AiG Is Reaching the World . . . in an Unexpected Way

Through our partnership with vendors around the world, people are hearing and responding to the gospel.

Each of our attractions features a fair trade area, offering gifts handmade by artisans in countries around the world. These artisans are paid a living wage for their work, helping lift them out of poverty and provide for their families. But that’s not all—through our partnership with vendors around the world, people are hearing and responding to the gospel.

The following update from the retail team regarding our fair trade area was recently shared with all of our AiG staff, and I thought you’d be encouraged by this way we are helping proclaim the gospel—a way that many people would never even think of when they look at this ministry (there is so much that goes on behind the scenes here and so many “ministries within the ministry”—lately I’ve been comparing it to an engine with many cogs, all working toward the same goal).

Recently, Ken Ham described Answers in Genesis as a mighty engine made up of many cogs, each working together to proclaim the authority of God’s Word.

Some of these cogs are highly visible. Our books and educational resources reach hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year. Answers TV, Answers with Ken Ham, our websites, podcasts, and social media extend the ministry’s reach far beyond our campuses. Our speakers faithfully travel throughout the United States and across the globe, equipping believers to defend their faith and boldly proclaim the gospel. Millions of guests visit the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, where they encounter the truth of Scripture and the saving message of Jesus Christ.

Together, these ministries form a powerful engine, faithfully declaring that God’s Word is true—from the very first verse. Yet one cog in that engine often goes unnoticed. It is smaller. Quieter. Easily overlooked. It is fair trade.

More than Fair Wages

Most people think of fair trade as a system that provides fair prices, safe working conditions, and sustainable livelihoods for artisans and farmers in developing countries.

That definition is true—but for many of the fair trade products carried in the Answers in Genesis gift stores, it is only part of the story.

Behind many of these handcrafted items are Christ-centered ministries faithfully serving in some of the world’s most challenging places. They are doing far more than creating jobs.

Many artisans have heard the good news of Jesus Christ through these ministries—some for the very first time. Families gain stability through honest work that honors God and provides for their daily needs.

These ministries are planting churches where none previously existed. They are training pastors, discipling believers, and establishing Christian schools that teach children to view the world through the lens of God’s Word. They care for widows, orphans, and vulnerable families. Some rescue women and children from the horrors of human trafficking and exploitation, offering not only safety and practical support but the eternal hope found in Christ alone.

This is the transforming power of the gospel at work.

Answers in Genesis partners with many of these ministries by offering their handcrafted products in our gift stores. Every purchase helps sustain both the artisans and the gospel outreach taking place through their ministries.

We regularly receive messages, like the ones below, reminding us that these purchases are making a real difference.

• Thank you so much for your order! Every order we receive from you comes at a crucial time for us, and this one is no different. This order alone will help sustain our operations for more than a month, which means it directly supports the women we employ and the mission we’re here for. Your partnership means the world to us.
• We are thankful for your long partnership, which has sustained us. Thanks so much for your continued support! Our ladies are so very grateful for the continued work from Answers in Genesis.
• Thank you for your orders! Your partnership has a major impact on our artisans and the community. Thanks to your orders, last month we purchased new sweaters, jackets, and clothes for a boys’ orphanage. They were so thrilled! The Lord is doing such a great work there. There are 96 boys, ages four to seventeen. The director himself was once an orphan, dropped off at a train station as a young child. He loves the Lord deeply and faithfully leads this ministry.

When you choose one of these fair trade products, you are doing far more than purchasing a unique gift or meaningful souvenir. You are supporting the mission of Answers in Genesis to proclaim the truth of God’s Word while also strengthening gospel ministries faithfully serving around the world.

What may seem like a small cog is, in God’s hands, helping turn a much larger wheel. Every handcrafted item represents lives being changed through the gospel. Every purchase strengthens ministries that are proclaiming Christ. Every sale creates another opportunity for biblical truth to reach the nations.

That is why fair trade at Answers in Genesis is more than a retail program. It is a gospel partnership. It is an opportunity to participate in God’s work around the world. It is a reminder that even what seems small can have eternal significance when placed in the hands of a faithful God. As Scripture reminds us:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

We praise the Lord for these ministry partnerships and for how the Lord uses our gift shops to advance His kingdom around the world.

We praise the Lord for these ministry partnerships and for how the Lord uses our gift shops to advance His kingdom around the world.

Will you please pray for our ministry and the many “cogs” within the engine that work tirelessly and faithfully to share God’s Word and the gospel everywhere?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

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