Supporting the foundations

Some people might think it was an event for the Cincinnati area. Others might consider it a national development. I would agree with both (in fact, it has become an international news item), but I believe the opening of the Creation Museum was something more important: a major event in the history of Christendom.

At a time when the effects of the great Reformation have been waning in our Western world, God has raised up biblical creation ministries to help stem the tide. With the opening of the world’s first major center of its type, the church and culture are being called back to the authority of the Word of God.

None of this would have happened without all the core aspects of the entire Answers in Genesis ministry. Because of the enormous financial and personnel costs associated in building this unique facility, many of our core ministries have been restricted—but there is a solution.

I was so grateful to God when a very dedicated Creation Museum supporter agreed to establish his $100,000 gift as a Leadership Challenge donation!

As I was about to write you about this great opportunity, another friend—all the way in Australia—agreed to designate his gift for the same purpose! The goal of the Challenge is to encourage other Answers in Genesis partners to give by matching their gifts—and what a blessing that is in these crucial times. That means we now have a Leadership Challenge of $180,000—funds that can double as God leads other ministry friends to answer the challenge!

The Leadership Challenge is a tremendous gift from God, arriving with His perfect timing . . . because frankly, right now I’m concerned about making sure we don’t neglect some of our core ministries, which have made this ministry what it is today, as God has blessed.

Our faithful friends have been so generous in the last few years, truly catching the vision of the Creation Museum and responding with outstanding support. I’m grateful every single day. But while our focus has been so strongly on the museum, other equally important ministries have gone under-funded. The Leadership Challenge, doubling the entire amount, will really help bring those ministries back on track.

Core Ministries: Ongoing Strength

We expect millions of people to visit the Creation Museum (and already 175,000 have)—but what about the millions who won’t? What about people facing daily struggles against the devastating effects of evolutionary thinking? What about our brothers and sisters overseas?

We can’t lose sight of the need to present the message of God’s sovereign love, as it’s clearly described in the Bible, through other avenues too:

• Outreach Teaching Events—more than 100,000 people attended Answers in Genesis teaching events in 2006! We’ve added more full-time researchers and speakers to our staff, and our new video conference ministry is poised to expand our ministry exponentially!
• Answers with Ken Ham, our 90-second radio program that’s heard on more than 800 stations worldwide—to deal with common questions about creation and evolution, and show how evolutionary thinking has robbed people of their dignity as God’s created beings.
• Answers magazine—a quarterly resource for the whole family, with thought-provoking articles that help children and adults alike develop a truly biblical worldview and share it confidently.
• Books and curricula—our resources are widely used by homeschoolers and others who want to explore and defend the truth of the scriptures in a world that’s frequently hostile.

But that’s not all! The demand to translate our materials into other languages has grown rapidly. I can see that God has awakened the hearts of millions of Christians overseas to search the scriptures concerning our origins, and Answers in Genesis resources are exactly what they need. Funds from the Leadership Challenge will enable us to move our urgently needed translation projects forward!

Creation Museum: A New Chapter

Just three months ago, I cut the ribbon at our Grand Opening of the museum. It was a huge step forward for our ministry. I want many more to walk through the displays that clearly portray the whole salvation history of our world:

Creation
Corruption
Catastrophe
Confusion
Christ
Cross
Consummation

But do you know what part of the museum I’m most excited about? It’s not the stunning animatronic dinosaur displays. It’s not even the vibrant depictions of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. It’s the Last Adam Theatre, where the gospel is so plainly and dramatically presented! This is a very important part of the Creation Museum—to inspire every visitor, Christian and seeker alike, to a humble, loving response to the good news of reconciliation through Jesus.

We as Christians should always welcome new experiences that spur our awe and worship of God’s majesty. Many have already been moved by the Last Adam presentation, and I expect many more fervent prayers of adoration will continue to go up as a result of it. I also expect that many a seeking heart will open up and send the first humble prayer of repentance and acceptance winging its way to God.

In the future, the Creation Museum will become self-supporting through visitor admissions and gifts. But the Leadership Challenge will keep AiG’s outreaches and museum on track. To be truthful, the need is so great right now that I pray we’ll even greatly exceed it. Our brothers and sisters overseas are waiting for biblically sound answers about our world, and thousands of seeking hearts are waiting for the knowledge they’ll find at the museum, speaking engagements, in our publications and radio programs, and on our website. Praise God for all the opportunities He gives us to share His truth with the world!

Thank you for your partnership during this crucial time of ministry, and for your ongoing prayers for Answers in Genesis and the people we seek to reach. May God bless you abundantly for your faithful heart!

If you would like to take advantage of this special opportunity, please contact us to see how to contribute to this special program or to the office nearest your location.