Walker Wildmon: Welcome to American Family Radio. This is day two of our fall Share-a-thon, and our theme is “Stand Firm,” directly from 1 Corinthians 16:13 and 14: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” That is our theme.
Walker Wildmon: We as a ministry here at AFR want to stand firm on the Word of God, speak the truth into the culture and into the lives of people, with the aim of transforming hearts and minds with the gospel of Jesus Christ through a variety of avenues and means. That is what we are doing here at American Family Radio.
Rob West: It is great to be with you. This is going to be an exciting hour.
Walker Wildmon: We have brought in reinforcements. Every seat is occupied. These are staff members and volunteers, and many of them have driven in because they love this ministry. They cannot wait to talk to you.
Walker Wildmon: We have calls coming in from all around the country. State after state is calling in. Lives are being impacted and culture is being changed through American Family Radio and the American Family Association. But this is not about us or our team. It is about you as our listeners and supporters.
Walker Wildmon: Rob, our entire team is not on the air, putting out our monthly magazine, doing our work over at AFA Action, or doing any of this without you and your financial support. We are listener-supported, and we rely on you.
Walker Wildmon: People sometimes ask when we are going to expand or buy a new radio station. The fact of the matter is, we are expanding. Within the last two to three years, we have purchased stations in Birmingham, Alabama, and Des Moines, Iowa. Those are big metropolitan areas covering hundreds of thousands of people. That has been made possible because we operate debt-free and because of generous support from our listeners.
Rob West: That is exactly right. We buy a station with cash. We build a new home center for the American Family Association with cash. We do not go into debt, and we never have. Every dollar is stretched. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is there, and we have audited financials. We want to make sure everything is transparent and that every dollar is stretched so we can do the work we have been called to do.
Rob West: On Founders Day, we are constantly reminded that the reason this exists is to share the gospel, build up the church, equip God’s people, and help you engage right where God has planted you. It is also about advocating for religious values, showing up in the school system and local government, and engaging corporations so that people are free to serve the Lord and engage in the culture.
Rob West: That is what AFA has always been about, and it always will be. AFA Action, American Family News, the studios, iVoterGuide, The Stand, and One Million Moms are all a result of your giving.
Walker Wildmon: Throughout my childhood, I would visit the American Family Association. One of my fondest memories is walking in with my dad, Tim, as a child. We always had a receptionist, and there have only been a handful of different receptionists over the years. One of them was what we called Aunt Tamara, who was technically my dad’s aunt. She was a receptionist for a couple of decades.
Walker Wildmon: As a child, I was still learning manners and how to greet people. I would always be quiet and have my head down when we walked into the office, but my dad would make me look up and say hello to the receptionist, whoever it was at the time. I had to learn to greet people as a child walking into AFA.
Walker Wildmon: I also remember Share-a-thon days that have been going on for a long time. There is actually a picture somewhere around here of my grandfather changing my diaper when I was an infant on the floor in Share-a-thon Central. My early years were very memorable around here.
Walker Wildmon: Fast-forward to my years in college. When I first went to college, I did not know what I wanted to do. I thought a little bit about law enforcement, and then political science came up. I loved politics and was always interested in the latest political news, so I decided to study political science and eventually come to work at the American Family Association.
Walker Wildmon: I started here in 2015. A lot has changed since then, but the same culture and the same vision that my grandfather had so many years ago are still here today.
Walker Wildmon: Business Insider published a headline in 2011 titled “The Unstoppable Rise of the American Family Association.” The first paragraph said that Don Wildmon should be mentioned alongside Steve Jobs when talking about the greatest founders of the past 40 years. Those are not my words, but as I read that, the question came up: What is AFA doing today?
Walker Wildmon: I would argue that the work we are doing today is just as important as the work my grandfather started in the late 1970s and the work we were doing in 2011 when that article was written. We are still going strong today.
Walker Wildmon: We have consulted presidents on a variety of policies and judicial nominations, including President Trump’s Supreme Court picks. We were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade because that happened in our own home state of Mississippi.
Walker Wildmon: We want to transform culture. We do not just want to engage with it, because engagement alone does not necessarily change things. We want to transform culture, which is what God calls us to do through being salt and light.
Caller: My name is Steve, and I am from Purcell, Missouri. About seven years ago, I was doing the self-help thing, reading the Bible and trying to be a Christian, but it was not working out very well. I was very depressed, and I had started listening to your radio station for about a year.
Caller: During the program, I believe it was WallBuilders that was on the radio, and one of the commentators said that if you were not saved, you should say the sinner’s prayer. I knew I was saved after I said that prayer. Thank you to AFR for saving me from myself. God continues to provide for this ministry through the faithfulness of His saints during Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to the second segment of this hour. This is your typical At the Core hour with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green. Rick is not with us today, but Rob West is here with me. This is day two of our fall Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: One of the divisions or affiliates that is probably among the most used and visited is iVoterGuide. When I travel around the country, I ask people in the room how many of them have used iVoterGuide. At least half the room everywhere I go has either heard of it or used it.
