Apologetics has not always been well represented in the church. But there has been a massive growth over the years online, especially in the youtube community. This is a movement that has produced both aspiring and professional apologists. With this emergence of incredible resources, I have constructed a list of 20 of my favourite apologetics youtube channels. Being the year 2020, I figured 20 would be a fitting number to have for a list.
Some are speakers, some are pastors, some are authors, some are debaters, and some flat out talk on the streets. Whatever their method, they are all great apologetic resources. The hope is that this list will not only help theists, but also atheists and agnostics in their search for truth and the credibility of Jesus. There are three requirements I made in order for a channel to make this list.
Have a brand name or represent an organization
Must be an active channel (posting at least once every 6 months)
Apologetic in nature by providing reasons for why God exists
I understand there are many more channels out there; Some I have never heard of. So to be clear, this is not a definitive list. These are only my favourite ones. It would be impossible to rank these channels based on their content alone. So these channels will have a rank based on their subscriber count. Having said that, subscriber counts do not reflect the quality of content or the intellectual knowledge of these channels. I enjoy all these channels, so this is a simple way to rank them. It also needs to be known that the subscriber counts on these channels are always changing. The amounts will be much different from the posting of this video as time goes on. Also, this is a list of my favourite apologetic youtube channels; Not my favourite apologists. Those are two different topics that need separate lists. This is because some of my favourite apologists do not have a dedicated youtube channel. Finally, it is worth noting that not all these apologists and channels agree on all Biblical doctrines. There will be different views and beliefs among them. While they may not see eye to eye on the non-essential topics, it is safe to say they all agree on the essential tenets of the Christian faith. With all that out of the way, let’s get into this list.
20. Sean McDowell
Sean McDowell may be ranked 20 when it comes to subscribers, but his theological knowledge could easily put him in the top 10. With a Ph.D. in Apologetics and Worldview studies, his ability to explain difficult questions in a simplified respectful demeanor is contagious. He has authored several books, Some co-authored with his father Josh McDowell. This includes the acclaimed ‘More than a Carpenter’ and what could be the most important book for any aspiring apologist, ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict’. He is an Associate Professor of a Christian Apologetics program at Biola University. He goes on speaking tours, and is even a co-host on the ‘Think Biblically’ podcast. Sean is not only a new voice to a new generation, but may even be one of the greatest voices today.
19. Give Me an Answer (askcliffe)
If you love watching discussions and dialogue in a public speaking forum, ‘askcliffe’ is one of the best channels out there. Cliffe Knechtle has been speaking at various Colleges and Universities around the United States for over 30 years. There are hundreds of these videos that fall under the ministry name “Give Me An Answer”. He is the senior Pastor at Grace Community Church in New Canaan, Connecticut. Cliffe uses several arguments to explain how Christianity is reliable. His strongest and most consistent argument for God’s existence is the Moral argument, where if there is no God, there are no objective moral values. There are countless videos of him explaining this argument to students. His bold speaking style can be intimidating, but he will always respect students as long as they respect him, which does not always happen.
18. Bible Answer Man
It takes a very confident person to call himself a “Bible Answer Man”. But Hank Hannegraaff does that. Hannegraaff knows his Bible very well, and if you have any questions about it, He is your guy. He is the President of the ‘Christian Research Institute’, and longtime host of the “Bible Answer Man” radio show. While he still does radio broadcasts, it has all merged now into podcasts and youtube videos. Hannegraaff is a strong voice for Evangelical Christians. He usually argues against non-Christian religions and heresies. He has battled mantle cell lymphoma cancer since 2017. As of December 2019, Hannegraaff announced that he is now cancer free. Oh yeah, he has also written over 20 books. At 70 years of age, he has not slowed down on producing content for Christians and seekers of truth.
17. Stand to Reason
STR Videos or also known as ‘Stand to Reason’ features its founder and president Greg Koukl. STR trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith. Koukl is another recent discovery, but has made a great short impression on me in his speaking. He teaches Christians how to think and be confident in their faith in a way that can engage with people in a gracious and compelling manner. Koukl has authored an incredible book called “Tactics”. This book has received several endorsements as a must read in the realm of apologetics. STR Videos has short form videos answering challenges and questions. But there are also a few high quality animation videos that teach about various topics of contention. With multiple Masters degrees, multiple podcasts, and multiple speaking engagements, Koukl has made it his mission to defend the Christian faith. This is the only channel I have seen that teaches Christians how to talk with those that oppose their faith.
