The Institute for Creation Research had another outstanding year advancing creation science in 2024! We’ll use this opening issue of Acts & Facts to recap ICR’s major activities and blessings from the prior year, just as Dr. Henry M. Morris used to do. Back then I was always excited to see the Lord Jesus clearly empowering ICR’s progress for creation science. His presence still abides, and all credit still belongs to Him. Together we thank Him for the many good things He has done.
When thinking over 2024 it’s hard not to just pull together a long list of statistics for each department. They do tell a good story. So, I’ll mention some, but these incredible numbers don’t give nearly the full picture.
To start, in addition to thankfully acknowledging the goodness of the Lord Jesus, I’d love to also thank the whole staff for each one’s contributions. They are the heart of ICR. Almost every department added new people who possess outstanding skills. They came at just the right time, and all are filling critical positions.
You may not know that our full-time staff members also fill monthly roles in the ICR Discovery Center as docents and speakers. It’s a delight to see the folks in different departments working together in harmony and carrying one another’s burdens. Their expectation of achievement, confidence, and overall morale remain very high. From my perspective, it’s a joy to see them value being of one accord and placing ICR’s mission above their self-interests.
We’re also blessed with many dedicated volunteers who deeply love ICR. Nearly all work at the ICR Discovery Center and are scheduled by the loving and imaginative Esther Marlan. Their behind-the-scenes work goes without much fanfare, but their contributions really add up. For instance, Jim Smith and Terry McClenny went over the 1,500-hour volunteer milestone, and Kerry Brenner is only a hair under. Incredible!
For 2024 we say to all of you, “Thank you!” Without your vital contribution we could not keep the Discovery Center running. As I say every year, the Lord has faithfully provided for ICR’s staffing needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19).
Research Mission
ICR’s distinguishing characteristic is research. Ours is definitely big picture, big impact, and advancing well across the board in creation science. The current cavefish research is the hardest and most extensive in-house research effort that ICR has ever undertaken.
This year we acquired four new strains with an identified genetic pedigree used by the major research labs. These have been coded, photographed, and placed into distinct water treatments. With each fish spawning we are able to isolate DNA, get photographs of microscopic developments (we’ve included some of these micrographs in Acts & Facts), and gather other data about how these fish go from sighted to blind and express other traits suitable for caves. Please continue to pray for specific insights for our researchers on this project.1
Five new Acts & Facts articles have set us well on our way to profoundly changing how people understand biology through a new theory of biological design (TOBD).2 Dr. Tim Clarey’s worldwide borehole analysis has now compiled data on over 3,200 boreholes that detail the progressive and multi-continental nature of the Flood. Dr. Brian Thomas has added to his research into so-called “ancient” dinosaur tissues that are still distinctive and pliable. And Dr. Jeffrey Tomkins’ fascinating research on directed and nonrandom genetic changes associated with adaptative changes is nearing completion.
Additionally, Dr. Jake Hebert has researched fossil evidence that suggests animals in the pre-Flood world experienced much greater lifespans, just like the humans recorded in the Bible, and he continues to extend Dr. Larry Vardiman’s research on developing a biblical Ice Age model.
Our fourth scientific expedition was the best one yet in terms of samples collected. We’ll explain more about the related research project in the coming months when we start to see results. We also excavated several dinosaur bones for analysis and recorded on-site interviews for future films.
This amazing research team is carrying on and extending ICR’s incredible legacy both in the lab and outside of it. They spoke at all of our events, at four secular universities, and on many Christian and conventional programs. They write most of the articles for Acts & Facts, and you may be surprised to know that we also published eight peer-reviewed articles for Journal of Creation, Creation Research Society Quarterly, and theological journals.
This scientific work becomes the basis for all that we teach. The other departments then use their varied educational avenues to showcase ICR’s research to impact the minds of several millions of people throughout the year.
Podcasts, Educational Miniseries, and Creation Class
Since its inception, ICR has been in a sort of David-versus-Goliath role. Given our rather small size, the impact ICR has in reaching millions of people is astounding. The Lord continues to give many victories, not just for numbers’ sake but with changed thinking about creation.
Here are a few impressive milestones of the past year. Our YouTube channel had over eight million views in 2024, with our new creation science video “shorts” amassing 5.1 million views. This is approximately 50,000 hours of watch time. The Creation Podcast episodes accrued 509,600 views, equaling another 50,000 hours of viewing, and our new Creation on Location and other videos had 1.3 million views with a watch time of about 27,000 hours.
Our YouTube subscriptions increased by over 339,000 last year. On Pray.com we currently have 308,000 followers, and our Facebook has around 162,000 followers. The ICR.org web page attracted over 1.7 million visitors, and our flagship program, Science, Scripture & Salvation, still airs on about 180 radio stations.