Walker Wildmon: Debbie, welcome to the program.
Guest: It is great to be with you, Walker.
Walker Wildmon: You have Rob and me here. The iVoterGuide is something we could talk about for an hour or two, including what it is, its reach, its process, and how useful it is. For those who already know about iVoterGuide but may not be sure about its reach and impact, tell us about the number of races you are able to cover and how many people around the country are being influenced by the voter guide.
Guest: Every election cycle, millions of voters use iVoterGuide. We research more than 5,000 races and typically about 15,000 candidates in a cycle. This year, we have already been used by two million voters, and we expect that number to grow.
Guest: We are now in crunch time. This is when everybody is looking for information. We have released voter guides in more than half the states for the November 3 election, and another dozen will be coming out today. By the middle of October, they will all be available.
Guest: Every person listening should check out iVoterGuide before voting. If you have never checked it out for yourself, it is not like a typical voter guide. You have to see it to believe it. There is a great depth of research, and there are so many important issues on the ballot. You need to vote with truthful information you can trust.
Guest: Your friends, your children, and your church should all be going to iVoterGuide. It is free because of AFA and your support, and it is personalized to your ballot. We make informed voting easy.
Walker Wildmon: Many Christians feel overwhelmed by down-ballot races, such as judges, school boards, and local offices. Why do those races matter so much, and how does iVoterGuide help with them?
Guest: Those races impact you more than the White House or what happens in Washington because they determine what happens at the state Capitol, in your state Supreme Court, at your city council, and with your mayor, district attorney, and school board. Those decisions impact the next generation.
Guest: The school board determines the curriculum your children will be taught. Even if your children do not attend that school or are homeschooled, it is still the future of America. If you do not like what is happening in your state legislature, it is because of whom we have elected to the state legislature.
Guest: It is extremely important to vote not just at the top of the ticket for senator or governor, but to vote the whole ballot. We recently did research with George Barna that showed a 30-point drop between people who vote at the top of the ticket and those who complete their entire ballot.
Guest: By not voting in every race, you are not stewarding your talent. You are letting other people choose for you. You need to vote in every race. iVoterGuide is a great tool, and AFA makes it possible.
Walker Wildmon: You have mentioned the number of users on iVoterGuide, its reach, and the number of people finding it organically through search engines. You also mentioned that we could impact even more voters than we did during the 2024 presidential cycle because more people are finding out about iVoterGuide.
Guest: Thank you for the support that makes that possible. My technical team has been working on improving our search-engine rankings. When people need information, they go to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or another search engine and ask where they can find information on candidates.
Guest: We have been working on our rankings, and we are now at the top of those results. That is bringing thousands more people to iVoterGuide. Once somebody sees it and understands what it is, they often have a visible reaction. When I present it at events, people gasp when they see what iVoterGuide is. Then they tell other people.
Guest: If you check it out yourself and share it with others, we can impact even more voters and make a huge difference in this election.
Walker Wildmon: Debbie is the president of iVoterGuide. Go check it out at iVoterGuide.com. Before you do, remember to support American Family Radio because that support is what makes iVoterGuide possible.
Walker Wildmon: You hear Rob and several others talk about AFA Action and iVoterGuide throughout the year. Debbie is doing a phenomenal job reaching millions of voters each election cycle and giving Christians the tools and information they need. That is just one glimpse into all the divisions and all the work here at AFA and AFR.
Rob West: We have an incredible opportunity in this hour. The people who have provided the add-on challenge have given us up to $75,000. We want to take full advantage of that opportunity, and it will take hundreds of people responding.
Rob West: As I was listening to Debbie, I was thinking about how difficult it may be to understand the importance of these gifts. Researching and vetting candidates across the country takes massive resources, and it literally would not happen without listener support.
Walker Wildmon: You are reading my mind, Rob. We always want to be honest and transparent about our work and about what it takes. Running our voter guide is a very expensive process. We have dozens of researchers, many volunteers, and an entire technology team. It is labor-intensive work because we want to get it right.
Walker Wildmon: Sometimes we look at the resources and money required and think it is a lot. Then we look at the impact and see that two, three, or four million voters are being impacted each cycle, and we say, “This is worth it. This is worth investing in.”
Walker Wildmon: Lord willing, we are leaning into it, expanding it, growing it, and reaching more people. But it takes time, resources, energy, and money to operate things like iVoterGuide. That is where we need you to come alongside us and partner with us.
Walker Wildmon: There are people who are more politically engaged and donors who may be willing to give substantial gifts to help support AFA Action and iVoterGuide. We need people who feel called to support the work of American Family Radio and the American Family Association.
Walker Wildmon: One of the most practical things we can do is provide this information. There are Christians who want to vote and are engaged, but they are not sure whom to vote for. They do not have the information or the time to find it. That is where iVoterGuide does the hard work and provides the information.
Walker Wildmon: It is one of the most in-depth voter guides in the country. Check it out at iVoterGuide.com. This Share-a-thon helps keep iVoterGuide, The Stand magazine, American Family News, One Million Moms, and all these other divisions operating. This is a team effort, and through a variety of means we are impacting culture for God’s glory.
