Ken Ham's Blog, page 435

Creation Museum, Ark Encounter Receive Kentucky Tourism Awards

Below is a copy of the press release sent out yesterday from Answers in Genesis. Various media outlets have already reported on this; for instance, our local Fox TV affiliate (Fox 19 in Cincinnati) has published this press release.

Traverse Awards honor excellence in marketing

PETERSBURG, Ky., Nov. 1, 2011 – Once again, the internationally renowned Creation Museum has received top honors for its marketing efforts, garnering three awards at the annual Traverse Awards hosted by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association last month.

The museum received first place in the social media category for its creative and interactive social media campaign. The Creation Museum has nearly 98,000 Facebook fans (or "likes") and logs thousands of weekly interactions.

The museum was also awarded second place honors for its television commercial spots, which showcased the exotic live animals in the outstanding petting zoo next to the museum.

Although it's not even open yet, the new Ark Encounter project (with a full-size Noah's Ark as its centerpiece) was also honored, being hailed for the creativity and quality of its press materials. It received a second place award for the Ark Encounter press kit.

"We are honored by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association's recognition of our marketing efforts and for their appreciation of the Creation Museum'scontributions to state tourism," said Ken Ham, the founder and president of the Creation Museum. "I am constantly amazed at the creativity of our staff and our ad agency, Joseph David Advertising. I am delighted they have been recognized in such a way, and that the museum is acknowledged to be at the cutting edge of today's social media."

Eric Rose, chairman of the KTIA, which hands out the awards, added,  "We are very pleased with the excellent marketing work from the Creation Museum, and we're glad the KTIA Traverse Award judges agreed and recognized their efforts.

Rose, who also runs the well-known Newport Aquarium (20 minutes from the Creation Museum), continued, "The Creation Museum's huge draw of visitors impacts not only those of us here in Northern Kentucky, but travel and tourism businesses across the Commonwealth. Since travel and tourism is Kentucky's third largest industry, with an $11 billion economic impact, this is no small matter."

This is the third year the Creation Museum has participated in the Traverse Awards. Two years ago, the museum won "Best in Show" honors for its striking billboard campaign that highlighted the various dinosaur exhibits inside the museum.

The Traverse Awards presentation was held October 18 during an evening gala at the Lexington (Ky.) Convention Center as part of the Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference. Jason Goff, the social media manager for the museum, accepted the first-place social media award at the ceremony in Lexington. The museum's director, Dan Mangus, was also in attendance.

Traverse Awards are presented annually for the best work in advertising and marketing among Kentucky tourism businesses and marketing organizations. This year, a panel of experts in tourism marketing judged 244 entries from across the state. Each entry is judged on creativity and how well it relates to its audience.

KTIA is a Frankfort, Ky.-based state association that represents every segment of Kentucky's tourism industry. The almost 600-member organization offers continuing education programs, provides legislative advocacy for Kentucky's travel industry, and works in governmental relations.

We praise the Lord for the numerous awards of excellence AiG has received over the years.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Follow-up to a Make-A-Wish Visit

I wanted to write and follow up on a very moving experience we had at AiG last month. Summer Osborn of Georgia was a special visitor here at the Creation Museum, and I blogged about it. Summer has had brain cancer. Through a Make-A-Wish group in Georgia, she was given the opportunity to travel (with her family) to any place in America with all expenses paid, and Summer picked our museum.

Her mother, Susie, wrote the following to us after the family returned home to Georgia:

Thank you so much for an unforgettable time at the museum!!!! We are telling everyone it is a must go-and-see! Even the lady at the Cincinnati Airport, who says she sees Ken Ham here all the time, says we talked her into visiting [the museum], and she has to go now!

God bless everyone there. We are praying for you and everyone involved in the growth of the museum, and spreading the truth of Gods' Word.

Summer said it was "a little touch of heaven."

Thanks again, and tell Ken: thanks for the personal tour. We will never forget our wonderful time there. We hope to visit again!

