Tremendous Response to AiG Materials in San Jose, CA

I’ve spoken all over the country and found that those in very liberal states, such as California, are usually more excited to have us come because they have a hunger for solid teaching from God’s Word in the midst of a sea of liberalism and man’s opinions. Also, to be a Christian in such a pagan area, one has to be very committed to stand boldly and unashamedly. We shipped 3 pallets of resources and ended up with only 5 boxes of materials left afterwards! Volunteers from the church helped at these tables and they were so cheerful and diligent in their serving—we were thankful for them!

And we’re also thankful for pastors like Mike McClure, the pastor of Calvary Chapel San Jose. They are truly serving God in a very secular culture. There’s perhaps no better example of an unchurched, lost area in the United States than Silicon Valley where less than 2% are churched or Christian.

Pastor Mike told us:

I can’t think of a more fruitful conference we have had throughout our ministry. Answers In Genesis made such a huge impact upon our valley. We received responses like: “I never knew there was so much information supporting a biblical worldview,” and “What I have learned from Ken Ham has changed what I believe about creation. I didn’t know there was another side.” People need answers to the barrage of questions they have, especially in the Silicon Valley. AiG is truly equipping the saints in our area for the work of the ministry! Thanks, AiG.

Reaching Children with Answers

Children were sitting all over the lobby reading our children’s materials, including my brand-new book, One Blood for Kids. It was great to see!

We were also thrilled to learn Calvary San Jose’s children’s ministry and Calvary Christian Academy are using our Answers Bible Curriculum to lay a foundation of a biblical worldview and have brilliantly displayed our 7 C’s in their children’s ministry room. They also use our Answers VBS as both an outreach tool for those outside their church and for discipleship of children within their congregation.

Eliza Perez explains how they use ABC and VBS at Calvary Chapel:

We are so grateful to AiG for the ABC curriculum. Here at Calvary Chapel San Jose, we have been using the ABC curriculum for six years. We realize that there is an epidemic in the church of young people doubting the truth of the Bible at a much younger age then we all believe. At the same time, most churches have treated the Bible as a book of stories; in today's vernacular, the word "story" is often taken to mean a fairytale. This is leading to unbelief in our children. We have seen how our children needed answers!

As a church, we need to go back to the basics of Christianity! The A, B, C's. We have found just that in AiG's ABC curriculum. A - Apologetics, B - Biblical authority, and C - Christ-centered. This curriculum teaches students that God's Word is trustworthy and our authority. We go through the Bible chronologically as it is recorded in history and discuss these as historical accounts, not stories. We teach that if it is in the Bible, we can trust it. We have been so blessed to see the growth in the spiritual lives of our students in Children's Ministry. They learn that God's Word is our authority and unchangeable. We dive into the Word and teach students that the Bible is history. They also learn the 7 C's of history to know major historical accounts in history.

We have also been using AiG's VBS curriculum for eight years and love it! Our VBSs are an incredible outreach to our community, and we have been super blessed by everything that AiG's VBSs packages provide--from the director guide, leader guides, background sets, and most importantly how the Gospel is woven throughout each lesson of the day. Each VBS has been super unique and engaging for students from the crafts to the amazing drama. We begin receiving calls every January to see when our VBS will be held because the students in our community love it so much and do not want to miss out. As a Children's Ministry coordinator, I am very grateful to AiG for all the thoughtfullness they put into creating each VBS. It allows me to easily organize and prepare volunteers to share the love of our Lord with the children who come. Thank you, AiG! I am praying that the Lord will continue to bless your ministry!

We’re thankful for churches all over the US like Calvary San Jose that are standing boldly on God’s Word, equipping those in their church to stand strong, and sharing the gospel with a lost world.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.