"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over Him." (Romans 6:9)
Some have misunderstood the ICR ministry. Because of our scientific nature, we've gotten the reputation of being somewhat "heady." But that's a bad rap. True, we do serious science, but that's just not all we are and do.
Ministry to young people can be found near the top of our list of priorities. At every major seminar, we go in at least one day early to hold school assemblies for students. In the morning we usually hold a dinosaur seminar for the young students, using this high-interest subject to teach the Christian worldview based on Scripture. Most often the students consist of a good mix of children from Christian schools, public schools, and home schools, and they welcome the knowledge that a full-blown scientist loves the Lord and believes the Bible.
In the afternoon, we usually have a more meaty study for older students, either using the interesting search for Noah's Ark or Mount St. Helens to teach about the flood, or a study of biological evidences for creation, or survival techniques for students bombarded with evolutionary teaching. On most occasions, the students welcome the teaching and experience and are never the same.
It's fun to see how readily young people intuitively accept true creation teaching. Somehow students know that evolution isn't true. Even students from secular backgrounds are not silly enough to believe their ancestors were fish.
Entry polls taken on universities often show that over 50% of incoming freshmen believe in some form of creation, even if they've never heard any creation facts before, but that number typically decreases throughout college and graduate school. And, even though a high number of practicing scientists believe in some form of creation, almost no university professors do. I guess this just goes to show that you have to go to college a long time before you really believe you came from a fish. But even so, exit polls of college students still show that a lot of students have resisted the brainwashing, so many in fact that professors wonder what they're doing wrong. I think their problem is that they are teaching something that students know is wrong. Evolution is really without evidence—an intuitively wrong idea, and many students can see right through it.
In my own case, I was raised in a strongly Christian/creationist home. When I was in 10th grade biology, I debated the leading evolution student, and 49 out of 50 people agreed I had the better arguments. And even through school in the 60's brought years of rebellion and rejection, I never doubted creation. I may have been stupid, but I wasn't dumb. I knew I didn't come from a fish. In fact, it was belief in creation and the flood that God used to fully draw me back to Himself.
For these and other reasons, ICR will continue to reach out to young people, both from Christian and secular backgrounds. We will also continue to produce videos and books geared to young people. Who knows? It may be creation which God uses to bring them into the Kingdom, and maybe creation will be His tool to ground them securely in the faith and keep them walking with Him. Of all the recipients of ICR's teaching, young people may benefit from it most of all.
