First AiG Mega Conference in Latin America

On October 19-20, 2019, the Latin American ministry of AiG held its first Mega Conference in México.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, October 16, Dr. Danny Faulkner, AiG astronomer, shared biblical astronomy at the Christian school “Colegio Gracia Dei” and at the church “Iglesia Bíblica Vida Nueva” both in Querétaro, México.

On Thursday, Dr. Faulkner and I went to the “Instituto Tecnológico Nacional de México” (National Technological Institute of México), one of the most well-known tech colleges in México. Dr. Faulkner spoke about design in astronomy and, based on Psalm 19, compared to cosmological and astrophysical observations. Being a public college, we didn’t know how things would go. The auditorium packed out! Students had to make three additional rows of floor seating in front of the platform and had to fill up the sides either sitting or standing. Also, the Dean and Director of the institute sat in on the platform for the entire presentation.

After the talk, we held a round of Q&A. Just as we had answered many good questions, the Director told us that children from another Mexican state, who arrived in a few buses, were visiting the university’s planetarium. The Director asked if Dr. Faulkner would mind speaking to them. We were not expecting that honor!

That afternoon, we travelled to Tamascalapa, in the State of México, one hour north of México City to set up for the Mega Conference and to receive the rest of the AiG staff who was flying in.

On Saturday, October 19, Ken Ham, AiG founder and CEO, opened the Mega Conference with a talk on Genesis and the Seven C’s of History, then followed with One Race, One Blood. These topics are vital for every country and culture. They present a biblical message to equip the church and to challenge a lost world. It’s exactly what the human race needs (Acts 17:26). The audience of over 5,000 people was challenged to get equipped, and so it did! An impressive variety of AiG books were available in Spanish, and the attendees took advantage of it.

The conference continued with Dr. Danny Faulkner’s presentation on UFOs. This talk hit home because of the numerous rumors of aliens that pique the interest of so many people. He offered many biblical pieces of evidence of the habitability of planet Earth in creation and the tight connection to naturalism behind much of the alien hunts. Next, I shared about Genesis and Biblical Sexuality as the push for breaking every tie with biblical marriage is worldwide. There is great confusion within the church about how to deal with the barrage of propaganda forced on her. The attendees received sound, biblical, and firm teaching provided with compassion as well. Finally, to end the evening, Capt. Barry Wilmore, an active astronaut with NASA, shared videos and pictures from the International Space Station and explained how what he has experienced shows him the glory of God as Creator.

The next morning, the conference closed with Dr. Faulkner sharing about the growing Flat-Earth movement and how Scripture and science refute this growing fad. He was careful to show how this is harming churches and is only supported by a twisting of Scripture. Finally, I finished with a talk about apologetics with a gospel focus.

What a privilege it was to have Ken Ham, Dr. Danny Faulkner, and an active NASA astronaut in México to show love, to encourage, and to challenge the church with her doctrine of creation (1 Timothy 3:15). I believe it is safe to say that most Christians have experienced how the world sometimes shows more creativity and attention to detail to promote its false worldview. It is very refreshing and challenging to see Christians bringing a well-prepared conference, with expert speakers, and world-class technology to present a defense of the Christian faith. Even though we depend solely on the power of the gospel to save, we cannot use that as an excuse to be lazy. I am grateful with the leadership of Answers in Genesis for investing in Latin America, with the bookstore and cafe (Papiro52), and with ICIAR (Iglesia Cristiana Interdenominacional AR) which hosted this conference and invested in front-line technology, chairs, building, etc. to get the gospel message to thousands of people.

The large turnout for our first AiG Mega Conference in México is just one example of the need for creation apologetics in Spanish-speaking countries. Only in the last month, our AiG team has taught in two stadiums in Perú, had a formal debate at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá, Campus, and spoken to thousands of people in the cities of Bogotá and Medellín in Colombia. Even though, as I write this, the news is full of terrible things happening in many Latin American countries, the Lord is doing great things in Latin America in His church. It is a great time to come alongside these countries as our family in Christ and serve. It is a great time to be with Answers in Genesis.

Thankful for your prayers,
Joe Owen