$1M Donation Moves Creation Museum Closer to Debt-Free Goal
by Jody Brown
August 1, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Relying primarily on thousands of donations under $100, the Christian apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG) has been constructing the Creation Museum, a $25 million project near Cincinnati, Ohio. Imagine their surprise -- as well as shouts of joy and prayers of thanksgiving -- when a Colorado foundation recently made a one-million-dollar donation to the project.The Creation Museum that is rising fast in rural northern Kentucky, just a few miles from Cincinnati, is scheduled to open next year. Sitting on 49 scenic acres, its inspiration is a literal interpretation of the Bible -- specifically, that God created the heavens and the Earth and everything in them just a few thousand years ago. AiG president Ken Ham tells Associated Press that the goal of the privately funded museum is to change minds and rebut the prevailing scientific point of view.
"If the Bible is the Word of God, and its history really is true, that's our presupposition or axiom," says Ham, "and we are starting there." When the 55,000-square-foot museum is completed, visitors will be able to watch the story of creation in a 180-seat special-effects theater, see a 40-foot-tall replica of a section of Noah's Ark, and stare into the jaws of robotic dinosaurs.
According to an AiG press release, the majority of funds needed to construct the Creation Museum have come from donations of $100 or less. Ham recalls the promise he had made to donors.
"We had promised our supporters we would open debt-free next spring -- and that time-frame appears to be holding true," he says -- particularly with Friday's one-million-dollar donation from the Christian Community Foundation of Colorado.
"I was blown away by God's remarkable provision," shares Ham in reacting to the Colorado group's gift as well as to the financial donations from grassroots supporters across the United States. "That means we have about two million dollars left to raise."
Continuing, the AiG leader notes that even though the ministry has been blessed by the "very generous donation" from the Christian Community Foundation of Colorado, "the museum is being built just as much by our rank-and-file supporters...as it is by larger givers." He adds that many of the largest donations are coming from the West Coast -- 2,000 miles away. "I'm amazed at the national response -- and very grateful," he shares.
AiG points out that the "walk-through-biblical-history" museum is located within a day's drive of almost two-thirds of the U.S. population. And because of media coverage by foreign media outlets and the museum's easy access -- just two exits west of the Cincinnati Airport -- Ham expects the museum to become an international destination. Upwards of a quarter-million visitors are expected each year.
