Website of the Year!

The large Christian media group National Religious Broadcasters1 announced on January 16 that the USA-based www.AnswersInGenesis.org has been selected as “Ministry Website of the Year” for 2005. A public presentation is scheduled for February at the NRB international convention in Dallas, Texas. The convention is attended by some 5,000 leaders of Christian radio, television, web and related media organizations.

NRB’s membership of over 1,400 ministries also includes Focus on the Family, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the 700 Club, Walk Thru the Bible, Insight for Living, Ravi Zacharias Ministries, the American Family Association, Crown Financial Concepts, and Moody Bible Institute, to name a few.

“We are indeed humbled by this special recognition,” Dale Mason, vice president of media and marketing for Answers in Genesis remarked. “But nothing is more satisfying than the tens of thousands of stories about changed lives that have been shared by people of all ages who have been impacted by the website and other aspects of this apologetic and evangelistic ministry.”

Back in 1995—before web access was commonplace and AiG–USA was less than two years old—a web presence for Answers in Genesis was launched by then–board member Carl Kerby (a former air traffic controller who is now one of AiG–USA’s most dynamic speakers). Looking back, he said: “I had no idea that God would bless my efforts and the efforts of so many others as He has. When I look at the webpages that I originally created, and I compare them to what the team here is now doing and their level of expertise, I’m blown away!”

“The reality,” explained Ken Ham, president of AiG–USA “is that without Carl at that moment in AiG’s history—or someone like him who loves God’s Word and is willing to use whatever talents they have to just do as they’re called to do—we would not have this cutting-edge website. Today it has free radio files, daily blogs, RSS feeds, news stories (including a reputation for reporting on breaking news quickly but carefully), science articles, devotionals, a popular weekly teaching cartoon (After Eden), and many other features that help people when they visit.”

In 1999, AiG determined that the website would have at least three new items posted each day, to help ensure that it would see as many repeat web visitors as possible. This included a new front-page article almost every day, which would often comment on the news of the day as it related to biblical authority and the culture wars.

Visitors from over 200 nations2 have made AnswersInGenesis.org one of the most accessed Christian websites in the world, and the leading Christian apologetics site. Out of the millions of websites worldwide, the respected Alexa.com rating system has the AiG site at number 16,927, near Unicef, a major charitable organization, and ahead of major retail companies such as Wendy’s restaurant, Kraft Foods and the Kia car company.

Ham says that, “Our vision for the AiG website is to always be on the cutting edge in every area (technologically, design, latest trends, etc.) so that the creation/gospel message can be disseminated to as many people as possible around the world.” Christians are being engaged and equipped concerning the authority of the Word of God, and non-Christians are being challenged to respond to the gospel as the authority of God’s Word is upheld, and the Christian faith defended!