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The Areopagus, i.e. Hill of Ares/Mars Hill, became prominent in ancient Greece well before the time of Christ as an established and highly respected judicial court and legislative council. By the First Century the city of Athens had become a commentary on various new ideas and philosophies. The New Testament Bible Book of Acts, chapter 17, relates an account of the Apostle Paul's visit to Athens, including the Areopagus, circa 51-53 A.D., and of his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in that place.
Areopagus II America, d.b.a. AIIA Institute (AIIA) is a contemporary, adapted construct of the original Areopagus, offering information and perspective on various worldviews and thoughtforms. Unlike the original Areopagus, the perspective and commentary offered by AIIA is distinctly Christian in nature.
AIIA was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1991 by its Director and Founder Daryl E. Witmer. It has since grown quickly, receiving steady affirmation and increasing interest from a broad range of individuals, leaders, and agencies.
Daryl E. Witmer
AIIA Director and Founder
Our mission is to persuade people from all walks of life of the Christian truth, to assist the Church in doing the same, and to promote understanding and goodwill between Christians and those espousing non-Christian worldviews.
The AIIA Statement of Faith is the same as that of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). AIIA also affirms the Chicago Statement of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy.
1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
7. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- AIIA is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.
- AIIA is also a member of the Evangelical Ministries to New Religions.
- AIIA is governed by a 22-member Board of Directors living in seven different states. AIIA board members attend churches affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, the Conservative Baptist Association, the Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations, and a number of other local autonomous evangelical churches.
- AIIA's director holds ministerial standing in the Evangelical Free Church of America.
- AIIA has been invited to minister at Vision New England's annual Congress event in Boston, in Advent Christian churches and camps, in Presbyterian churches, in many Baptist churches, and in various other independent Bible churches.
"Since 1991 the AIIA Institute has been effectively challenging skeptics with a simple but intellectually credible defense of historic Christian truth. Those who already believe, including pastors and leadership teams in local churches across America, will also benefit from the model and training offered by AIIA. Here's my enthusiastic endorsement."
- William J. Hamel, President, Evangelical Free Church of America
"Among the regional enterprises that call America to return to spiritual roots, and sound a strong witness to Christ, is Areopagus II America."
- The late Dr. Carl F. H. Henry, theologian and author
"Your idea makes it possible to communicate the truth freely, authentically, and in a balanced way, without intimidating."
- The late Dr. Richard C. Halverson, former chaplain of the United States Senate
"AIIA Institute excites me as a ministry for the 21st Century geared both to those receptive to traditional apologetics, as well as to those from a more 'post-modern' frame of reference. The high view of Scripture combined with contemporary approaches of engagement strikes an excellent balance."
- Dr. Martin Crain, Director of professional doctoral programs at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL
"I recommend AIIA to every church who would like to better equip the Body for ministry in the skeptical society in which we find ourselves living."
- Dr. Ves Sheely, District Superintendant, New England District, Evangelical Free Church of America
"I have been pleased to receive the AIIA material for several years. I find it to be very practical for the average layman who today, more than ever, needs apologetic tools to engage people and ideas alien to God's truth."
- K. Craig Branch, Director, Apologetics Resource Center, Birmingham AL; author, speaker, former VP of Watchman Fellowship
"I have been a long-time fan and admirer of Daryl and Mary Witmer. Their outstanding efforts and dedication over thirty years have provided answers and defense for those who ask, touching the lives of many, many thousands. AIIA is a rich resource of Biblical Information and Research which strengthens and equips Christians, and assists non-Christians who are making an honest search to determine whether Christ’s Claims are true."
- Jimmy Williams, Founder and First President, Probe Ministries, International, Richardson Texas
Here is the Maine Witmer Family, with the senior Witmers' sons and daughters-in-law referred to from left to right:
Timothy (Registered Maine Guide and employed at Nortrax) & Amy (employed as Occupational Therapist at Houlton Regional Hospital), married in January, 2005; living in Houlton, Maine.
Daryl (AIIA Executive Director) & Mary (AIIA Administrative Assistant), living in Monson, Maine.
Stephen, Ph.D. (Senior Pastor, Pepperell Christian Fellowship) & Emma, married in April, 2006, living in Pepperell, Massachusetts.
Andrew, Ph.D. (American History), proprietor of Up Close Audio, and Maureen (employed in advertising by three TV affiliate stations in Charlottesville VA), married in October, 2007; living in Charlottesville, Virginia.
AIIA's Executive Director and Founder is Daryl E. Witmer. Daryl and his wife, Mary (Lehman) Witmer, have resided in north central Maine since 1975 where he has served as pastor of three local churches in three rural communities -- for many years circuit-riding between all three.
The Witmers twin sons, Andrew and Stephen, were born in 1976, and Timothy was born in 1979. Rev. Witmer presently continues to serve as associate pastor of the Monson Community Church. His ordination credentials are with the Evangelical Free Church of America.
In his early twenties, Daryl was significantly influenced by a term of study at Dr. Francis Schaeffer's L'Abri Fellowship in Huemoz, Switzerland. Witmer's journey to meaningful faith was a determining factor in his sense of call to vocational ministry.
In December of 1984, Witmer suffered an extensive ordeal with Guillain-Barre syndrome that has left him ever since in a wheelchair with quadriparetic paralysis.