Walker Wildmon: Let us hear a listener testimony. This is Jeremy Watkins from Walnut, Mississippi.
Caller: I just really want to say that you all have blessed me a lot. Lately, I have been going through some problems, and I am so thankful for American Family Radio. I can turn the radio on every morning and listen to the worship music. I really appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart. You all have a blessed day.
Walker Wildmon: Where would Jeremy be without AFR? God is using AFR. We are broadcasting truth, Bible teaching, encouragement, financial advice, and political commentary from a Christian perspective so that we can impact lives like Jeremy’s.
Walker Wildmon: I have met listeners around the country. One in Arkansas told me that his marriage was saved by programming on AFR. He was in a very difficult place 20 years ago and was about to leave his wife. He was listening to AFR and Bible teaching, felt convicted of his sin, and restored his relationship with his wife. They are still happily married more than 30 years later.
Walker Wildmon: That happened because God used the programming on American Family Radio to convict him. That is just one story. There are thousands of them. When you give, whether it is $15, $150, or $1,000, it all goes toward culture-transforming work. Your gift matters.
Rob West: We have had more than $20,000 come in during the first part of the hour. We can celebrate that, but the opportunity is still significant. The donors have given us up to $75,000 for the add-on challenge.
Rob West: My request is that we fully subscribe the $75,000. The good news is that we have the capacity for it, but it will take hundreds of people responding. If you love this ministry and believe in the work, especially as we honor Don Wildmon on Founders Day, would you join us?
Rob West: Maybe you had not considered giving, but you can take a few minutes and make your best gift. Every gift matters, and gifts of all sizes are needed. It may take many calls and some larger gifts as well.
Walker Wildmon: Another way to give is through an outright stock gift. If you have appreciated stock, talk to your financial adviser about transferring it to the American Family Association. We have a team at the AFA Foundation that specializes in those gifts.
Walker Wildmon: We need our listeners to help keep AFR on the air. We are here to impact culture for God’s glory. That is what we are doing.
Employee: Having been a staff member at AFA for 27 years, and before that serving six years on its advisory board, I have many great memories. I remember a specific board meeting in November 1991, when American Family Radio was a single station in Tupelo.
Employee: Brother Don reported that the FCC had opened a new group of frequencies for adding translator stations associated with AFR. He cast the vision to expand the reach of AFR across the nation. We did not fully understand his vision as a board, and we questioned how it could serve AFA’s mission.
Employee: Brother Don made his case. He said that since he started AFA in the late 1970s, we had depended on the mainstream media to get the message out, and the message was often lost after they put their spin on it. But, he said, we would own the microphones at the American Family Radio Network, and the message could not be filtered or changed.
Employee: Because of the vision of Brother Don and Miss Linda, the gospel of Jesus Christ is now shared every hour of every day, unfettered and unfiltered. People are coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Families are being strengthened, and the truth of the gospel is being shared. Thanks be to God.
Employee: Brother Don has been standing in the gap for families, and Linda has been standing behind him since the inception of this ministry more than 40 years ago. We praise the Lord for our founders, their obedience, and their service.
Caller: Thank you, American Family Radio. I am calling from the great Republic of Texas, and my name is Peter. I found AFR while traveling right before COVID, and I have been hooked ever since. I cannot turn it off.
Caller: We thank you for all that you do and praise you for all the work you have done. We love it. Thank you so much.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to American Family Radio. Rob West and I are with you for the remainder of the At the Core hour. We are in the middle of our fall Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: We have a few open seats in Share-a-thon Central, and we want to fill the phones. We want to get competitive and have volunteers brought in to handle the calls.
Walker Wildmon: Some faithful listeners have AFR on for many hours a day in their homes and cars. They are wondering when Share-a-thon will be over and when regular programming will return. I promise you that tomorrow evening we will return to regular programming. This is only a three-day window in the fall when we come before you and remind you that AFR is listener-supported.
Walker Wildmon: You do not have to give every month. You do not have to pay a set amount. We are simply asking for support from the generous donors who believe in the work of AFR and make all this programming possible.
Walker Wildmon: If you have been wondering about your purpose and where you should invest your time, energy, and money, American Family Radio is one opportunity. We want you invested in your local church, your family, and your community. But if you are looking for a ministry that reaches thousands of people every hour, tens of thousands every day, and hundreds of thousands every week, perhaps you can support American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: I want to speak to listeners who have been listening for five, eight, or ten years and have never donated. Maybe they are huge fans and know all the radio personalities and the programming schedule. Maybe they even receive and enjoy our magazine, but they have never given.
Walker Wildmon: We need some first-time givers who can partner with AFR and become true investors in the work of American Family Radio. If you have not given, or do not remember the last time you did, now is the time to consider it.
Rob West: If you are looking for a reason to make that first gift, we have an opportunity to add to it. Maybe things are tight. Expenses are up, and it costs more to go to the grocery store and fill the gas tank. I understand.
