As Director of Communications at the Institute for Creation Research, I often field requests for our speakers to provide interviews, participate in radio and television programming, sit on panels, teach at workshops, present their findings to live audiences, or participate in other church or school activities. We would like to be able to accept all the invitations that come our way. But unfortunately, we’re limited by time, money, and available staff. Realistically, we can’t go to all the places that offer invitations to ICR.
In his article “The Challenge of Plenty” (pages 5-7), Dr. Henry Morris III explains some of ICR’s challenges:
Our cadre of scientists and speakers tries to meet the requests for as many engagements as possible—some 200 or so each year through which we speak or present creation evidence to perhaps 100,000 people. Our publications reach some 500,000 readers each month, and we distribute tens of thousands of our books (mostly free) each year. But all of these numbers represent a very small percentage of the 50 million evangelicals—let alone the other 180 million “Christians”—in the United States! Obviously, it is physically impossible to consistently be in front of that number of people.
While we want to be engaged in the lives of all who request our presence at events, we simply can’t. We are, however, looking for ways to meet the needs of those who want our help in equipping believers with God’s creation truth.
Along with events requests (see some of this month’s scheduled events on page 8), we often receive feedback from you, the reader. So many express appreciation for our free Acts & Facts magazine and Days of Praise devotional, and we’re thrilled that we can provide them to you because of generous donations.
You asked for more illustrations in our books, and so we developed Guide to Creation Basics—our high-impact book, loaded with rich images and packed with just the right information you need to understand and explain the basics of creation. Watch for our upcoming book Guide to Animals—developed in the same visual style as Guide to Creation Basics—to discover God’s incredible design revealed in His animal creation. Each page is filled with vibrant illustrations and amazing details about the animal world.
You said you wanted more in-depth information and more science. So, we produced our latest book Creation Basics & Beyond: An In-Depth Look at Science, Origins, and Evolution to answer your deeper questions.
Our online short video series, That’s a Fact, has had over three million views!
You also asked for digital products, and now you can read our latest books on your Kindle, NOOK, and iPad. We also provided our ICR app for your mobile devices.
Our website www.ICR.org offers recent news along with archived articles and information gathered throughout more than 40 years of ministry. In addition, our student ministry outreach Your Origins Matter hosts conferences and offers social media platforms for students to explore the relevant issues of origins (see page 23). ICR’s School of Biblical Apologetics (SOBA) offers training to equip believers for life and ministry (page 2).
Dr. Morris says, “Perhaps we could multiply those efforts through radio (we do) and television (not yet), but true discipleship—training God’s twice-born to grow in maturity in their understanding and use of His Word—is much more than a short presentation or a detached show.” He’s right. We want to touch lives. To impact the world. To share truth that will make a difference for generations to come. We’re doing much with what we have. But we want to partner with you to do even more—to face the challenges of sharing the creation message in fields that are “white for harvest” (John 4:35).
* Jayme Durant is Executive Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.