Neil’s story:
“We went through a battle to try to save his life.”
“Lord, help us start focusing on you.”
With that prayer, Neil and his wife, Barbara, began their journey toward faith and committed to put God at the center of their family.
Neil had no idea at the time just how important the teaching, inspiration and support provided by the Focus on the Family® Broadcast would be as he worked hard to become a loving husband, caring father and mature believer.
He’d listen to the broadcast in the car every day. “It was a terrific way to start my day. And, of course, God was preparing me for my Christian walk and for all that would come our family’s way in the coming years.”
Here when you need us most
But then, tragedy struck. Neil and Barbara faced the biggest challenge of their life: the loss of their 25-month-old son to leukemia.
Those dark days shook them to the core, testing their faith in ways they never imagined possible. Neil and Barbara prayed and hoped and fought with all their strength to save their precious baby. But today, and for all eternity, he’s in the loving arms of Jesus.
It was during this time of grief and questioning that all of the teaching and inspiration of Focus on the Family helped most.
Neil says, “I can’t tell you how many guests you had on your radio program during the years before this happened where I shed tears as they shed their tears about their loss. But it was the same thing I ended up experiencing — God’s faithfulness.”
Knowing that many marriages don’t survive the tragic loss of a child, Neil and his wife knew they needed to protect their relationship. “It’s just so easy, in your stress and frustration and just being tired, to look at the other and lay blame ... We were able, with His strength and grace, to keep our marriage intact during [those difficult days].”
The variety of help and inspiration provided by Focus on the Family was a godsend for Neil, who says, “You had people sharing testimonies very similar to my own of God’s faithfulness through our trials.”
Neil, Barbara and their two daughters made the Focus broadcast a daily staple in their home. And today, Neil believes his children are in full-time Christian service because of some of the groundwork laid by Focus on their lives.
“Focus helped me juggle everything in my life,” he says, “... trying to be the good husband, the good father ... all those things that the Lord would have us be.”
How YOU can help keep Focus on the air, reaching your family and others
Although times are better for many families today, others are suffering. They need encouragement, nonjudgmental support and practical tools to improve their marriages, be effective parents and walk closely with God.
You’ll build them up with your gift now — and transform the life of someone like Neil.
That means your gift of $48 will air three episodes of the Focus radio broadcast on one station. Your gift of $80 will air five. And your generous gift of $160 will air 10.
When you give, you’ll help families — including yours — thrive each day as you help share the broadcast’s daily mix of encouragement, guidance, and inspiration ... all from a biblical point of view.
You’ll have a deep and lasting impact on families in your community, across the nation and even around the world.
Why support Focus radio? And why now?
Many of the 6.2 million listeners who tune in to Focus on the Family’s daily radio program each week don’t realize this:
The broadcast is listener-supported. We have to pay to put it on the more than 1,940 stations nationwide that carry the program.
And that means your financial support is the key to keeping Focus on the Family on the air for you and others — strengthening marriages, helping parents raise great kids, and inspiring men, women and children to grow in their Christian faith.
In the next 90 days, we’ll spend more than $3.1 million to keep the Focus on the Family Broadcast on the air, sharing practical help, hope and God’s love with people like Neil and Barbara.
But we cannot do it alone. Your partnership today is crucial.
Focus on the Family — a name you can trust
Focus on the Family is supported by caring people like you who give sacrificially to strengthen families. So we’re serious about earning your trust by using your gifts carefully and conservatively.
We’re committed to absolute integrity and transparency in our fundraising. That’s why we conform to the standards established by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), an independent accreditation agency created to ensure ethical fundraising and administration practices.