16. Cold Case Christianity – J. Warner & Jimmy Wallace
Cold Case Christianity has a unique perspective from J Warner Wallace. As a cold-case homicide detective, his investigation of the reports of Jesus’ death and resurrection led him from atheism to Christianity. He has a masters degree in theology, and has authored several books. He has been speaking at churches and universities training young students to think like a detective when it comes to the truth about God. Most of his videos are in short form from 2 to 8 minutes addressing all sorts of questions that challenge the Christian faith. What I like about J Warner Wallace is his unique approach to seeing the credibility of the Bible through his own murder mystery skill set. He treats the Gospels as eyewitness accounts like he would any other witness. Atheists and agnostics could find a deep appreciation for his perspective.
15. Capturing Christianity
Capturing Christianity is a channel I recently discovered. Created by Cameron Bertuzzi, he has made it his mission to ‘expose the intellectual side of Christian belief’. This is fueled by his brother becoming an atheist and a desire to share why Christianity is true. He has a background in photography which shows as his videos have a high quality production value to it. Bertuzzi has several different types of content. He hosts discussions and interviews with well known philosophers and theologians. My favourite content is his response videos to critical arguments against Christianity and God’s existence. His calm demeanor, yet subtle witty humour is a joy to watch. He also has a very clean professional looking website with some great articles and resources. Capturing Christianity is a channel well on the rise.
14. Apologetics with Preston Perry
Apologetics with Preston Perry was born out of a friendship with a Jehovah’s Witness. Perry was asked so many questions by that Jehovah Witness, that it spurred him on to a path of apologetics. Preston does teaching, spoken word poetry, discipleship, and urban ministry. His converses with Atheists, Agnostics, Jehova Witnesses, Mormons, and Buddhists. Perry is not limited to only those groups. He is open to speaking to anyone. He listens in a calm manner, and speaks with respect. While he speaks in boldness and truth, it is also done with gentleness and love. It is evident that Perry wants to win hearts rather than arguments. This is a great channel on how to have a respectful conversation with people that don’t share the same worldview as you.
13. Christianity Still Makes Sense (oneminuteapologist)
If you want quick answers to your questions, ‘oneminuteapologist’ could be that channel for you. The name says it all. ‘Oneminuteapologist’ features apologist Bobby Conway. With over a thousand videos published, that is over a thousand questions answered in a short concise form. Almost all their videos are under 4 minutes. With a masters in Theology, and a Doctorate of Ministry in Apologetics, Conway has authored several books in those fields of study. His channel features several guests who help answer some of the many questions asked. Although its videos have a monochrome style to it, they are well produced with sharp visuals. Oneminteapologist exists to help provide Christians with credible answers to curious questions.
12. Whaddo You Meme?
‘Whaddo You Meme?’ is Jon McCray’s channel that responds to anti-Christian memes and slogans. He also shares his take on certain Christian views and cultural issues. He also has featured prominent guests such as William Lane Craig and Robert Spencer. Like Cameron Bertuzzi, he also has a brother that shares a complete opposite view of Christianity. Most of his videos are under 20 minutes in length and have a more humorous style to them. He often has teamed up with David Wood and Vocab Malone to produce satire videos towards atheism and Islam. While McCray’s channel has only been around for a few years, he is on the verge of being well supported to make ‘Whaddo You Meme?’ a full time ministry.
11. Matt Fradd
Matt Fradd is the newest channel I have come across, but he is no stranger in the world of Youtube. He is an author, speaker, and podcaster. With a masters and undergraduate degree in Philosophy, he does long form discussions on reason and faith. His most prominent show is ‘Pints with Aquinas’ which has no shortage of guests or topics. In addition to the long form videos, are shorter versions. This is another channel with some high production values. While not all its content talks about faith and reason, there appears to be no topic untouchable with this channel.