I was so honored that Summer chose the museum as the one place in the country she wanted to visit!

She was also happy to hear AiG's Buddy Davis do a concert in our new Legacy Hall, and she met with Buddy afterwards. Summer told us that her other favorite things during her visit at the museum included our "Men in White" special effects show and our planetarium programs. In fact, we made it possible for her to watch three different planetarium shows, which included one that we normally reserve for our Christmas outreach, called "The Christmas Star."

Rachel Bosket of our staff (who helped organize the Make-A-Wish visit), me, Summer, and the rest of her family (Susie, Luke, and Steve).

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Happy All Saints Day

As today is Halloween, I thought I would refer you to this post by AiG board member Tony Biller. He begins the post by stating the following:

Not being big fans of pagan Celtic rituals, witches and goblins, or of copious consumption of cheap candy, my wife and I are always less than enthusiastic about Halloween.  We enjoy our children's imaginations and encourage them to dress up and pretend, however, Halloween is just soo dark and gross.

In recognition of and support for the church's past efforts to convert this pagan holiday to All Saints Day, my wife and I challenged our four children to each select a "saint" to write about today.  They each picked a famous Christian, with the youngest picking first. Several of our children wanted to select our nation's most famous martyr, Nate Saint (1923-1956). Our five year old selected him with the first draft pick. Fitting that Saint was our first saint selected. One of the founders of Wycliffe Bible Translators, Cameron Townsend (1896-1982), was picked second. Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), the Irish girl who wanted blue eyes, but whose brown eyes allowed her to serve as a missionary in India for 55 years, was third; she saved countless girls.  In response to a letter enquiring what missionary life is like, Ms. Carmichael responded simply, "Missionary life is simply a chance to die."  The Reformer Martin Luther (1483-1586) for whom we should celebrate October 31 each year was selected by my eldest. I hope to write soon regarding my "pick." Following are the All Saints Day reports written by our children, ages 5, 7, 10, and 11[.]

Now I encourage you to read these reports written by these children—and maybe use this to challenge your own children to do something similar to help counter Halloween influences from the culture. You can read the reports at this link.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Another First for AiG

AiG speaker and researcher Dr. Georgia Purdom has a special announcement; she wrote the following:

I am thrilled to announce that next year Answers in Genesis will host the first-ever Answers for Women Conference at the Creation Museum. We have a great lineup of topics and speakers including our special guest speaker, Mary Mohler (wife of Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). She will be speaking on the topics of biblical womanhood and memorizing Scripture. I find Scripture memorization very difficult in our fast-paced world when our minds are already filled with so many things. But God has told us that we are to hide His Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). I'm looking forward to learning from Mary some ways to accomplish this important aspect of our Christian life.

Stacia McKeever, an AiG curriculum writer and my personal good friend, will be speaking on understanding disabilities from a biblical perspective. Stacia is speaking from her personal experiences as a mother of a child that suffers several mental and physical disabilities. Her view on this has been such an encouragement to me, especially as it concerns the sovereignty of God.

I will be speaking on the importance of Genesis to biblical authority (of course!), understanding death and suffering from a biblical perspective, and the biblical answers to racism in relation to the adoption of our daughter from China. These presentations are very personal for me because I will be sharing several difficult experiences from my own life. However, I will strive to show how a proper understanding of God's Word beginning in Genesis and the authority of God's Word was absolutely vital to helping me deal with these events in my life, sometimes even years after the event.

Steve Ham, Vice President for Operations at AiG and brother to Ken Ham, will conclude the conference with a presentation on unity in Christ. In an era where we see much compromise occurring in the church, this is a much-needed message.

The registration cost includes free admission to the museum, a planetarium showing, lunch on one day, and a special drama performance by AiG's Geri Campbell on the story of Gomer. It will be a great time of learning God's Word and seeing its practical implications in our own lives. For more information see the website, and be sure to register early to take advantage of our "early bird" discount price.

I pray that you will share this information with your church, ladies Bible study, and other ladies groups, and consider bringing a group. If you have any questions, be sure to contact us. I look forward to seeing you there!