Rob West: I would encourage you to continue exercising your giving muscle, whatever ability you have. This is not about making you feel guilty. We are not trying to guilt you into anything. We want you to participate in what God is doing here.
Rob West: The way I read Scripture is that whatever God entrusts to us, a portion of it is intended to flow through us into God’s activities. As Walker said, we begin with Plan A, the local church, and then beyond that to the things that are on the heart of God.
Rob West: That clearly includes sharing the good news, equipping believers, and strengthening believers. That is what AFA and AFR are all about. Whether you found AFA last week or have been listening to AFR for decades, every gift matters.
Rob West: This is Founders Day, and we are honoring and celebrating Walker’s grandfather, Brother Don. I believe he would have been encouraged by the latest chapter of AFA in the area of corporate engagement.
Rob West: In those early days, he led boycotts, and those were meaningful and still are. But the idea that there would be conversations with the leadership of the biggest companies in the world is significant. When you think about who is shaping our culture right now, trillion-dollar companies are certainly at the forefront.
Walker Wildmon: That is exactly right. Every few months, I look back at some of our history and the campaigns my grandfather led, and the work we are doing today is strikingly similar.
Walker Wildmon: We are engaged in some of the same efforts my grandfather started more than 40 years ago. One of those fights is against pornography and the need to protect the hearts and minds of young children. That was something my grandfather cared deeply about.
Walker Wildmon: We are still working with the entertainment industry and corporate America to protect our families and the hearts and minds of our children from obscene and explicit content. That is just one area where we are carrying on the same work my grandfather did, in line with his vision for the ministry and what the Lord placed on his heart.
Walker Wildmon: AFR is also a diversified ministry. We engage culture and the public with biblical truth through a variety of avenues and means. We have Bible teaching. Rob talks about finances from a biblical perspective. We have politically oriented programs on the radio network and programs related to Bible prophecy.
Walker Wildmon: We have all kinds of programs that meet different people’s desires and needs and what they feel led toward. It is a whole-body-of-Christ approach to ministry and to impacting culture. That is what listeners support through American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: We have people listening not only through our FM radio signals, but also through our app and website. Tens of thousands of people tune in every day and week through the AFR app for live programming and podcasts at AFR.net.
Walker Wildmon: All of this takes time, energy, and finances to keep American Family Radio going strong, operating debt-free, and stewarding the Lord’s money wisely.
Walker Wildmon: Many people care about accountability, stewardship, and financial responsibility. American Family Radio and the American Family Association are accredited through the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. We also publicly list our audited financial statements every fiscal year so donors can download and review them.
Rob West: That is right. On Founders Day, it is important to recognize that this is what Walker’s grandfather modeled. He set the foundation for the stewardship and frugality on which this ministry still operates today.
Rob West: Every dollar is stretched, and every gift is stewarded carefully because the mission is paramount. We never want anything to take away from the mission because of carelessness. That means operating debt-free, maintaining accountability, and maintaining transparency.
Rob West: You can have confidence that you are giving to a ministry that is accountable, exercises stewardship, and is mission-focused. The mission is the gospel, equipping God’s people, strengthening the church, and engaging the culture. That has always been the mission, and it always will be.
Rob West: We are closing in on 8,000 givers who have already stood with us. We need about 50 more to reach 8,000. If that is you, you can stand with us and help us reach that goal.
Walker Wildmon: We have plenty of capacity by phone and virtually unlimited capacity through AFR.net. I joked this morning that I would love to know the exact capacity, so let us break the internet. Let us have the servers working and the fans blowing.
Walker Wildmon: Seriously, the website can hold hundreds of people simultaneously, probably even thousands. It is quick, convenient, and secure. You can enter your information and submit a gift.
Walker Wildmon: Fundraising is not really in my DNA. I am not particularly good at asking for money, but the practical reality is that we have to let you know a couple of times a year that we are listener-supported. The ministry takes resources and money to operate.
Walker Wildmon: We will return to regular programming. We are focused on culture-transforming work, getting things done for God’s glory and His kingdom. The overarching mission is not fundraising. It is advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ and transforming lives.
Walker Wildmon: We only do Share-a-thon because it enables us to do all the other work that transforms hearts and minds through our programming, documentaries, books, government affairs, shareholder engagement, and One Million Moms.
Walker Wildmon: We had Debbie with iVoterGuide, and we are reaching millions of people with the truth about elections and candidates and with information about how people can vote their values each election cycle.
Rob West: We have less than two minutes remaining, but there is still time to initiate a call. We have plenty of room to take every gift and add to it during the challenge.
Walker Wildmon: There is still time. Grab the phone or start the form at AFR.net. Rob and I have enjoyed being with you. We will be with you two more times tomorrow for an hour each, telling you about the work of AFA and AFR and why we need your support.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome to American Family Radio. This is day two of our fall Share-a-thon, and our theme is “Stand Firm,” directly from 1 Corinthians 16:13 and 14: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” That is our theme.
