It is the job of apologetics to refute such opposition and to demonstrate the truth of the Christian proclamation and worldview - to "cast down reasonings and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5). However, apologetics must not be cooped up in the classroom and academy. It must be taken out into the world of daily life...taken to the streets. Christians waste their time if they interact only with academic and hypothetical critics, but not with the man-on-the-street in the flesh. In fact, the majority of interactions we have will be informal and casual encounters with those in need of the gospel.

How did a person join a congregation in the earliest days of Christianity? From one perspective, the question is easy to answer. Simply put, believer’s baptism was the church’s rite of entry down to the early fourth century. But—and no surprise here—there was more to it than that.