– Georgia Purdom

You can follow Georgia on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Communicating the Cries of My Heart

Every now and then on my blog I like to share samples of the encouraging responses we receive each week at AiG.

Here is one from a teacher at a Christian school in Tennessee who brought students to the school program held at Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis this past Monday:

All day yesterday after we got back from Bellevue, and again today, I had students come up to me to thank us for taking them to the conference. Many of them were affirmed in their faith, and many have begun to question for the first time what the secular world has taught them. And for some of them, I think they saw that you can be intelligent and be a Christian at the same time! I pray that God will bless the seeds that were planted in the minds and hearts of our kids, and I pray that they will never be able to get away from the message they heard.

This is an email received from Australia:

I'm the Principal at [an Australian] Christian College … I have recently watched [the DVD] "Already Gone" and as a result I showed it to our staff. We are now watching the "Foundations" series. You have hit the nail on the head. I view the issues with our culture, the church, and the next generation in the same way and it has been greatly encouraging to hear you communicating what have been the cries of my heart (I wondered if anyone else cared). Thank you for what you do and I pray that your message reaches the wider church so that God uses it to call the church back to His Word and faithfulness . . . .

There is no doubt the AiG ministry continues to influence generations around the world—praise the Lord!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

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First-ever Creationist College Expo

Do you know a teenager who will graduate high school next year and is trying to decide what to do next? Encourage that young person to join us at the Creation Museum for the first-ever creationist College Expo, November 11–12.

Over the years, I have met many adults who have told me that they went to a Christian college; however, because the professors compromised God's Word (particularly in Genesis), these young adults either walked away from the church or their zeal for the Lord was quenched for years.

I remember one couple telling me that because of the compromised Christian college they both attended, they made many bad decisions that almost ruined their marriage. The couple said they would never send their kids to such a college.

Recently AiG and Master Books produced a book entitled Already Compromised.  

This book details the results of research into what Christian colleges are teaching and what a shocking state of affairs exists in such institutions overall. I urge parents and teens considering a Christian college to read this book, and I also urge such parents and teens to make sure they attend the first ever creationist College Expo soon to be held at the Creation Museum. Don't waste thousands of dollars on a compromising Christian college! Get informed!

Inside our new multipurpose auditorium, Legacy Hall, this November, we will be hosting many of the nation's leading creationist Christian colleges and universities—offering prospective students the opportunity to meet and speak with representatives from 17 schools.

Students and their parents will also be able to take in special sessions from some of AiG's most sought-after speakers.

See the following list of participating schools (more may be added):

Appalachian Bible College
Arrowhead Bible College
Baptist Bible College & Seminary
Bob Jones University
Boyce College
Calvary Bible College & Theological Seminary
Cedarville University
Crossroads Bible College
Crown College
Faith Baptist Bible College
Jackson Hole Bible College
Ohio Christian University
Patrick Henry College
Tennessee Temple University
The Master's College
Warner University
Word of Life Bible Institute

This is one event for students and parents to enable them to be better informed about Christian higher education. Make sure the school that you choose will strengthen the foundation you have laid for your student and not erode a foundation built on the authority of God's Word. For the complete schedule and details, visit www.creationcollexpo.org.

Registration is not required to attend but encouraged to assist in planning.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

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Large Canadian Group Visits

I am constantly amazed at the number of Canadian visitors we see touring our Creation Museum in northern Kentucky. At the same time, we shouldn't be too surprised because the Canadian border is about a five-hour drive away from our museum. Millions of vehicles cross back and forth at the Detroit border crossing every year.

In the photo below, you see a Canadian group that supports "In Touch Ministries" (the TV and radio ministry of Pastor Charles Stanley in Georgia). They made a visit to the Creation Museum on the last stop of their U.S. tour before heading back to Ontario. They spent a Sunday morning attending the worship services of Dr. Charles Stanley's church, First Baptist Atlanta. This was the church I preached in two years ago; Dr. Stanley had given me the morning services so that I could talk about the youth exodus from the church—as detailed in our book Already Gone.