The same digital media team used entirely in-house resources to produce the five-episode Carved in Stone miniseries, which features Dr. Tim Clarey, and More Than Survival: The Overdesign of Humankind and Elegant Earth: Christ’s Ingenious Engineering of Creation, both of which feature Dr. Stuart Burgess. We finished our second Creation Class: Scientific Evidences for Creation featuring Dr. Frank Sherwin, and then branched into a new area with Biblical Archaeology, which features Tom Meyer.
Science-Educating Events
The Great American Solar Eclipse event in April at First Baptist Church in Forney, Texas, was attended by over 800 people, with NASA astronauts General Charlie Duke and Colonel Jeff Williams along with Dr. Jake Hebert. Throughout the year we conducted well over 100 different events, including 23 major church events in seven different states. We also spoke and conducted interviews at two secular universities.
Acts & Facts, Days of Praise, Books, and More
In 2024 ICR’s Communications department not only produced the Acts & Facts magazine and Days of Praise devotional booklet, but they also published 203 articles for ICR’s online Creation Science Update and wrote and illustrated four tracts that are freely distributed in the ICR Discovery Center. ICR Press published 18 new books, updated 13 books for reprint, and developed our first-ever creation-oriented, biblically consistent, futuristic graphic novel (to me it’s an educational comic book), which we believe will be edifying to younger people. Watch for it in 2025!
Speaking of books, this year Communications expects to publish about 30 books, including a new Earth science textbook for a Liberty University class, with major contributions by Prof. Tom Breuner and ICR Drs. Clarey and Hebert. We’re also scheduled to publish a series of lay-level science books. Dr. Clarey’s book will explain why birds aren’t dinosaurs, Dr. Tomkins’ will discuss the genetic changes associated with adaptation, Dr. Thomas’ will address soft tissue in fossils, and mine will more thoroughly introduce our new theory of biological design.
ICR Discovery Center
We crossed the 44,000-visitor threshold in 2024, of which about 46% were under 18 years of age. We released our third planetarium show, Mission Solaris, and another show and new exhibits oriented toward younger people are in the works. Educational events like the Biblical Archaeology Conference with Drs. Scott Stripling, Randall Price, and Jim Johnson focused on the Lord Jesus’ life. We continue to minister primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but we attract people nationally and internationally. We would love to see you here!
Wrapping Up
We believe that it’s in the best interest of creationists for ICR to build a broader base of cooperative relationships. We were delighted to collaborate with nine other ministries, including Dr. Jobe Martin of Biblical Discipleship Ministries, Mr. Mike Riddle of Creation Training Initiative, Logos Research Associates, and the Creation Research Society.
While we celebrate our successes, our staff strives toward continuous improvement, both professionally and personally. Even the chairman of our board of trustees, General Mark Shackelford, began a monthly series of character-building talks in our regular staff chapel meetings. His series covers character traits such as attentiveness, meekness, truthfulness, forgiveness, resourcefulness, and punctuality—topics that seem to be rarely discussed nowadays.
That covers many of the highlights for 2024. What a year it was! It’s exciting to see how the Lord Jesus uses ICR to advance creation science. Dr. Henry Morris used to always add that “ICR finished the year in the black.” So, we deeply thank you for these gifts and for the many who regularly pray for ICR in their daily devotions. We depend on the Lord Jesus for scientific insights, creativity in our communications, and spiritual protection for the ICR family.
We look forward to 2025 together with you.
References
- Staff Writer. 2023. CET: Testing the Cavefish Model. Acts & Facts. 52 (6): 21.
- See Guliuzza, R. J. 2024. Why Biology Needs a Theory of Biological Design, Part 1. Acts & Facts. 53 (2): 4–9; Guliuzza, R. J. 2024. Why Biology Needs a Theory of Biological Design, Part 2. Acts & Facts. 53 (3): 4–9; Guliuzza, R. J. 2024. Why Biology Needs a Theory of Biological Design, Part 3. Acts & Facts. 53 (4): 4–8; Guliuzza, R. J. 2024. Why Biology Needs a Theory of Biological Design, Part 4. Acts & Facts. 53 (5): 4–9; Guliuzza, R. J. 2024. Applying the Theory of Biological Design to Optimal Owl Flight. Acts & Facts. 53 (6): 4–8.
* Dr. Guliuzza is president of the Institute for Creation Research. He earned his doctor of medicine from the University of Minnesota, his master of public health from Harvard University, and received an honorary doctor of divinity from Southern California Seminary. He served in the U.S. Air Force as 28th Bomb Wing flight surgeon and chief of aerospace medicine. Dr. Guliuzza is also a registered professional engineer and holds a B.A. in theology from Moody Bible Institute.