Walker Wildmon: We as a ministry here at AFR want to stand firm on the Word of God, speak the truth into the culture and into the lives of people, with the aim of transforming hearts and minds with the gospel of Jesus Christ through a variety of avenues and means. That is what we are doing here at American Family Radio.
Rob West: It is great to be with you. This is going to be an exciting hour.
Walker Wildmon: We have brought in reinforcements. Every seat is occupied. These are staff members and volunteers, and many of them have driven in because they love this ministry. They cannot wait to talk to you.
Walker Wildmon: We have calls coming in from all around the country. State after state is calling in. Lives are being impacted and culture is being changed through American Family Radio and the American Family Association. But this is not about us or our team. It is about you as our listeners and supporters.
Walker Wildmon: Rob, our entire team is not on the air, putting out our monthly magazine, doing our work over at AFA Action, or doing any of this without you and your financial support. We are listener-supported, and we rely on you.
Walker Wildmon: People sometimes ask when we are going to expand or buy a new radio station. The fact of the matter is, we are expanding. Within the last two to three years, we have purchased stations in Birmingham, Alabama, and Des Moines, Iowa. Those are big metropolitan areas covering hundreds of thousands of people. That has been made possible because we operate debt-free and because of generous support from our listeners.
Rob West: That is exactly right. We buy a station with cash. We build a new home center for the American Family Association with cash. We do not go into debt, and we never have. Every dollar is stretched. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability is there, and we have audited financials. We want to make sure everything is transparent and that every dollar is stretched so we can do the work we have been called to do.
Rob West: On Founders Day, we are constantly reminded that the reason this exists is to share the gospel, build up the church, equip God’s people, and help you engage right where God has planted you. It is also about advocating for religious values, showing up in the school system and local government, and engaging corporations so that people are free to serve the Lord and engage in the culture.
Rob West: That is what AFA has always been about, and it always will be. AFA Action, American Family News, the studios, iVoterGuide, The Stand, and One Million Moms are all a result of your giving.
Walker Wildmon: Throughout my childhood, I would visit the American Family Association. One of my fondest memories is walking in with my dad, Tim, as a child. We always had a receptionist, and there have only been a handful of different receptionists over the years. One of them was what we called Aunt Tamara, who was technically my dad’s aunt. She was a receptionist for a couple of decades.
Walker Wildmon: As a child, I was still learning manners and how to greet people. I would always be quiet and have my head down when we walked into the office, but my dad would make me look up and say hello to the receptionist, whoever it was at the time. I had to learn to greet people as a child walking into AFA.
Walker Wildmon: I also remember Share-a-thon days that have been going on for a long time. There is actually a picture somewhere around here of my grandfather changing my diaper when I was an infant on the floor in Share-a-thon Central. My early years were very memorable around here.
Walker Wildmon: Fast-forward to my years in college. When I first went to college, I did not know what I wanted to do. I thought a little bit about law enforcement, and then political science came up. I loved politics and was always interested in the latest political news, so I decided to study political science and eventually come to work at the American Family Association.
Walker Wildmon: I started here in 2015. A lot has changed since then, but the same culture and the same vision that my grandfather had so many years ago are still here today.
Walker Wildmon: Business Insider published a headline in 2011 titled “The Unstoppable Rise of the American Family Association.” The first paragraph said that Don Wildmon should be mentioned alongside Steve Jobs when talking about the greatest founders of the past 40 years. Those are not my words, but as I read that, the question came up: What is AFA doing today?
Walker Wildmon: I would argue that the work we are doing today is just as important as the work my grandfather started in the late 1970s and the work we were doing in 2011 when that article was written. We are still going strong today.
Walker Wildmon: We have consulted presidents on a variety of policies and judicial nominations, including President Trump’s Supreme Court picks. We were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade because that happened in our own home state of Mississippi.
Walker Wildmon: We want to transform culture. We do not just want to engage with it, because engagement alone does not necessarily change things. We want to transform culture, which is what God calls us to do through being salt and light.
Caller: My name is Steve, and I am from Purcell, Missouri. About seven years ago, I was doing the self-help thing, reading the Bible and trying to be a Christian, but it was not working out very well. I was very depressed, and I had started listening to your radio station for about a year.
Caller: During the program, I believe it was WallBuilders that was on the radio, and one of the commentators said that if you were not saved, you should say the sinner’s prayer. I knew I was saved after I said that prayer. Thank you to AFR for saving me from myself. God continues to provide for this ministry through the faithfulness of His saints during Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to the second segment of this hour. This is your typical At the Core hour with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green. Rick is not with us today, but Rob West is here with me. This is day two of our fall Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: One of the divisions or affiliates that is probably among the most used and visited is iVoterGuide. When I travel around the country, I ask people in the room how many of them have used iVoterGuide. At least half the room everywhere I go has either heard of it or used it.
Walker Wildmon: Debbie, welcome to the program.
Guest: It is great to be with you, Walker.
Walker Wildmon: You have Rob and me here. The iVoterGuide is something we could talk about for an hour or two, including what it is, its reach, its process, and how useful it is. For those who already know about iVoterGuide but may not be sure about its reach and impact, tell us about the number of races you are able to cover and how many people around the country are being influenced by the voter guide.
