Who Is Welcome at Ark Encounter?

Secularists seem to misunderstand not only the biblical doctrines Christians adhere to and why, but also our burden to show God’s love and salvation message to everyone! From some of the questions I’ve received from certain reporters, I get the sense they think that, because we speak against gay “marriage,” abortion, and other issues, those who may disagree with us are not welcome at the Ark. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Now, I’ve certainly experienced situations where secularists who oppose Christians are often intolerant of Christians personally. It seems that part of the secularists’ confusion comes from the fact that secularists think Christians will act the same way toward them. Although born-again Christians will certainly speak boldly against the secular worldview, they should not be intolerant of the secularist personally but show the love of Jesus as we reach out to them.

So let me answer some of the questions reporters have been recently asking:

1. “Will gays be welcome to visit Ark Encounter?” Of course! We want everyone to come. The Ark Encounter was built to help us do our part in fulfilling the Great Commission:

   Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

2. “Will Jews [presumably people of the Jewish faith] be welcome at Ark Encounter?” Frankly, why would a reporter even ask this question? Yes, Jews, Chinese, Arabs, Russians, Kenyans, Native Americans—everyone is welcome. As exhibits at the Ark Encounter will explain, all humans belong to one race, the human race (Genesis 1:27; Acts 17:26). There are different people groups today ultimately because of the Tower of Babel event. We want to reach every people group with the message of God’s Word.
3. We’re sometimes asked, “What about atheists—will you welcome them?” Of course. We’ve seen hundreds of atheists (almost 300 in a group one year) come through the Creation Museum. We want every atheist in the world to visit the Ark Encounter where they will learn the biblical account of the world’s history, and will also be challenged concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will not be able to leave without having heard God’s Word and the gospel message—and remember: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
4. “Would you want Muslims to come?” Absolutely! How many more ways can we say it! Yes! God’s Word instructs us to take the gospel to everyone—all seven billion people on earth. We want all seven billion to come to the Ark Encounter and be exposed to biblical truths. That’s why we built it. It wasn’t constructed to be just an entertainment center or to impress people with its size and construction techniques. The only reason we built the Ark was because of our evangelistic motive—to see people challenged concerning the truth of God’s Word and the gospel.

Recently, I had the honor of showing the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, through the Ark. Although he does not accept Genesis as straightforward history, President Carter was amazed at the craftsmanship in all the woodworking. Patrick Marsh, our VP of design, and I explained to him the biblical and evangelistic nature of the exhibits’ content as we toured. I pray I will be able to do this with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and President Obama.

We’re reminded in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Oh, how we pray every non-Christian who comes to the Ark will hear the call of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Please join us in praying that the millions of people who will tour the Ark Encounter will encounter the truth of God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken