AiG–USA Goes Worldwide

You sure have to be flexible in this kind of ever-changing ministry! It reminds me that there’s really no doubt: God’s ways are not our ways!

Our leadership team had already put our strategic plan together for 2006, and then the Lord did something that was so unexpected, it “blew us out of the water!”

After visiting AiG a few weeks ago, Dr. David Crandall, a long-time friend (we’ve worked with him closely in translating and distributing creation/gospel literature around the world) called us with a proposal—one that we could never have even dreamed of.

Dr. Crandall was close to retirement at his ministry (although for those who know him, he’s not one who will ever fully retire—he seems to have unlimited energy). For years, he led a ministry involved in gospel literature distribution. He has thousands of global contacts!

He called me late last year and said, “Ken, this horse has one last run! My wife and I are burdened to help AiG-USA set up a worldwide ministry to proclaim biblical truths.”

He shared his tremendous vision: to bring Christian leaders from around the world right here to AiG to be trained, and to go back home to present the creation/gospel message.

I asked him to share his vision with you for a new exciting phase of AiG outreach. He calls what he has written for you, “The anatomy of a vision,” based on 1 Cor. 15:34: “Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God.” Here are excerpts:

Dear Ken and AiG supporters,

Paul, in this passage, speaks to us of what could be called a “global knowledge gap.” The knowledge gap is the lack of understanding the truths of the Living Word of God.

Dr. Crandall, as AiG-USA’s newly appointed director of AiG Worldwide Outreach, has already hit the ground running.

Early next month, he will travel to Thailand and Cambodia (March 4–14). In Bangkok, he will meet with a highly influential businessman (and a Christian) from Communist China, and then travel to Chiang Mai where he will participate in a conference that will bring leaders in from seminaries all over Asia. At this leaders’ meeting, Dr. Crandall will discuss AiG’s commitment to provide free materials (“AiG Libraries” of many selected titles of books and videos) to all Bible-training schools in Asia. He will also introduce a new initiative (to be launched later this year) to bring Asian pastors to the Cincinnati/N. Kentucky area for training in apologetics and “creation evangelism” at AiG’s new facility and future Creation Museum.

Dr. Crandall then travels on to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to meet with Mr. Herb Rawlings, an AiG-USA friend, and to visit an exciting new camp Mr. Rawlings is involved in. Dr. Crandall will discuss possible opportunities for AiG to minister in that country. (By the way, we are told that the Christian population in Cambodia has doubled in the last year.)

As we attach this thought with the Matthew 28 mandate (to take the gospel to the entire world), it presents to each of us as believers an awesome task and assignment.

One of the most effective ways of reaching the masses and fulfilling the Matthew 28 mandate is through gospel literature. For the last twelve years, I have had the joy of ministering at Gospel Literature Services in 117 countries [including closed nations] and in over 100 languages.

As we meet so many international pastors, it’s always my joy to put my arm around their shoulder and ask, “How can I help you? How can I help make ministry happen?” Their response is always: “We need books to study to learn God’s Word.”

So, we will begin a massive ministry of translating AiG materials into several more languages. We will require that each translation work be done by five different “mother-tongue” translators. We will provide a large AiG library (free of charge) for every Bible school/seminary around the world.

I have long felt that we ought to be proactive in the training of national pastors so that they, in turn, can teach biblical truths to their people. These libraries will enable them (millions of pastors have no Bible training at all) to have the best possible tools to prepare them to defend the Bible.

I remember giving AiG books to a pastor in the Ukraine, and he hugged the books to his chest and said, “These books are more valuable to me than gold.”

There is a huge “knowledge gap,” but AiG is poised and prepared to fill that gap.

With the museum opening next year, and AiG preparing to reach many more leaders worldwide (including via the web), my head is spinning with what the Lord is doing!

Please support AiG this month, especially if our website has been a blessing to you. Your gift will be used to spread the gospel not just in the USA, but around the globe.