Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis, a Christian apologetics and education ministry well-known internationally for the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky, USA, and Martyn Iles, Australian lawyer, commentator, preacher, and newly appointed Chief Ministry Officer at Answers in Genesis in the USA and the new Head of the Answers in Genesis ministry in Australia joined Neil Johnson on 20Twenty to talk about Martyn’s new roles.
Ken and many of his staff had been watching Martyn’s YouTube videos and talks at various conferences around Australia. Martyn became well known as a leading spokesperson for Christianity in Australia and for dealing with cultural issues. Thousands of people flocked to his conferences.
‘The more I heard him, I realised how much he stood on the authority of God’s Word, beginning in Genesis, as we do, and he understood the cultural issues of the day,’ said Ken.
Ken had been praying that God would open a door for Martyn to be more connected to the Answers in Genesis ministry so that it could have an impact in Australia as well. And in God’s perfect timing, He opened the door for Martyn to be one of the young leaders that could continue the ministry long into the future.
From Political Lobbying to Christian Education
‘It’s out of the political lobbying. It’s more into the equipping of the church, the discipleship, and especially education. That’s probably the biggest change. But these are all things I’m passionate about,’ said Martyn. ‘The only question I really had to answer was, is this what God would have me do? And through a lot of prayer and discernment and a lot of providential events in my life and the life of Ken and others at AIG, it became pretty clear that it was what the Lord was preparing me for.’
While some question why a creation ministry organisation like Answers in Genesis would appoint a lawyer as Chief Ministry Officer over a highly qualified scientist with a PhD, Ken states that AIG is not just a creation ministry but an apologetics ministry that wants to see people saved. Those who visit the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum receive the message of the Gospel whether they want to or not. It’s part of the package.
Ken stated that when the ministry first began in Brisbane in 1977, there were debates about the age of the earth, fossils and other topics. These days, the battles are dealing more in the area of marriage, gender and social issues. That’s why Ken believes Martyn is well-equipped to lead on these issues and prepare Christians for persecution, and to be ready to defend the Christian faith.
‘I don’t believe that a PhD scientist would necessarily be the right person to lead the ministry,’ said Ken. ‘We have some great scientists and great communicators, but I think Martyn has been equipped for this time.’
Living in Babylon
Martyn delivered an amazing series on Living in Babylon that was based on what Scripture teaches about living in a hostile culture, such as the Book of Daniel, which is relevant and applicable for today on how to serve God in an environment where culture is hostile to God. Martyn pointed out the story of Babel in Genesis Chapter 11 is the first Babylon where people tried to band together and use their own human-built institutions and powers to defy God’s commands and go their own way and be their own gods.
‘That temptation began earlier in Genesis when Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan. The temptation was to be as gods, knowing good and evil, to set their own rules and their own boundaries,’ said Martyn. ‘So the story of Genesis is the story of today where we see culture and people banding together using human-built institutions and powers to define what God has already defined about marriage, gender, sexuality and race.’ Martyn had ascertained that the answers really were in Genesis before he had even met Ken.
‘If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?’ Psalm 11:3 NKJV
‘One of the sad things is I think a lot of people in our churches haven’t been prepared for living in this culture and know how to deal with what’s happening because so many of our church leaders haven’t stood on Genesis 1 to 11 as literal history,’ said Ken. ‘It’s the foundation for all doctrine for the rest of the Bible and for our Christian worldview. Christians need to know what we believe and why we believe what we do. And secondly, foundations are important because if we’re going to deal with the issues of the day like LGBT, gender issues, abortion and racism issues, we need to learn how to argue foundationally … If you just come in and shoot at their worldview, they’ll see that as hate speech and intolerance. We need to come in and explain where our worldview comes from and then challenge them concerning the foundation of their worldview because they’ve got the wrong foundation.’
One of the aims of Martyn’s new role is to have these foundations taught right across education platforms, including homeschooling.
The Massive Impact of Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis have many other outreaches besides The Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. AIG ministry directly impacts at least 30 million people a year and indirectly impacts tens of millions worldwide. AIG produces curricula for homeschooling, Christian schools, Sunday school and curricula designed for Kindergarten through to adult learning. These are also being used by over 10,000 churches, with reports that it’s revolutionising these churches.
AIG also produces a 32-page kids’ magazine that has won 20 awards from the Evangelical Press Association. They also have their own streaming platform called Answers.tv that has 6000 programs on there.
The future is looking very bright for Martyn and Answers in Genesis.
Ken and Martyn will be speaking on the topic Advancing the Word and Testimony of Jesus in our Hostile World at the Overcomers Conference in Brisbane on 30 June 2023, hosted by Answers in Genesis. You can click the link to book your tickets.
To see Martyn and Ken’s full interview with Neil Johnson, click on the link below:
