From Generation to Generation

You probably recall the passage in 1 Kings 19:14, where Elijah was described as very discouraged. He was thinking that he was very alone in his stand for the Lord:

And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (Emphasis added.)

But then the Lord encouraged him in 1 Kings 19:18:

“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (Emphasis added.)

I have quoted this passage a number of times over the years when I’ve been traveling and speaking in various cities. Why?

You see, people have often come to me to say they feel so alone in their stand on the authority of God’s Word beginning in Genesis. They tell me that the leadership in their church won’t support them, and others in their congregation just don’t understand why AiG supporters are so strong about their biblical stand.

They often go on to tell me they feel so alone. These supporters then usually ask: “Do you think there are many people in America any more who believe as we do?”

It’s then that I remind them about Elijah, and that there are many more than 7,000 people in this nation who are prepared to stand uncompromisingly and unashamedly on God’s Word—beginning with the very first book of the Bible. And it is so encouraging for them to be there at an AiG conference and realize there are many like-minded people in their area.

I began writing this letter at the end of July, after a day in which we had over 3,000 visitors at the Creation Museum. I was greeting various guests on that day and sometimes apologizing for how crowded it was at the museum. However, the typical response I received (and I have heard this many times now) went something like this:

Oh, we don’t mind at all—we’re just so thrilled to know there are so many others who understand the importance of this ministry. It’s so encouraging for us to see this many people visiting the Creation Museum.

So I‘ve come to realize that crowded days at the museum are really an encouragement to others—and to me as well! Because of this, I thought it would be good—amidst the serious moral and economic problems this nation is facing—to encourage you. I want to show how supporters of Answers in Genesis are making a significant impact on the church and culture

In July, one of my colleagues suggested I write a summary for my daily blog on the number of people Answers in Genesis ministered to in just one week. As I assembled the numbers (right after our “Defending the Faith” national conference), I was greatly encouraged and praised the Lord for the following that happened during one week of ministry:

Creation Museum Guests

About 12,000 guests visited that week, bringing the total for the first two months of our fourth year of operation (which began the day after this past Memorial Day) to about 100,000 guests. Remember, in under three years, we had welcomed our one-millionth guest (this past May).

“Defending the Faith” Conference

Almost 3,000 people attended our four-day event in Tennessee. And many others were attending additional AiG teaching programs with our other speakers on that same week.

AiG’s Family of Websites

Over 200,000 visits that week (we are averaging over 10 million web visits a year—and growing) for www.AnswersInGenesis.org, www.CreationMuseum.org, etc.

VBS Program

We obviously don’t know how many children attended a Vacation Bible School program that particular week, but we do know that about 3,000 churches are using an Answers in Genesis VBS program this summer (not just in America but in countries like Australia)—so multiple thousands of children are coming under AiG’s teaching through The Egypt File VBS program.

Daily Radio Program

Many tens of thousands of people each week listen to our daily Answers radio program on 800 stations across the USA and around the world. An outside consultant who did a “radio effectiveness audit” for us calculated that this program results in over 640,000 impressions per week (around 33.3 million impressions per year). In addition, various AiG speakers and researchers do numerous interviews/talk shows on a variety of media outlets each month.

News Reports

From April to June this year, we know of over 70 media representatives who had conducted AiG interviews (print, TV, radio, web, etc.) or published news reports about us—many thousands read and watch such media reports. We are interviewed by media, or media visit the Creation Museum, a few times each week.

Answers Magazine

With over 72,000 subscribers, a digital and print version, affiliated websites (including a children’s website), and subscribers in 120 countries, we can only guess how many thousands of readers are influenced each week by this Bible-affirming publication.

And who knows how many thousands watch Answers in Genesis videos, read various AiG resources, or use AiG curricula in homeschool, church, or other places during a week?

Recently, the world’s leading creationist book publisher, Master Books, had a display at a Christian booksellers convention in which they featured books I have authored, coauthored, or edited. They found that since 1996, 1.8 million of these books had been distributed! And then there are all of the other AiG-sponsored publications by many different authors—multiple millions in print!

All told, I believe we can conservatively say that well over 250,000 people have received Bible-upholding teaching from Answers in Genesis each week for the past few months! It might even be over half a million per week, especially because of radio, VBS, frequent news reports about our ministry, and so on.

Be encouraged! There are thousands upon thousands of Christians in this nation who will stand with Answers in Genesis on God’s Word—with so many thousands of people each week being influenced by AiG resources!

And there is something else I am finding—something that is ever so encouraging.

I’ve been active in the creation ministry now for over 30 years. I’ve heard so many testimonies from people who have been set “on fire for the Lord,” or who have received the gift of salvation as a result of the Lord using Answers in Genesis in some way.

For instance, at our recent Defending the Faith conference, a 16-year-old girl told me she read our book Already Gone and realized she wasn’t a Christian. So she asked her parents to pray with her, and she committed her life to the Lord. Also, a young man told me that he was heavily into pornography, but after watching AiG videos, he got back on track and became an on-fire Christian.

For the past couple of years, I have been hearing one particular kind of testimony that really tugs at my heart strings. I heard it many times at our recent conference.

A young mom or dad will often come up and tell me that they had attended an AiG conference as a child—and/or that their parents purchased Answers in Genesis books for them as children. They grew up on AiG apologetics resources, and they meant so much to them and their stand on God’s Word. They then introduce me to their children (who were brought to the conference) and tell me how they are now bringing their children up on AiG resources!

And what a thrill it is to speak to these children! I’m blown away by their enthusiasm for the Lord. Many of them tell me they want to be creation scientists, evangelists, and so on—they have such a love for God and His Word.

Yes, the effects of this ministry are spreading—not just across the nation and around the world, but even from generation to generation. I believe this next generation of “creationist kids” is going to be a formidable force in our culture—and who knows, maybe they will be the ones to launch a new Reformation, to bring the church and culture back to the authority of God’s Word?

I’ve often thought how discouraging it must have been for Noah when he saw only 8 people (his own family!) going on the Ark—he must have felt so alone. And how discouraged Abraham must have been when he found there were not even ten righteous people in Sodom.

But praise the Lord, we live in an era where thousands are standing up for biblical authority beginning in Genesis—and the “troops” are rallying!

Thank you for your prayers and financial support of this movement that is sending out wave upon wave of Christian soldiers to affect this culture—let’s continue and turn these waves into a tidal wave!