Guest: Every election cycle, millions of voters use iVoterGuide. We research more than 5,000 races and typically about 15,000 candidates in a cycle. This year, we have already been used by two million voters, and we expect that number to grow.
Guest: We are now in crunch time. This is when everybody is looking for information. We have released voter guides in more than half the states for the November 3 election, and another dozen will be coming out today. By the middle of October, they will all be available.
Guest: Every person listening should check out iVoterGuide before voting. If you have never checked it out for yourself, it is not like a typical voter guide. You have to see it to believe it. There is a great depth of research, and there are so many important issues on the ballot. You need to vote with truthful information you can trust.
Guest: Your friends, your children, and your church should all be going to iVoterGuide. It is free because of AFA and your support, and it is personalized to your ballot. We make informed voting easy.
Walker Wildmon: Many Christians feel overwhelmed by down-ballot races, such as judges, school boards, and local offices. Why do those races matter so much, and how does iVoterGuide help with them?
Guest: Those races impact you more than the White House or what happens in Washington because they determine what happens at the state Capitol, in your state Supreme Court, at your city council, and with your mayor, district attorney, and school board. Those decisions impact the next generation.
Guest: The school board determines the curriculum your children will be taught. Even if your children do not attend that school or are homeschooled, it is still the future of America. If you do not like what is happening in your state legislature, it is because of whom we have elected to the state legislature.
Guest: It is extremely important to vote not just at the top of the ticket for senator or governor, but to vote the whole ballot. We recently did research with George Barna that showed a 30-point drop between people who vote at the top of the ticket and those who complete their entire ballot.
Guest: By not voting in every race, you are not stewarding your talent. You are letting other people choose for you. You need to vote in every race. iVoterGuide is a great tool, and AFA makes it possible.
Walker Wildmon: You have mentioned the number of users on iVoterGuide, its reach, and the number of people finding it organically through search engines. You also mentioned that we could impact even more voters than we did during the 2024 presidential cycle because more people are finding out about iVoterGuide.
Guest: Thank you for the support that makes that possible. My technical team has been working on improving our search-engine rankings. When people need information, they go to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or another search engine and ask where they can find information on candidates.
Guest: We have been working on our rankings, and we are now at the top of those results. That is bringing thousands more people to iVoterGuide. Once somebody sees it and understands what it is, they often have a visible reaction. When I present it at events, people gasp when they see what iVoterGuide is. Then they tell other people.
Guest: If you check it out yourself and share it with others, we can impact even more voters and make a huge difference in this election.
Walker Wildmon: Debbie is the president of iVoterGuide. Go check it out at iVoterGuide.com. Before you do, remember to support American Family Radio because that support is what makes iVoterGuide possible.
Walker Wildmon: You hear Rob and several others talk about AFA Action and iVoterGuide throughout the year. Debbie is doing a phenomenal job reaching millions of voters each election cycle and giving Christians the tools and information they need. That is just one glimpse into all the divisions and all the work here at AFA and AFR.
Rob West: We have an incredible opportunity in this hour. The people who have provided the add-on challenge have given us up to $75,000. We want to take full advantage of that opportunity, and it will take hundreds of people responding.
Rob West: As I was listening to Debbie, I was thinking about how difficult it may be to understand the importance of these gifts. Researching and vetting candidates across the country takes massive resources, and it literally would not happen without listener support.
Walker Wildmon: You are reading my mind, Rob. We always want to be honest and transparent about our work and about what it takes. Running our voter guide is a very expensive process. We have dozens of researchers, many volunteers, and an entire technology team. It is labor-intensive work because we want to get it right.
Walker Wildmon: Sometimes we look at the resources and money required and think it is a lot. Then we look at the impact and see that two, three, or four million voters are being impacted each cycle, and we say, “This is worth it. This is worth investing in.”
Walker Wildmon: Lord willing, we are leaning into it, expanding it, growing it, and reaching more people. But it takes time, resources, energy, and money to operate things like iVoterGuide. That is where we need you to come alongside us and partner with us.
Walker Wildmon: There are people who are more politically engaged and donors who may be willing to give substantial gifts to help support AFA Action and iVoterGuide. We need people who feel called to support the work of American Family Radio and the American Family Association.
Walker Wildmon: One of the most practical things we can do is provide this information. There are Christians who want to vote and are engaged, but they are not sure whom to vote for. They do not have the information or the time to find it. That is where iVoterGuide does the hard work and provides the information.
Walker Wildmon: It is one of the most in-depth voter guides in the country. Check it out at iVoterGuide.com. This Share-a-thon helps keep iVoterGuide, The Stand magazine, American Family News, One Million Moms, and all these other divisions operating. This is a team effort, and through a variety of means we are impacting culture for God’s glory.
Walker Wildmon: Let us hear a listener testimony. This is Jeremy Watkins from Walnut, Mississippi.