10. Premier Unbelievable?
‘Unbelievable?’ is a weekly podcast show under the ‘Premier Christian Radio’ umbrella, and has expanded to its own youtube channel. Hosted by Justin Brierley, Christians and Skeptics come together and have formal dialogues and debates. This has now led to a video series called ‘The Big Conversation’. It features world class thinkers from the Christian and Atheist community discussing faith, science, and what it means to be human. There have been some fantastic guests on this channel and they all deliver compelling content. There are long-form videos of the whole discussions, but also cut down versions of the most memorable moments. This is a high quality, well produced channel led by a masterful moderating performance of Justin Brierley.
9. CSLewisDoodle
This will be the most unique channel from this whole list. ‘CSLewisDoodle’ is exactly what the name suggests. These videos are doodles of spoken essays from the late CS Lewis. One can only wonder if Lewis was alive today, would he have had his own Youtube channel? We’ll never know, but this channel helps keep Lewis’ legacy and words alive in the world of Youtube. This is much needed as Lewis remains one of the greatest defenders of the Christian faith. This channel does a tremendous job at explaining Lewis’ brilliant words of wisdom. It is unknown who the person is behind these drawings. But these drawings help bring Lewis’ strong intellectual essays to life. They put a fresh coat of paint on these essays, while helping viewers make sense of Lewis’ most famous published works.
8. Mike Winger
Mike Winger leads the ministry ‘Bible Thinker’ which is dedicated to equipping people to think and live Biblically. Winger is a pastor and has committed his channel to studying the Bible in a way that answers skeptics through reason and scripture. If you enjoy long form videos, Winger definitely has lots of them. This is because he embraces consistent livestreams with his viewers. The majority of his channel contains videos that are at least 35 minutes, to as much as well over 2 hours. But there are some shorter videos under 15 minutes sprinkled in there. There is almost no topic that Winger does not talk about. Whether it be theological or doctrinal issues, or even issues of our culture today; Winger will talk about it. He is also very interactive with his viewers as he has made several Q & A videos.
7. Inspiring Philosophy
Apologetics. Philosophy. Science. Michael Jones of ‘Inspiring Philosophy’ embraces those subjects with high engaging videos. His content ranges in all sorts of lengths, but his passion to read and research these subjects is very evident. ‘Inspiring Philosophy’ is one of the few channels on this list where the speaker is behind the camera rather than in front. Whether it be his voice over narration, use of typography, or use of visual imagery, there is something special about these videos. They keep viewers engaged for long periods of time. While Jones may be behind the camera, he is in front of the camera on other channels when it comes to interviews and debates. Jones does a fantastic job explaining difficult concepts. But be ready for some heavy intellectual content. There is so much knowledge to absorb from this channel.
6. drcraigvideos | ReasonableFaithOrg
This entry will be different as it is the combination of two channels; ‘drcraigvideos’ and ‘Reasonablefaithorg’. ‘Drcraigvideos’ usually contains short length videos of Dr. William Lane Craig answering questions. But there are also some of the most incredible animated videos explaining the main arguments for God’s existence. ‘ReasonableFaithOrg’ has the longer form videos of Craig. These usually have Craig either speaking, debating, podcasting, or being interviewed. Many consider this philosopher and theologian as one of the most influential debaters of our time. I see him as THE greatest defender of the Christian faith of our time. He has debated many of the greatest atheists today. He is a master at cornering his opponents to the point that they cannot refute his arguments. I have watched tons of his debates and I cannot tell you how many times his opponents either have a poor response, or none at all to his arguments. I have never seen Craig lose one single debate. Not only that, but some of his opponents are actually too scared to debate him. I would have never had any interest in apologetics had I not watched Craig’s debates. He is an absolute treasure that cannot be taken for granted.
