’t a lot of other experiences I’ve had that compare to what I experienced here at ReThink315.
-2022 Student
I’m not the kind of person who is going to get a Ph.D. in philosophy. Not many people are. This kind of training and these sorts of conversations are good for not just the super smart people out there, but for ordinary people like me in our everyday walks with Jesus.
-2022 Volunteer
I thought the topics this year were definitely focused on the questions you’re going to encounter with your peers. I think it’s important to answer the little questions young people are asking… If I have little questions about something but I don’t feel comfortable asking a youth pastor or a parent, that can fester and boil into something bigger.
-2022 Student
I’ve been hanging out with this group since I was a kid. I’ve participated in and even helped create so many different components of this ministry. It’s nice to be a young adult coming back, and continuing to come back, to grow with people and to grow in my faith.
-2022 Volunteer
The panels moderated by Jeremy are absolutely excellent, but the Q&A time set aside for students are the moments that really shine. The environment they’ve created is not just a boring stuffy lecture. Rather it’s an open panel where at least half the time, if not more, students are asking questions and getting face to face time with these speakers.
-2022 Student
These kids are going to have careers. I have a career now and I’m constantly surrounded by people who don’t believe… The more I’ve talked about it over the last 10 years, I’ve become more confident and more secure in Christ. Not only as I answer questions but as I live this all out.
-2022 Volunteer
Usually, the only place I can find this information is online, but I don’t always know where to look or even what to look for. Being here, it’s like all this good information is being spoon fed to me. That’s important because now I feel like I can spoon feed it to other people in an easy to digest way.
-2022 Student
One of the cool things about ReThink315 is that when it comes to the people on the panel, you don’t just learn from their degrees and expertise. You learn from the way they talk to students… They just radiate kindness and Christ’s love. They are a living example of everything they’re telling you.
-2022 Volunteer
-2022 Volunteer
It’s not rare for a speaker here to really open up and be vulnerable. What we often see in conversations like these is a false sense of strength like we can’t be vulnerable. But that’s just not what we see from Jesus. This vulnerability I found here is rare and I haven’t found it anywhere else.
-2022 Student
I went to a few different youth camps… There it was more fun and games with just a few talks or sermons. Here there’s still plenty of time for fun but there are more talks, deeper talks, and you get a lot more out of it.
-2022 Volunteer
You should come here! Especially if you’re struggling to figure out what’s true… ReThink315 really helped me with this because they’re answering the questions that nobody else is answering.
-2022 Student
Here you’re getting to know why you believe what you believe. Even though you already believed it and accepted it your whole life, it’s good to have historical proof and even proof outside of Christianity.
-2022 Volunteer
I really do enjoy asking questions here because the answers are really good. I’ll continue to talk about all this with my friends and family. I want them to come to ReThink315 so they can have the experience that I did.
-2022 Student
It was so nice to find out that there were people here, even leaders, coming from the same place as me. Your education or level of knowledge just doesn’t matter here. You come as you are…
-2022 Volunteer
Here at ReThink315 it’s a very unique experience in terms of finding other people who enjoy deep thinking. I haven’t found anything like this anywhere else. It’s very important to know why we believe what we believe.
-2022 Student
There was never a time when a panel finished, and I felt like none of my questions were answered. Every question got answered. All the people up there on the panel were extremely qualified and very smart.
-2022 Student
One of the things I love most about ReThink315 is when I first walked through the door people were making friends right off the bat.. This was my first time here and not one person was sitting by themselves and everyone was talking to everyone… Which is great for people like me who are new.
-2022 Student
I just like to see people of all different backgrounds coming together. I don’t see a lot of other Christian camps or retreats like these with so many people speaking and teaching with such different backgrounds… When it comes to nonbelievers this is a great thing to model.
-2022 Student
ReThink315 is different in that they have so many speakers and panelists who are experts and, as smart as they are, they’re not judgmental of different ideas. I like that they all share the same principals and the main doctrines of Christianity, but they leave space for disagreement on the small things. They keep the main ideas the main ideas and don’t divide over the small stuff.
-2022 Student
Here at ReThink315, we know we’re welcome to ask questions so now we’re not afraid to ask questions. I was really surprised coming here by all the students having this shared desire to ask questions and learn… It’s such an encouragement.
-2022 Student
The questions I usually ask are about how I can apply these answers in real life. How can I actually help someone…? Especially in evangelism, I want to know how to talk about the gospel in a way that really reaches the lost.
-2022 Student
When we first came here on Friday, there was such a strong sense of family. We’re just now joining in, but you can feel it every time we meet together as a group. All of our mealtimes, our panel discussions, the hang outs, it’s just great!
-2022 Student
-2022 Student
Even when our pastors have good answers, they won’t have all the answers for everything. Here there’s a really diverse group of people to learn from with the experience and the qualifications to talk about these things… This helps me to understand a topic better and helps me figure out what I think for myself.
-2022 Volunteer