Caller: I just really want to say that you all have blessed me a lot. Lately, I have been going through some problems, and I am so thankful for American Family Radio. I can turn the radio on every morning and listen to the worship music. I really appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart. You all have a blessed day.
Walker Wildmon: Where would Jeremy be without AFR? God is using AFR. We are broadcasting truth, Bible teaching, encouragement, financial advice, and political commentary from a Christian perspective so that we can impact lives like Jeremy’s.
Walker Wildmon: I have met listeners around the country. One in Arkansas told me that his marriage was saved by programming on AFR. He was in a very difficult place 20 years ago and was about to leave his wife. He was listening to AFR and Bible teaching, felt convicted of his sin, and restored his relationship with his wife. They are still happily married more than 30 years later.
Walker Wildmon: That happened because God used the programming on American Family Radio to convict him. That is just one story. There are thousands of them. When you give, whether it is $15, $150, or $1,000, it all goes toward culture-transforming work. Your gift matters.
Rob West: We have had more than $20,000 come in during the first part of the hour. We can celebrate that, but the opportunity is still significant. The donors have given us up to $75,000 for the add-on challenge.
Rob West: My request is that we fully subscribe the $75,000. The good news is that we have the capacity for it, but it will take hundreds of people responding. If you love this ministry and believe in the work, especially as we honor Don Wildmon on Founders Day, would you join us?
Rob West: Maybe you had not considered giving, but you can take a few minutes and make your best gift. Every gift matters, and gifts of all sizes are needed. It may take many calls and some larger gifts as well.
Walker Wildmon: Another way to give is through an outright stock gift. If you have appreciated stock, talk to your financial adviser about transferring it to the American Family Association. We have a team at the AFA Foundation that specializes in those gifts.
Walker Wildmon: We need our listeners to help keep AFR on the air. We are here to impact culture for God’s glory. That is what we are doing.
Employee: Having been a staff member at AFA for 27 years, and before that serving six years on its advisory board, I have many great memories. I remember a specific board meeting in November 1991, when American Family Radio was a single station in Tupelo.
Employee: Brother Don reported that the FCC had opened a new group of frequencies for adding translator stations associated with AFR. He cast the vision to expand the reach of AFR across the nation. We did not fully understand his vision as a board, and we questioned how it could serve AFA’s mission.
Employee: Brother Don made his case. He said that since he started AFA in the late 1970s, we had depended on the mainstream media to get the message out, and the message was often lost after they put their spin on it. But, he said, we would own the microphones at the American Family Radio Network, and the message could not be filtered or changed.
Employee: Because of the vision of Brother Don and Miss Linda, the gospel of Jesus Christ is now shared every hour of every day, unfettered and unfiltered. People are coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Families are being strengthened, and the truth of the gospel is being shared. Thanks be to God.
Employee: Brother Don has been standing in the gap for families, and Linda has been standing behind him since the inception of this ministry more than 40 years ago. We praise the Lord for our founders, their obedience, and their service.
Caller: Thank you, American Family Radio. I am calling from the great Republic of Texas, and my name is Peter. I found AFR while traveling right before COVID, and I have been hooked ever since. I cannot turn it off.
Caller: We thank you for all that you do and praise you for all the work you have done. We love it. Thank you so much.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to American Family Radio. Rob West and I are with you for the remainder of the At the Core hour. We are in the middle of our fall Share-a-thon.
Walker Wildmon: We have a few open seats in Share-a-thon Central, and we want to fill the phones. We want to get competitive and have volunteers brought in to handle the calls.
Walker Wildmon: Some faithful listeners have AFR on for many hours a day in their homes and cars. They are wondering when Share-a-thon will be over and when regular programming will return. I promise you that tomorrow evening we will return to regular programming. This is only a three-day window in the fall when we come before you and remind you that AFR is listener-supported.
Walker Wildmon: You do not have to give every month. You do not have to pay a set amount. We are simply asking for support from the generous donors who believe in the work of AFR and make all this programming possible.
Walker Wildmon: If you have been wondering about your purpose and where you should invest your time, energy, and money, American Family Radio is one opportunity. We want you invested in your local church, your family, and your community. But if you are looking for a ministry that reaches thousands of people every hour, tens of thousands every day, and hundreds of thousands every week, perhaps you can support American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: I want to speak to listeners who have been listening for five, eight, or ten years and have never donated. Maybe they are huge fans and know all the radio personalities and the programming schedule. Maybe they even receive and enjoy our magazine, but they have never given.
Walker Wildmon: We need some first-time givers who can partner with AFR and become true investors in the work of American Family Radio. If you have not given, or do not remember the last time you did, now is the time to consider it.
Rob West: If you are looking for a reason to make that first gift, we have an opportunity to add to it. Maybe things are tight. Expenses are up, and it costs more to go to the grocery store and fill the gas tank. I understand.
Rob West: I would encourage you to continue exercising your giving muscle, whatever ability you have. This is not about making you feel guilty. We are not trying to guilt you into anything. We want you to participate in what God is doing here.