I am so encouraged to know that many influential Christian leaders are using our resources to assist them in defending our Christian faith—not only to help keep young people from leaving the church but also to equip all Christians to be emboldened in their faith as they get trained in biblical apologetics.

To find out more about In Touch Ministries, go to www.intouch.org. You can also read Dr. Stanley's bio on their website.

Read this post to see how I blogged about the 2009 Sunday services at Dr. Stanley's church, with photos.

I wish to thank Mr. Art Brooker, director emeritus of the Canadian branch of In Touch Ministries, for bringing this large group here to the museum.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

It's Rare—It's a Creationist Seminary!

What a thrill it was yesterday to speak to students and faculty at Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary in Cordova, Tennessee, as a final part of our visit to the Memphis area.

The seminary building

As the president, Dr. Michael Spradlin, introduced me. He told the students that this seminary is not just a friend of AiG, they are fans of AiG—and enthusiastically endorsed the AiG ministry. The president also told me they would not employ a professor if they did not accept the six literal days of creation and a young earth/universe. How refreshing! After I spoke, various faculty members came up to introduce themselves to me and told me how vital they viewed the AiG ministry for this time of history, and they also told me that they stand 100 percent with AiG and what we teach concerning God's Word beginning in Genesis!

Taken as I was speaking

Part of the beautiful auditorium

Dr. Timothy C. Seal, vice president for academics; me; Dr. Michael R. Spradlin, president; Dr. Bradley C. Thompson, executive vice president; and Dr. R. Kirk Kilpatrick, dean of the masters and associates programs

Sad to say, the overwhelming majority of seminaries in this nation do not have a faculty that all take an ardent stand on a literal Genesis as they do at Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. I certainly felt at home among friends!

You can find out more about this seminary that boldly takes a biblical creation stand at this link.

What a difference there would be in the churches across this nation if more seminaries took the biblical stand like this one does, training pastors and missionaries who do not compromise God's Word. However, so many Christian leaders today do compromise—with devastating effects in churches as the authority of God's Word is undermined by such compromise.

I just praise the Lord for this seminary's uncompromising position on God's Word beginning in Genesis.

If you are looking for a seminary that takes a biblical creation stand (as they should), I suggest you check them out.

Popular School Programs

As I mentioned yesterday, around 3,000 young people attended the school programs Monday morning at at Bellevue Baptist in Cordova, Tennessee. This part of an AiG conference is extremely popular, and I get excited about the hundreds of thousands of children we have been able to influence over the years.

So many children came up to me afterwards and told me how much they just love AiG resources and teaching. It enables them to tell others about the Bible and the gospel and helps them not doubt God's Word. Praise the Lord for the coming generations of kids who have been greatly influenced by this ministry! See the following photos that were taken during the school programs:

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Thousands at AiG Conference in Cordova (Memphis)

It was a very exhausting (but rewarding) two days at Bellevue Baptist Cordova (Memphis) in Tennessee. Yesterday, I spoke to 3,000 young people at the two school assemblies, and we spoke to around another 10,000 total at the other sessions for the general public (Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Monday evening).

I met a number of families who drove considerable distances (e.g., Knoxville) and from different states (e.g., Mississippi). I heard many great testimonies from those who attended.

One person told me he had invited an atheist from his work to hear me speak a few years ago, and the atheist became a Christian. A young lady told me she was attending secular college, and it was AiG resources that helped her survive the intense evolutionary indoctrination. Many parents thanked AiG for the tremendous resources that help them to train their children in the truth.

Here are some photographs taken at the event at which Dr. Gary Parker and I participated.

Our volunteers.

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Nearly all the resources were sold to excited people wanting to be equipped to defend the faith.

Mally and I with the Senior Pastor and his wife (Steve and Donna Gaines).

People lining up for resources.

Kids loved looking at the books.

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Dr. Gary Parker speaking.