5. Cross Examined
Frank Turek is the founder and President of ‘Cross Examined’. This non-profit ministry is trying to change the trend of Christian youths leaving the church while in college. This is because they have an intellectual skepticism of their faith. ‘Cross Examined’ aims to teach credible reasons to the youth why Christianity is true. With a Doctorate in Apologetics, Turek has authored or co-authored four books. These include “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be An Atheist” and “Stealing from God”. Turek is also a speaker, and wow does he like to speak. Not only is he on consistent speaking tours, he has his own weekly Television and Radio program. His youtube videos are usually short snippets of the many questions he receives and addresses during his speaking tours. What I most appreciate about Turek is the way he handles his skeptics. He is another apologist that models gentleness and respect.
4. Apologia Studios
It is only fitting for a channel to be on this list with the name ‘Apologia Studios’. This stems from their church based in Arizona called ‘Apologia Church’. This small team led by pastor Jeff Durbin not only wants their channel to reach people for Christ, they want to be the new standard in Christian media. While there is a catalogue of various shows to watch, the apologetics aspect of this channel is in the form of many candid street conversations. These are by far my favourite videos as it shows the kind of objections and arguments against Christianity. Durbin will speak to anyone with a different worldview. The majority of the conversations are either with Mormins or pro-abortionists. Durbin is incredible at having respectful dialogue even with the most difficult opponents. His ability to reason and deconstruct arguments in a patient loving way is an inspiration. This is another example in how to model conversations with gentleness and respect.
3. Wretched with Todd Friel
‘Wretched’ did not start out as a YouTube channel. It began as a TV and Radio program which still exists today. ‘Wretched’ is hosted by Todd Friel. He has studied to be a pastor and has published several books. The mission of ‘Wretched’ is to preach and defend the gospel while strengthening the local church. The content usually consists of discussions Friel has with various people that do not share the Christian worldview. This can either be one on one, or in larger public spaces. His talks on theological issues do not always sit well with certain people, but he manages to keep a cool head through it all. Those have been my favourite kind of videos. But there has been less of that now, and more videos done in podcast form. One unfortunate part of its channel is that the comments section to all its videos are off. This does not allow for any discussion. But I will say that the quality of these videos have a very high production value to them.
2. Apologetics Roadshow (Acts17Apologetics)
From the trailer park, to the prison, to the Bronx. Wood’s incredible testimony of leaving atheism is on his channel ‘Acts 17 Apologetics’. His channel deals with apologetics, atheism, and philosophy. But the majority of his content is refuting the inconsistencies of Islam. Wood has debated atheists, but most of his debates have been against some of the greatest defenders of Islam. Aside from debates, ‘Acts 17 Apologetics’ generally produces short form videos. Wood has no shortage of his dry witty humour. Especially from his larger projects such as the ‘Islamicize Me’ and ‘Mohommed’s Boom Boom Room’ series. His subscriber count is impressive. But what is more impressive is the many Muslims that have actually converted to Christianity from watching these videos. His channel has a consistent flow of comments from people who claim to have left Islam. But there is no greater conversion than the one found in Wood’s close friendship with the late Nabeel Qureshi. Wood’s friendship with Nabeel led him on a path to leave Islam. Querishi became a strong voice to the Muslim community. He published his story and the influence Wood had on him in his book ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus’. This book alone has led to even more muslims converting to Christianity.
1. RZIM
‘Ravi Zacharias International Ministries’ is not only a Youtube channel. It is a global movement of teaching evangelism and apologetics. The name comes from its founder Ravi Zacharias. This is a name most likely heard by many. He has traveled the world and has spoken at so many venues. He started an online teaching academy to help Christians become better equipped at thinking and reasoning. The channel itself has a healthy mix of long and short answers contributed by many speakers aside from Zacharias. Speakers such as Abdu Murray, Andy Bannister, and one of my favourites, John Lennox. But there are so many more speakers part of RZIM that this has become a global movement. Most of these videos are from speaking forums along with some quick answer videos. There are also some cut down versions of audience Q and A portions of these forums. Those would be some of my favourite videos to watch. There is a massive library of content on this channel.
So those are my 20 favourite apologetic YouTube channels. I hope this list will serve you well on your quest for truth. They have made a major impact on my life, and I hope they do the same for you. Please support any of these channels any way you can. It would go a long way towards helping them continue to make an impact and produce great content. There are also affiliate links to all of the books mentioned in the description if any interest you. Thanks for watching everyone, and until then, keep exploring.
