Prayer Requests and Praises, November 2012

God encourages His children to ask Him for good things (Matthew 7:7–11). However, we should be careful to remember that supplication is not the only element of prayer. Praise and thanksgiving are also essential.

Consider how frequently we neglect thanking God for all the mercies and blessings He gives us every day—from family and food to our very breath. And how often do we ask God for something and then forget to thank Him when He answers our request? Yet in Scripture we are clearly told, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Truly, we at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum have an abundance of reasons to praise our God. That’s why, as Thanksgiving Day approaches, we want to dedicate this month’s prayer update to focusing on some of the many blessings God has showered on us. Please join us in giving thanks to the Lord for His infallible Word, our salvation through Jesus Christ, and all the praises listed below (which are just a taste of what God is doing here at AiG).

Ark Encounter: Over $9 Million Raised

God continues to answer our prayers by blessing us with donations for the evangelistic Ark Encounter project. By the Lord’s provision through the generosity of many supporters, we are now more than a third of the way to our goal of $24.5 million. We are looking forward to breaking ground in God’s timing, and we praise Him for the ongoing progress of this monument to biblical truth.

Answers Worldwide: Building on a Legacy

We praise God for the great work that Dr. and Mrs. Crandall have done in our Answers Worldwide ministry. God allowed them to establish many precious relationships with people around the world whom we will continue to support and serve. We also thank God for Steve Ham and the AiG team who will now be responsible for the care of our worldwide outreach.

Outreach: Positive Feedback

Out of all the feedback that our Answers Outreach speakers receive while presenting truth in churches across the nation, the primary response is one of encouragement. Attendees frequently relate how the messages help them answer questions they have struggled with for years. In addition, believers tell us how AiG resources have helped them better defend their faith and have made them more effective witnesses for Christ in spreading the gospel.

Web Development: Successful Store Launch

With many months and over 7,000 hours of development time leading up to the launch, the AiG web team went live with our new web store on October 10. We are thankful that there were no major post-launch issues. The vastly improved store performance has been stellar, and all the new features are working well.

If you have not checked out our new online store yet, you should! Our checkout process is much faster and can handle any number of products, we have a “better together” section to show products that go well with each other, bulk order forms are now available for VBS and ABC materials, you can see the current best-selling items, and it’s much simpler to find products. These are just a few of our favorite new features. Perhaps the best new feature is that the new store is designed to work on mobile devices and computers with a consistent responsively designed interface! Praise God for the blessing of our smooth implementation and for this new store to better equip our constituents.

AiG–UK: Plenty of Opportunities

Praise the Lord for the great demand for AiG ministry in the UK during the month of November. Our AiG–UK office has been able to utilize various speakers in a number of outreaches recently. We are excited about strengthening the foundational creation-gospel message in this land.

Research: God’s Work Advancing

The research department at AiG would especially like to praise God for the health and protection of our staff members. We are also thankful for the soon arrival of astronomer Dr. Danny Faulkner to join the team. Additionally, the Answers Research Journal continues to be well supported, and we were recently able to complete the significant Ark Kinds research project.

Planned Giving: Unexpected Blessings

The planned giving department recently learned that Answers in Genesis is designated as a remainder beneficiary under a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) set up by one of AiG’s supporters. This arrangement was completely unknown by us (and there may be numerous other such charitable trusts that will eventually benefit the ministry and its mission). We thank God for His continual provision through people like you who support us through prayers and financial gifts.