Saturday, May 08, 1999
'Answers' faces money question
Religious group needs millions to build museum
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — Three years of arguments are over, and the evangelical Christian organization Answers in Genesis can build its creation museum.
The natural questions now are: What is a creation museum and when will it be built?
Boone County Fiscal Court approved a rezoning Thursday night for the museum site on 47 acres along Interstate 275 near Hebron, ending years of controversy and overturning a previous zoning denial. County offi cials said Answers in Genesis convinced them that it could provide adequate infrastructure.
Answers in Genesis, a Florence-based ministry that says it defends Scripture “from the very first verse,” says the museum will be filled with the kinds of exhibits that are in natural history museums, like dinosaur replicas, fossils and a DNA exhibit. But they will be presented from a biblical perspective.
Members of Answers in Genesis say they hope to open their museum in less than three years.
The group was founded in early 1994 to help churches return to a belief in the authori ty and reliability of the Bible.
“We are providing a basis for this whole nation,” said Ken Ham, executive director. “With this museum, we are showing that there is a set of absolutes, (that) there is a morality and that we are made in God's image.
“We are showing that we can defend our Christian faith in this world using science.”
Relying on donors
Mike Zovath, general manager for Answers in Genesis, said if the group closes on the site by the end of June, “it could be six to nine months to get the design ready to hand to a general contractor.”
But before the first spade of dirt is thrown for the museum, the group must raise the money to build it.
The organization has the $500,000 to buy the land, but it must raise between $3 million and $8 million to construct the museum, which will be built in phases. The exhibit part of the museum will come first. The facility will also include classrooms and warehouse space.“It's going to be a 100 percent donation-funded museum,” Mr. Zovath said. “So we're going to start a capital campaign within a year. We feel a lot more comfortable not having any debt.
“We've been forced to spend a lot of money on legal fees because of the rezoning issue.”
Mr. Zovath said Answers in Genesis members are counting on God's help in funding the project.
“We are a financially sound organization, but there are not a lot of organizations out there as small as we are that have $5 million in the bank.
Members say they aren't worried about raising that sum of money.
Mr. Ham said he is counting on the nearly 65,000 mailing-list members across the country to pledge their support.
“We're going to do it like any other church or Christian organization — by informing our supporters and contacting foundations that give money to projects,” Mr. Ham said.
Mr. Zovath added, “Money is not a big obstacle when you have the creator of the universe involved in the project.”
The next step is to sign a contract with a consultant who can orchestrate the design of the building.
“We still need to do our homework and identify people in the local area who would volunteer,” he said.
Mr. Zovath said the consultant will coordinate a “gift in kind” project that would allow bricklayers, electricians and other building experts to donate their time, services and materials.
At the same time, organizers will start focusing on developing infrastructure.
Water concerns
According to the Boone County comprehensive plan, adequate infrastructure must be in place — including water and sewer service — before a development moves in.
Answers in Genesis plans to use an on-site package treatment plant to treat sewage and a cistern, well or an existing lake to provide drinking water.
“The infrastructure is the first hurdle to get through and that's going to cost a lot of money,” Mr. Zovath said. “Package treatment plants aren't cheap.”
Kevin Wall, a planner for the Boone County Planning Commission, said the group will have a few other hoops to pass through, too.
It will have to get approval for the on-site sewage disposal system from the state division of water, permission from the county to put a driveway in from a county road, and pass a site plan review by the planning commission.
There may also be an appeal by nearby residents who oppose the project.
“I'm for a museum, but not where it is,” said George Wiechers of Burlington. “It's not the right time for that.”
But if and until an appeal happens, the group will go on with its ministry.
It will continue publishing a magazine, producing a radio show and selling Christian-oriented literature.
Mr. Ham said the nearly three-year battle with the planning commission and fiscal court over the zone change has only brought more support for the project.
“By what's happened, it's going to generate a lot more enthusiasm,” he said.
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