Rusty Benson
AFA Journal associate editor
A year-end report from American Family Association
January 2010 – Long time Christian activists know American Family Association as a seasoned organization that has labored for over a generation to protect family, freedom and faith in America. Now there are newcomers to the fight who are unaware of the organization’s 32-year history of leadership in the pro-family community.
But what they do understand is that the values, which have been the foundation of a strong America, are being attacked on every side. So they come to AFA to learn how they can get involved in the battle to save the soul of America.
Now, this new generation of activists stands alongside the veteran warriors. These latest cohorts are connecting to AFA through American Family Radio, a 200-station radio network; the AFA Journal, a monthly activist-oriented magazine; one of AFA’s various Internet Web sites such as OneNewsNow.com; and AFA’s new TV channels on Sky Angel.
The issues are critical, the battle is hot and the time for engagement is now. In 2009, that reality drove AFA to innovate, expand and enhance every dimension of its mission.
Innovations
What began in 1977 as one man’s effort to fight smut on network TV has grown into a multi-faceted, national pro-family organization. Despite its size and reach, AFA continues to operate with the flexibility and passion of a grassroots group. Projects can blossom from ideas to reality very quickly.
For example, last spring the Tea Party movement was emerging in communities across America. AFA quickly responded by establishing a Web site that Tea Party organizers from coast to coast used to coordinate events. The result: 1,923 Tea Party rallies were held, and the nation heard the protests of millions of frustrated citizens.
Another innovative AFA project came through two AFA employees who were convinced that Christian families who educate their children at home would profit from a TV channel that encourages fathers to fulfill their God-given roles in the home. AFA Chairman Don Wildmon agreed and The Homeschool Channel (HSC) was born.
Other 2009 undertakings included:
▶ Launching a boycott of PepsiCo for its continued financial support of same-sex marriage;
▶ Beginning the AFR Talk network, an all-talk network on American Family Radio;
▶ Producing and distributing a DVD titled Proposition 8 and the Battle Over Traditional Marriage;
▶ Spreading the message of family values on Facebook, an online social networking site on which AFA quickly attracted 56,000 members;
▶ Publishing a book titled Speechless: Silencing the Christians, written by the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon with a foreword by Ann Coulter;
▶ Developing two TV channels (The Homeschool Channel and The AFA Channel) that reach over 30,000 potential viewers through Sky Angel television service;
▶ Creating Awaken Generation, a Web site that provides apologetics material for the next generation, which quickly reached 100,000 unique viewers per month.
Expansions and enhancements
AFA also expanded its reach and enhanced its effectiveness in 2009 through the use of old and new technologies.
In February, AFA partnered with The Inspiration Networks to produce an hour-long television version of the 13-part video series titled Speechless … Silencing the Christians.
AFA broadcast, via the Internet, the Values Voter Summit. Six hundred thousand people watched the summit at no charge. Another 104,555 watched the Internet broadcast of the How to Take America Back Summit.
AFA strengthened its core information outlets including the AFA Journal, the ministry’s monthly magazine for activists. The publication continued focusing on projects, people and organizations that are making a positive and Godly difference in America. The Journal also added practical and personally applicable articles about money, jobs, marriage, Christian apologetics and holy living.
News coverage at www.OneNewsNow.com increased to seven days a week; AFA Report, a daily news and analysis radio show, expanded to an hour and began streaming on the Internet.
Redesigned Web sites at www.afa.net and www.afr.net attracted over 398,000 unique viewers each month.
Additional expansions and enhancements during 2009 included:
▶ Revitalizing and redesigning OneMillionMoms.com (OMM), an online community of mothers whose aim is to stop the exploitation of children by the entertainment media;
▶ Raising $17,444 for Compassion International through AFR;
▶ Partnering with Revival Fires Ministries to give away approximately 60,000 New Testaments to students;
▶ Collecting donations through AFR to provide 30,905 Bibles for children in places like Africa, China and Southeast Asia. 
The next five years
AFA will make its most significant impact on the culture in the next five years by effectively using technology, while maintaining an agile and nimble organization that is able to respond quickly to the great moral issues of our day.
Buddy Smith, executive assistant to the president
AFA must stick to the basics – educating, challenging and motivating our constituents to take a stand on moral issues in society. I believe our traditional avenues of communicating – print and radio – will still be strong and will complement the online and video technology.
Randall Murphree, editor, AFA Journal
In the coming years, AFA must use a variety of media platforms to transmit the age-old truths that we serve a God who created mankind and who has given His clear instruction on what is required for man to successfully follow His plan.
Fred Jackson, director, American Family News
AFA must engage young people with truth using language they can understand, methods of communication with which they can interact and make it available where they spend time.
Don Cobb, director, Internet Technology
In the next five years AFA will impact the culture by accurately proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and properly applying it to cultural issues.
Ed Vitagliano, staff writer, AFA Journal
