Change Is in the Air

May 2003

Dear Friends:

I have a bit of "inside Focus" news to share with you this month that we find very exciting. On April 11 when our 1,300 staff members were gathered for a chapel service here in Colorado Springs, I announced a decision to expand and extend my role as chairman of the board, while handing off the day-by-day management to a new president and CEO. This transition, made in conjunction with the board of directors, is a welcome redefinition of my assignment, and one that is being applauded by everyone close to the ministry.

The decision has nothing to do with my health or stamina. Indeed, I just completed a series of medical tests, and my personal physician was astounded by the results. He said, "I have never had a patient with better (lab) numbers." After suffering a heart attack and a stroke in the past 13 years, that was very good news for Shirley and me. Thus, this redefinition was not "forced" on me by infirmities or by flagging energies -- although the responsibilities at Focus have become increasingly burdensome in recent years. Rather, the decision was motivated almost entirely by the remarkable opportunities that lie ahead.

Being relieved of administrative responsibility in this way will allow me to spend more time on the activities that matter most, including speaking, writing and continuing to serve as the "voice" of the various radio and television ministries. It will also permit me to extend my involvement in cultural, family and spiritual arenas, not to mention Shirley's desire that we spend our Saturdays together again. Letting an experienced administrator carry the burden of budgets, operations and other management concerns is a win-win situation for Focus and for me, and one that we believe, after much prayer, has been given the blessing of the Lord.

The new president and CEO of Focus on the Family (may I have the envelope please?) is a man whom many of you know or have heard about. He is my long-time friend and colleague, Don Hodel. Don is intimately acquainted with this ministry, having served on our board of directors since 1995, with short absences while attending to other responsibilities. He was an interim executive vice-president of Focus on the Family in 1996 during another period of management restructuring. Mr. Hodel's credentials are impeccable. He served on President Reagan's Cabinet during the 1980s as secretary of energy, and, during the second Reagan administration, as secretary of the interior. Prior to that he was head of the Bonneville Power Administration and an energy consultant. He also served as president of Christian Coalition in Chesapeake, Virginia, from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Hodel received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his doctor of jurisprudence degree with honors from the University of Oregon, School of Law, in Eugene, Oregon.

Clearly, Don Hodel is a man of enormous talent, integrity and experience. I admire him greatly. He and his wife, Barbara love the Lord and have agreed to assume this heavy mantle of responsibility for one reason-because they feel called to do it. I also feel led to take this step, which creates a new position we're calling "the Office of the Chairman." The effective date is May 15, 2003. Don and Barbara, and Shirley and I, would certainly appreciate your prayers as we take on this expanded responsibility.

Now, let me tell you something else that excites me -- something that links directly to the changes that are occurring. Some wonderful things are happening at Focus on the Family, despite the financial pressures that I mentioned in my letter two months ago. While those concerns are still with us, (as is the case with most Christian organizations today,) the "reach" of this ministry is expanding exponentially around the globe. We have recently received new evidence of this greater influence. Because many of you are "extended family members" who pray for and support this ministry on a regular basis, I would like to share some of that information with you this month. I think you will see that the Lord continues to use your partnership to help us impact the world in His name.

Recent figures released by Arbitron (an international media and marketing firm that gauges radio listenership), coupled with estimates of the audience to my television and commentaries, reveal that Focus on the Family is heard and seen by roughly 25.6 million viewers and listeners in the U.S. each week! While comparisons with other "talk show hosts" are difficult to obtain, this may make us the most listened-to and watched organization in the country. In addition, estimates of our worldwide audience, (though not made by Arbitron), total 220 million per day! That is also estimated by some to exceed all other electronic "voices" in the world, including those whose names will quickly come to mind. Clearly, the Lord is using our efforts to bring biblically based, family-strengthening assistance to a huge, and growing, audience around the globe.

But the good news doesn't end there. While Arbitron research suggests a decline in the number of listeners to nonmusic based religious radio between 1999 and 2002, estimates compiled by the ministry show a 13 percent increase in listeners to the daily "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast during the same time period. We take no joy in the knowledge that religious talk radio in general is experiencing a decline in audience, of course. It is uplifting to know, however, that Focus on the Family has been able to "buck the trend" significantly, particularly considering our recent financial challenges.

Coinciding with the Arbitron ratings is a careful independent poll conducted by Campbell Research, Inc.1 This "EvangeliPoll," as it is called, is a survey of donors to Christian ministries. It reveals a number of encouraging findings concerning the ministry of Focus on the Family. For example, when asked "Which one or two ministries do you feel do the best job?" respondents placed Focus on the Family at the top of the list. In addition, our Web site was ranked as the most frequently visited Christian ministry domain, which exceeded the Web activity of the next six ministries combined. The EvangeliPoll also ranked Focus on the Family among the most recognized and commonly supported Christian ministries in the nation, with respondents classifying our efforts as "practical" and "innovative." The results of this survey are particularly gratifying to us because they indicate that our ministry is held in high esteem among those who typically support Christian organizations.

Returning to the Arbitron ratings on a representative segment of our stations, the data offers some heartening revelations concerning our efforts to reach out more effectively to both minority families and younger listeners. While we have made considerable efforts to improve our outreach to African-American families over the past several years, it has been assumed that we weren't quite "hitting the mark." However, the Arbitron ratings suggest that the percentage of African-American listeners to the "Focus on the Family" broadcast (14 percent) is slightly larger than the African-American representation in the general population.2 In addition, our Spanish-language "Enfoque a la Familia" broadcast is heard throughout North America. We are continuing to target and refine our ministry to these families, as well as to members of various other ethnic groups throughout the country. There is, nevertheless, still plenty of work to be done!

Recent findings concerning the average age of our listeners are also encouraging. While we want to appeal to people at all stages of life, we feel a particular need to ramp up our efforts to produce programs that are relevant to young families. According to Arbitron estimates for the "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast, nearly half of our listeners are under the age of 45. One of our primary goals for the coming months is to draw an even greater number of listeners from the "young family" demographic.

Audience size and ethnicity are meaningless, of course, in the absence of evidence suggesting that our programs are making a difference in the lives of those who tune in. We have exciting information on that front, too. Focus on the Family has conducted a survey of our listening audience indicating that our daily broadcast is making a remarkable impact, particularly with regard to the "five pillars" of ministry emphasis. The pillars are listed below, along with a brief summary of the survey results for each one.

• The Preeminence of Evangelism Based on our survey, we estimate that approximately 370,000 constituents have made decisions for Christ as a result of our daily broadcast. In addition, nearly half of our listeners report that our program has encouraged them to share their faith with others.

• The Permanence of Marriage Of those married, 93 percent of respondents reported that listening to the "Focus on the Family" broadcast in the past year has strengthened their marriages.

• The Value of Bearing and Raising Children Among parents, 91 percent of the respondents reported that listening to our daily broadcast over the past year has provided them with practical information that they have used in raising their children.

• The Sanctity of Human Life An overwhelming majority of respondents reported that listening to the daily broadcast over the past year has been helpful in keeping them informed about the protection of the unborn child. There is increasing evidence in the culture at large that Focus on the Family -- along with other individuals and organizations committed to the defense of biblical values -- are winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the people. To be sure, immorality and postmodernism are still the dominant forces in our society, but there are hopeful signs that, at least in some areas, the tide may be turning.

• The Relationship of Church, Family and Government More than one-third of respondents reported having taken action on a cultural or moral issue as a direct result of hearing about it on the "Focus on the Family" radio program.

To this point, the details I have shared relate to Focus on the Family's domestic outreach. However, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention some of the exciting things taking place through our International Associate Offices. We are tremendously thankful that the Lord has enabled us to reach across racial and cultural boundaries in 122 countries. For example, our efforts to promote abstinence-based sex education, particularly in South American nations, are enjoying tremendous success. To date, 607,077 students outside the United States, most of them seventh graders, have signed commitments to remain abstinent until marriage. Even more significant, 295,416 of those students have made commitments to Christ!

Focus on the Family programming is now heard on more than 4,000 radio facilities worldwide in 17 languages. In recent months, we opened three new offices in Ireland, Belgium and Egypt, adding to the 16 already established in Canada, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, East Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The introduction of Focus on the Family Egypt is particularly gratifying, considering the ongoing volatility in the Middle East. Two hundred church leaders representing many different Christian denominations took part in the grand opening ceremony in Cairo, and the response from all in attendance was extremely enthusiastic.

I wish I had an opportunity to expound on many of the other exciting developments at Focus, both in the U.S. and abroad. We are thankful that the Lord has enabled us to continue reaching out to hurting families and defending biblical values in this unstable financial environment. If anything, we have determined to do "more with less" -- to make our ministry as effective as possible even as resources are limited. God has used this time to challenge us, refine us and deepen our trust in Him. The work to which He has called us is not yet done. Indeed, we are convinced that the best is yet to come.

I'm sure you can see the linkage between these new opportunities that have presented themselves and the decision I made last month to rearrange my priorities. It is very personal to Shirley and me and very close to our hearts. For at least the past five years, we have been asking the Lord what He wanted of us in the days ahead. We were looking for guidance about "what comes next." Would it be retirement, or a reduced schedule, or an entirely different area of responsibility? We were open to anything the Lord might have for us, but He didn't do much talking. Every time we approached Him about the future, He has seemed to say succinctly, "Stay where you are until I tell you to move." Period! We took that to mean that we were exactly where He wanted us to be, and that He would give us more specific directions when it was time for a change. So we stayed on the job, at Focus and at the National Day of Prayer, working up to 10 or 12 hours a day, six days a week. Frankly, the load seemed backbreaking at times.

Now the Lord has spoken again, not audibly, but unmistakably. He has not told us to "move on" -- but to "move over." That is what this transition is all about. Our compassionate Father has sent us a highly skilled colleague to help us handle the responsibilities. I'm reminded in this instance of the story told in the 18th chapter of Exodus, when Moses was exhausting himself. His father-in-law, Jethro, came to visit him and observed the heavy burden that Moses was carrying. These are excerpts of what he said on that occasion:

"What you're doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you."

"...select capable men from all the people-men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials..."

"That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."

(Vs. 17-23 NIV)

I'm not "a Moses," to be sure, but I can certainly identify with this passage. I have now done exactly what Jethro told his son-in-law to do, and for the same reasons. In response, God has given me a capable, trustworthy colleague with very broad shoulders. Together we can carry the load.

And so, we enter a new era in the life of this ministry.

Again, Don and I would certainly appreciate your prayers in the days to come. We're moving straight ahead with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our banner. Will you make the journey with us?

Blessings to you all.

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
President

P.S. I'm sure there are others out there who are also carrying too heavy a burden, today. Maybe the ancient advice of Jethro will encourage you to get some help. "If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and these people [perhaps your spouse and your children] will go home satisfied."

*(Note: Referrals to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)