Family.org > Our Ministries
Our Ministries
There's more to Focus on the Family than meets the eye (or ear). Even those who listen regularly to our radio broadcast and have a fairly solid acquaintance with our purposes and philosophy might be surprised at the actual scope of our activities and involvement. From humble and simple beginnings — a book on child discipline and a 25-minute weekly broadcast which first aired in 1977, Focus on the Family has grown and expanded over the years to include a wide array of separate ministries under its umbrella. The following descriptions are intended to provide just a taste of the diversity of these programs, projects, and outreaches.
Family Ministry
College Student Ministry
Church, Clergy and Medical Outreach
Community Impact Outreach
Business Ministry
Government and Public Policy
International and Cultural Ministry
Donor Ministry
Support Ministries
Family Ministry
The institutions of Marriage and the Family are two of Focus on the Family’s foundational pillars. Our Family Ministries Division contains five major categories that address these vital institutions; each is designed to meet the needs of individuals in a specific stage of life.
Teens
Bombarded by peer pressure and misleading media messages, teens desperately need someone to stand in the gap and provide positive direction and mentoring in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, worldview, and media and culture. Currently, Brio, Breakaway and Brio and Beyond magazines, as well as the Life on the Edge (LOTE) Live radio call-in program, provide teens with practical insights for Christ-centered living. In addition, Plugged In magazine and Web site shine a light on popular entertainment and offer tools to help parents and teens make discerning media choices. In the future, this ministry team will make even greater strides to reach young people “where they are” in a relevant and compelling manner. This will mean crossing the traditional ministry boundaries and rubbing elbows with teens at secular festivals or events, as well as employing the Internet and other technologies frequently used by this age group to help them navigate this wonderful, confusing, and exhilarating time of life.
Marriage and Family Formation
Of Focus on the Family’s five pillars, none has garnered more national attention recently than the sanctity and permanence of marriage. While the very definition of marriage is debated, couples everywhere continue to face the challenge of building and preserving a strong commitment. Our Marriage and Family Formation ministry seeks to help today’s (and tomorrow’s) marriages thrive and last for a lifetime. This outreach spans all the life stages of marriage, especially concentrating on the first few formative years as well as the critical single season leading up to marriage. New programs and messages will follow research on the needs of this core audience.
Parents
It’s impossible to estimate the number of letters we’ve received over the years from parents thanking Dr. Dobson and Focus for helping them raise their children. Our ministry has long been known for its parenting resources, and the Parents ministry team continues the tradition by reformatting timeless materials and developing new ones to meet the needs of the 21st century family. A major element of this endeavor revolves around our Focus on Your Child membership program. Members enrolled in this program receive newsletters, broadcast CDs and other resources corresponding to the ages of their children. New Focus on Your Child materials are on the horizon that are designed to help parents in the areas of the physical, spiritual and emotional growth of children. Additional resources for children are also developed by this team. Mainstays like our Adventures in Odyssey radio program, Clubhouse and Clubhouse, Jr. magazine, as well as a host of other items continue to be available, providing kids with fun ways to learn about Christ, friendship, values and family.
Midlife and Beyond
Also known as Focus Over Fifty, this ministry encourages those at midlife and beyond to embrace unique life-stage challenges and live their lives with biblical purpose and a passion for Jesus Christ. The Midlife and Beyond team plans to create and provide resources that will help their audience develop confidence in their salvation and better utilize their spiritual gifts in their marriages, families and other relationships.
African-American Family
We’ve also made it a priority in recent years to reach out more intentionally to African-American families in the United States. While statistics substantiate that faith matters a great deal to African-Americans, studies also show that most children in this group grow up in single parent households, many with young and inexperienced mothers. The outreach seeks to develop relationships with African-American churches and pastors, create new resources specifically designed for the unique needs of African-American families, partner with other African-American family ministries, and facilitate more culturally sensitive outreach throughout all aspects of our ministry.
College Student Ministry
Focus on the Family Institute
Launched in 1995, the Institute offers college students a life-changing, semester-long experience that helps them develop a healthy Christian worldview and equips them to use this understanding to shape their culture. Participants receive college credit while undergoing intensive training on topics like public policy, the decline of the family and the church in society. They’re also afforded opportunities to interact with renowned religious and political leaders and to complete an internship related to their future career field.
The Boundless Project
Since the Institute can accommodate only 88 attendees each semester, the Boundless Project was created to deliver worldview training to university students all over the world. Our Boundless Webzine reaches nearly half a million college students each year with articles on relationships, faith, politics, education and more. Additional resources for young scholars will become available as the College Ministry continues to grow.