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The auditorium.

Lots of cars in the parking areas.

Crosses at the front of the church property.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

Foundations Series in Russia!

AiG recently produced an extremely professional video series of my major talks. This is the best upgrade of my presentations on videos we have ever completed. This set, titled Foundations, consists of six one-hour presentations divided into 12 30-minute segments. The total curriculum kit also includes study guides, so it can also be used as a small group study, or for a course in Christian school or home school, etc. Some churches are already using it as a series for their Sunday evening services.

My brother, Steve, just finished a quick trip to Russia where he hand delivered our latest translation of this DVD series.

In partnership with the Slavic Gospel Association, we translated all twelve segments plus digital downloads of the teacher and student guides. Around 6,000 full sets of these DVDs will ultimately be delivered with full copying rights given to all people living in all Russian-speaking countries. In the first round of delivery, Steve went to meet with all of the major area leaders of the Russian Baptist Union in Moscow.

In his discussion with these men, Steve had opportunity to teach them about the relevance of Genesis. We pray this video series will help the church in Russia stand firm on the authority of God's Word and be confident and bold about the message of the gospel. I am pleased to say that these meetings went very well. With the help of the good people at the Slavic Gospel Association, Steve was well accepted by the Russian Baptist leadership and the DVDs were warmly received.

Each of the pastors received a set for every pastor under their care. In associated congregations, this means many thousands of people will get to see and hear these powerful creation and gospel messages. Further copies are about to be delivered by the SGA to Russian-speaking pastors who are coming together for a major conference in Kiev, Ukraine, and Dr. Terry Mortenson of our staff will also be delivering more copies when he speaks at a conference in Russia early next year.

One thing we often find at Answers in Genesis is that the professionalism of our staff often exceeds expectations. In a wonderful effort with the team at SGA, we can truly say that this translation is of the highest standard for AiG, and this is certainly what we most desired for the Russian people who will view the videos. We believe that this is the most professional video translation in which we have ever been involved.

During his visit to Moscow, Steve reported the following:

The pastors here are very excited about the Foundations series. After I finished talking, each of them came to me with a warm hug and received a stack of the translations to deliver to all of the other pastors in their areas. Many of them came to me after the presentations to give me personal thanks and promised to make sure they will be used in their churches. I showed a clip during one of my talks, and I could see that they were really impressed. They are really hungry for this information.

I also found another exciting benefit in that the delivery of these DVDs also helps the SGA to continue to strengthen ongoing relationships with the pastors they have been so faithful in supporting. It is an extra tool in a faithful support network for the pastors. While AiG can't be in Russia all the time, the SGA is there, and now they have another tool to use in encouraging and edifying the Russian church.

Also, after hearing some of the stories from some of the pastors, my heart has gone out to these men. They are faithful men of the gospel of Christ, and some have undergone much hardship and suffering for the sake of Christ.

While I was there I also had the opportunity of speaking to some youth, as well as speaking in Russia's oldest and biggest Baptist church (in fact it is a church where Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr. have spoken). It was a rare privilege, and again I found a people eager for the message from AiG about biblical authority as it relates to Genesis and the gospel. We gave the Senior Pastor a number of sets for his church, and after the service many were asking for them. I was also able to go on a Russian-speaking Christian radio station and speak about this series. The station broadcasts across the world in the Russian language and we had questions coming in from many nations through email and texts. It was a thrill to see this excitement.

Here are some photos from Steve's trip.

Steve presenting the first copy of the DVDs to the president of the Baptist Union of Russia, Alexiy Smirnov.

The SGA mission team (Eric, Dan, and Chris) and Steve with the Executive VP of the Russian Baptist Union Eugene Bakhmutsky.

The SGA mission team.

One of the Russian pastors receiving the DVDs from Steve.

The Central Moscow Baptist Church.

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Steve speaking.

On radio with translator Sergei Omelchenko (who also was the main translator on the DVD series).

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Dinner with the executive VP of the Russian Baptist Union.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken