RTB at 30: Chapters Open Doors for Ministry

RTB at 30: Chapters Open Doors for Ministry

RTB chapters began forming very soon after the ministry launched in 1986, starting with the Denver chapter. Today, RTB’s global outreach includes 53 active chapters. In addition to impacting lives directly through local meetings and activities, our chapters have also been used by God to open some major ministry doors for RTB. One example comes from the National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCCA) in Charlotte.

Charlotte chapter members kept knocking on NCCA’s tightly closed door until their gentle persistence produced a crack—the opportunity for an RTB exhibit booth at the conference. This crack has grown wider each year since 2009. In 2015, NCCA featured RTB as a gold sponsor, hosting a hospitality room and three booths. Both Hugh Ross and Fazale Rana were speakers at the conference, and Hugh was honored with Southern Evangelical Seminary’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other chapters have also created ministry breakthroughs. After years of RTB’s being shut out of homeschool conventions, our Norman, OK chapter gained access to the Oklahoma Homeschool Convention, where chapter officer Dr. Perry Santos actually helped save a child’s life! Now RTB participates in a growing number of similar events each year.

Two of RTB’s largest church events to date were facilitated by chapters. In 2005, our Chicago chapter laid the foundation for our Cosmic Fingerprints Conference at Willow Creek Community Church, and in 2014, members of our San Antonio chapter paved the way—with help from all the other Texas chapters—for a Science and Faith Weekend at Community Bible Church, which drew nearly 15,000 participants! Some 293 people indicated their commitment to follow Christ that weekend.

One of RTB’s earliest video resources, Journey Toward Creation, owes its origin and development to our Seattle chapter. Just think of all the lives that DVD has touched!

These stories represent just a few examples of why RTB continues to partner with and encourage the growth of our chapters. God is using chapters in multiple ways to build His kingdom. Let’s keep watch for what He may do in the next 30 years!