Church, Clergy and Medical Outreach
Church, Clergy and Medical Outreach attempts to come alongside the Christian family in general and, more specifically, those in the pastoral and medical professions, helping them bring practical balance and healthy priorities into their lives.
Church Relations
It’s often said that as goes the church, so goes the nation. Now consider a nation in which, according to Barna’s research, 84 percent of the population professes a Christian faith but only 9 percent have a biblical worldview. Clearly, many believers today lack a foundation for their faith and are susceptible in the culture’s false messages about success, beauty, individual rights and personal fulfillment. Focus’s Church Relations ministry emphasizes to church-goers the importance of personal holiness and accountability in their lives. Church Relations also targets the African-American community in an attempt to more effectively inform this group about Focus’s efforts and offerings. By way of mailings, conferences, Internet information, bulletin inserts, personal visits and simulcasts, Church Relations equips Christians to have godly interactions with family members, coworkers, neighbors and others in their spheres of influence.
Pastoral Ministries
Research shows that the majority of clergy members in the United States contend with significant stress. They face numerous difficulties in their efforts to balance the pressing needs of their ministry, their congregations, their families and often their own spiritual health. Focus on the Family developed our Pastoral Ministries outreach in an effort to encourage, equip and inform clergy members and their families (including those who serve as pastors, missionaries, chaplains, denominational leaders and para-church ministers) so that they may more effectively shepherd their churches and lead individuals to Christ. Some of Pastoral Ministries’ offerings include a toll-free Pastoral Care Line, the Pastors Weekly Briefing newsletter, our Parsonage Web site and a Pastoral Care Directory. Staff in this area also help promote Clergy Appreciation activities and coordinate various gatherings throughout the year for pastors, their wives, and the entire clergy family.
Medical Outreach
Doctors, dentists, nurses, medical technicians and other healthcare professionals find themselves in the unique position of serving as role models and caregivers. With these ministry opportunities, however, come the strains of a fast-paced career with often unpredictable hours. Studies show that damaged marriages and worn-out faith often result. That’s why Medical Outreach exists – to support and encourage medical professionals in the pursuit of balancing their faith, family and practice. Focus on the Family’s Physician’s Resource Council (PRC) is committed to evaluating the latest medical findings and providing accurate, up-to-date information to doctors by way of conferences and the resources they create. Through these venues, they also discuss the personal aspects of dealing with family and clients, as well as maintaining a relationship with Christ.
Community Impact Outreach
This new ministry area oversees three departments – Pregnancy Resource Ministry, Christian Worldview Ministry and Local Presence outreach.
Pregnancy Resource Ministry
Psalm 139 reminds us that human beings are not accidents, not blobs of tissue, but individuals “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Our Pregnancy Resource Ministry exists to uphold the sanctity of human life, particularly the lives of preborn babies. This team comes alongside thousands of life-affirming Pregnancy Resource Centers by providing resources, training, consultations, a bimonthly publication called Heartlink, and most recently, vital equipment through the Option Ultrasound program.
Christian Worldview Ministry
At Focus, we believe that every aspect of our lives – the way we manage our families, carry out our work, enjoy our free time and relate to others – stems from our understanding of who God is and who we are in Him. The goal of the Christian Worldview team is to awaken our constituents to God’s Truth, character, design and purpose for all of life by creating a curriculum for small group study, training facilitators and providing support (including a Web site) for those teaching these vital concepts and serving as change agents in our society.
Local Presence
Despite our best efforts, we’re limited in what we can do to reach our society for Christ from our Colorado Springs offices. That’s why our local and regional contacts are so critical. Our Local Presence team works with our friends “in the field” to build strategic partnerships, develop relationships, solicit feedback and provide curricula, services, programs and resources for our constituents based on the specific issues facing their states and communities.
Business Ministry
Focus’s outreach to business leaders, also known as the CEO Forum, began in 1995 when half a dozen executives gathered to fellowship with and encourage their peers. Today, nearly 140 senior executives of major corporations with annual revenues of $100 million or more participate in this program designed to “encourage the development of spiritual statesmen . . . by promoting ‘safe connections’ with their peers and needed spiritual resources.”
Who We Are:
CEO Forum facilitators within Focus have identified three primary needs of this influential group: spiritual growth, resources and accountability. Thus, through forums, retreats, conference calls, visits and other events and updates, CEOs have an opportunity to strengthen spousal relationships, network with peers and receive invaluable discipleship and coaching from spiritual mentors and other seasoned industry professionals.
