“Amazing” Conversions

Why write a curriculum on Genesis? Sheila’s story

“When I became a Christian in 1978, I was an evolutionist,” Sheila explains. “I parroted the much used statement that ‘God could have created using the process of evolution.’ But that all changed once I was introduced to a Precept Bible Study in 1979.”

She then became an insatiable student of God’s Word—“and I quickly realized that my previous position as a theistic evolutionist had to go. It was not possible to believe the Word and accommodate evolution.”

In addition to its impact on her own life, the correct teaching about creation changed her marriage as well. Her husband was converted.

“He was convinced that he could never believe the message of the gospel if he could not believe the teachings of Genesis, the foundational book of the Bible,” Sheila recalls. “Once the stumbling block of evolution was removed, he was able to joyfully embrace the entire Word of God and become both a Christian and a creationist.”

Sheila eventually became a trainer and writer for Precept Ministries International. When she was invited to update the Precept course on Genesis, she realized she needed help—advice from someone with the highest scientific credentials.

In God’s providence, she established contact with Kurt Wise, a Harvard graduate with a Ph.D. in paleontology (fossils, geology). “I had heard him speak at some Origins conferences. So I emailed him and asked would he consider helping me? Much to my pleasure (and surprise), he immediately agreed to help.”

Sheila says she has been greatly blessed by thousands of Bible students around the world who have completed the Genesis study and shared their enthusiasm. “They have echoed my conviction”, she says, “that there is no better way to develop a biblical worldview and ‘think Christianly’ in every aspect of our lives than to begin by studying Genesis.”

Stunned by the impact—Kurt’s story

“I’ve always been concerned about the old-age creationists, how to reach them. What has been amazing to me are the testimonials of people who came into this course as old-age creationists and left as young-age creationists.”

These are the words of Dr Kurt Wise about his work on the Genesis 1 & 2 curriculum. He says that the most exciting thing about this project was the amazing testimonials of conversions to a young-earth view:

“The most impressive thing to me are the testimonials of people who came into that course as old-age creationists and left as young-age creationists. It wasn’t my intention in doing this project, but I realize in retrospect it makes sense.

“Get them into the Bible, force them to actually interact with the Bible, and they’re either going to leave the course in anger, or they’re going to have to deal with the Bible, they’re going to have to accept the Bible. And so it has been.”

AiG agrees that this is the best Genesis teen/adult curriculum available today, appropriate for Christian schools, home schools, church schools and other Bible studies. (See .)

God’s providence from the beginning

Kurt says that his wife, Marie, is the reason he got involved in this curriculum. “My wife didn’t have a lot of interest to do her own Bible study—to get in and dig. But she went to a Precept course and she really got intrigued. It really did some great things for her. For the first time, it encouraged her to really get into the Bible and dig for herself. She even became a teacher.”

Through his wife’s work, Kurt got to know Sheila Richardson, a trainer at Precept Ministries. When the Genesis curriculum came up for revision, Sheila turned to Kurt for help.

The project exceeded everyone’s expectations. Precept’s other Bible study programs were already very popular, but this new release created a huge demand when it was released. “They were completely overwhelmed. They couldn’t keep up with the orders,” Kurt recalls.

To help spread the word about this unique series, Precept Ministries has now granted AiG special permission to distribute Genesis 1 & 2.

So what’s in it?

Precept Ministries” Genesis 1 & 2 curriculum, written for adults and older teens, comes in two parts. (Each part can be studied independently.)

Genesis 1: The Creation

This course explores Creation from Genesis 1–2.

• Six weeks of daily work for students, 195 pages
• Six teacher lessons, 56 pages
• Six video lectures by Kurt Wise, 45–55 minutes each

Genesis 2: The Fall, The Flood, and The Nations

This course explores Adam’s Fall, Noah’s Flood and the division of languages at Babel, explained in Genesis 3–11.

• Ten weeks of daily work for students, 273 pages
• Ten teacher lessons, 88 pages
• Ten video lectures by Kurt Wise, 45–55 minutes each

The videos are not required for the course, but are extremely helpful. They make an excellent reference tool for church libraries, even after the course is completed.

Other curriculum options from AiG

Lower elementary

If your church or Christian school is interested in a powerful, dynamic, colorful curriculum for younger children, you might want to check out AiG’s just-released, 7-lesson program The Seven C’s of History.

Upper elementary and young teens

AiG has also released a popular 34-lesson program It All Begins with Genesis, geared for ages 10–16, with loads of age-appropriate activities. The author is Sheila Richardson, who also co-wrote Precept Ministry’s Genesis 1 & 2.