Answers in Genesis with the Creation Science Educators’s Caucus at the NEA Outreach

For 17 years, Answers in Genesis has voluntarily supported the Creation Science Educators’ Caucus at the largest meeting of public educators in the world—the NEA (National Education Association) convention. It is one of the most liberal organizations in America today, promoting homosexual behavior, abortion, etc.

AiG as a ministry would not normally be allowed to have a booth at such a humanistic convention, but AiG has been invited by the Caucus to be a major part of staffing its convention booth and providing resources to be given away to public school teachers and leaders. Over the years, tens of thousands of books, booklets, DVDs, and other resources have been freely put into the hands of public school teachers, and each year hundreds of educators have been engaged by our witnessing team at the Caucus booth.

Not surprisingly, various people have tried to get this Caucus and AiG banned from the convention. God has truly intervened in miraculous ways to prevent that. We have also received many great testimonies from teachers as a result of receiving AiG resources at this convention. And many Christian teachers (the few “missionaries” in the public education system) have been so encouraged by our presence, and they have praised the Lord for the resources they receive from us. These tools help equip them to provide solid, biblical answers to the skeptical questions that challenge the truth of God’s Word.

This year, the NEA convention was held in Washington, DC. As we have done for 17 years, AiG sent staff and volunteers to work the booth, engage educators in discussion, and hand out thousands of free resources.

I asked Tony Ramsek, who heads up our witnessing team for the NEA convention, to give us a report on the NEA Convention this year. I thought it best to let him share it with you in his own words. I believe you will be blessed but also burdened—burdened to pray for this nation, for the educators who impart their humanistic worldview to millions of students, for our NEA witnessing team, and for the freedom to continue this unique and powerful witnessing opportunity.

Tony shared the following with me:

The theme for this year’s NEA outreach ministry to the public school teachers of America was “The Death of Darwinism” as emblazoned on our 20-foot banner. Our goal was to proclaim the creation gospel message through the distribution of thousands of free resources and by engaging the teachers in personal conversations at our booth.

In all, over $70,000 worth of resources (a significant amount of the funds for this was given by special donors) including about 2,000 Check This Out DVDs, plus 2,000 other DVDs, 1,100 books, and 600 magazines were freely given to the public school teachers over the six day conference!

Early the first day we had a surprise visitor to our booth. It was a picketer who was holding a billboard stating, “The materials distributed by this booth do not meet the standards set forth in NEA resolution B-50.” This man walked back and forth in front of our booth and would not speak to us when we gently tried to engage him in conversation.

This evolutionist school teacher was the same one who last year submitted a new resolution to ban our booth from the conference (thank the Lord that it didn’t pass). After some time, the expo security officers came and asked him to leave the premises, but he stubbornly refused to comply. After quite a while, a higher up official directly from the NEA came to him and the protestor left our area. Please pray for this man, as he clearly is very angry with our message of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

For the second part of the conference, our booth was ironically sandwiched between the “Beer Caucus” and the “Women’s Caucus” (which is code for the pro-abortion, feminist caucus). Also the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender booth nearby was promoting their agenda again.

Sadly, of all the rejections we received, more young teachers seemed hostile, most refusing to receive the free materials. It looks like the increased pressure to blindly put their faith in evolution is working on the younger generation.

Numerous times teachers would walk past our booth and throw snide remarks our way like, “You shouldn’t be here because of the separation of church and state,” scoffing at the truth that our 20-foot banner proclaimed, “LIFE only comes from LIFE. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the LIFE. John 14:6.”

On the other hand, there were a number of Christian school teachers who we strongly encouraged to be a light in the midst of the darkness. One teacher became a Christian two years prior, after being in the NEA for two years as an unbeliever. Now she is a missionary in these “temples of secular humanism” and appreciated the admonition to shine her light brightly even at the risk of losing her job.

We reminded her that God is sovereign and can uphold anyone’s position whom He chooses to. Our job, like the early apostles, is to obey His word to “teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18-20).

To be clear, our goal as the NEA Creation Science Educators’ Caucus is not policy change, nor institutional change from the top down, but rather heart and mind change from the inside out with the message of hope and salvation in Jesus Christ the Creator.

We believe the NEA audience is strategic in that we are trying to influence the influencers, or rather be used by God to convert the influencers so that they may be emboldened to proclaim the creation gospel message to the next generation.

Praise the Lord for the team of AiG staff and volunteers who help spread the message that Jesus Christ is the one and only true God, the Creator of all life and the only Savior for mankind. It was encouraging to see a number of younger folks on our volunteer team so eager to enthusiastically engage and share the gospel message with the teachers.

Please continue to pray for the teachers who received the Word of Truth, that they may not receive it in vain, but turn to Him with repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus.

Joyously serving on the battlefield,
Tony Ramsek

Yes, it is a battlefield, and I believe AiG is at the front lines of the battle for hearts and minds.

As I ponder the report from Tony, I am burdened even more than ever to seek the Lord to provide what is needed for the Ark Encounter project to break ground. What a phenomenal witnessing opportunity it will be to literally millions of people.

Will you please send a gift today to help us continue great evangelistic efforts like the NEA outreach? And when you do, please consider an additional gift to help build the full-scale Noah’s Ark. Thank you.

I greatly appreciate your partnership with us!