Rob West: The way I read Scripture is that whatever God entrusts to us, a portion of it is intended to flow through us into God’s activities. As Walker said, we begin with Plan A, the local church, and then beyond that to the things that are on the heart of God.
Rob West: That clearly includes sharing the good news, equipping believers, and strengthening believers. That is what AFA and AFR are all about. Whether you found AFA last week or have been listening to AFR for decades, every gift matters.
Rob West: This is Founders Day, and we are honoring and celebrating Walker’s grandfather, Brother Don. I believe he would have been encouraged by the latest chapter of AFA in the area of corporate engagement.
Rob West: In those early days, he led boycotts, and those were meaningful and still are. But the idea that there would be conversations with the leadership of the biggest companies in the world is significant. When you think about who is shaping our culture right now, trillion-dollar companies are certainly at the forefront.
Walker Wildmon: That is exactly right. Every few months, I look back at some of our history and the campaigns my grandfather led, and the work we are doing today is strikingly similar.
Walker Wildmon: We are engaged in some of the same efforts my grandfather started more than 40 years ago. One of those fights is against pornography and the need to protect the hearts and minds of young children. That was something my grandfather cared deeply about.
Walker Wildmon: We are still working with the entertainment industry and corporate America to protect our families and the hearts and minds of our children from obscene and explicit content. That is just one area where we are carrying on the same work my grandfather did, in line with his vision for the ministry and what the Lord placed on his heart.
Walker Wildmon: AFR is also a diversified ministry. We engage culture and the public with biblical truth through a variety of avenues and means. We have Bible teaching. Rob talks about finances from a biblical perspective. We have politically oriented programs on the radio network and programs related to Bible prophecy.
Walker Wildmon: We have all kinds of programs that meet different people’s desires and needs and what they feel led toward. It is a whole-body-of-Christ approach to ministry and to impacting culture. That is what listeners support through American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: We have people listening not only through our FM radio signals, but also through our app and website. Tens of thousands of people tune in every day and week through the AFR app for live programming and podcasts at AFR.net.
Walker Wildmon: All of this takes time, energy, and finances to keep American Family Radio going strong, operating debt-free, and stewarding the Lord’s money wisely.
Walker Wildmon: Many people care about accountability, stewardship, and financial responsibility. American Family Radio and the American Family Association are accredited through the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. We also publicly list our audited financial statements every fiscal year so donors can download and review them.
Rob West: That is right. On Founders Day, it is important to recognize that this is what Walker’s grandfather modeled. He set the foundation for the stewardship and frugality on which this ministry still operates today.
Rob West: Every dollar is stretched, and every gift is stewarded carefully because the mission is paramount. We never want anything to take away from the mission because of carelessness. That means operating debt-free, maintaining accountability, and maintaining transparency.
Rob West: You can have confidence that you are giving to a ministry that is accountable, exercises stewardship, and is mission-focused. The mission is the gospel, equipping God’s people, strengthening the church, and engaging the culture. That has always been the mission, and it always will be.
Rob West: We are closing in on 8,000 givers who have already stood with us. We need about 50 more to reach 8,000. If that is you, you can stand with us and help us reach that goal.
Walker Wildmon: We have plenty of capacity by phone and virtually unlimited capacity through AFR.net. I joked this morning that I would love to know the exact capacity, so let us break the internet. Let us have the servers working and the fans blowing.
Walker Wildmon: Seriously, the website can hold hundreds of people simultaneously, probably even thousands. It is quick, convenient, and secure. You can enter your information and submit a gift.
Walker Wildmon: Fundraising is not really in my DNA. I am not particularly good at asking for money, but the practical reality is that we have to let you know a couple of times a year that we are listener-supported. The ministry takes resources and money to operate.
Walker Wildmon: We will return to regular programming. We are focused on culture-transforming work, getting things done for God’s glory and His kingdom. The overarching mission is not fundraising. It is advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ and transforming lives.
Walker Wildmon: We only do Share-a-thon because it enables us to do all the other work that transforms hearts and minds through our programming, documentaries, books, government affairs, shareholder engagement, and One Million Moms.
Walker Wildmon: We had Debbie with iVoterGuide, and we are reaching millions of people with the truth about elections and candidates and with information about how people can vote their values each election cycle.
Rob West: We have less than two minutes remaining, but there is still time to initiate a call. We have plenty of room to take every gift and add to it during the challenge.
Walker Wildmon: There is still time. Grab the phone or start the form at AFR.net. Rob and I have enjoyed being with you. We will be with you two more times tomorrow for an hour each, telling you about the work of AFA and AFR and why we need your support.
Walker Wildmon and Rob West discuss the mission of American Family Radio during the fall Share-a-thon and Founders Day, including the ministry’s debt-free operations, financial accountability, cultural engagement, and gospel-centered purpose.
Debbie Wuthnow, president of iVoterGuide, explains how the voter guide researches thousands of races and helps Christians make informed decisions beyond the top of the ballot. She emphasizes the importance of local races, including school boards, judges, state legislatures, city councils, and other offices that shape communities and influence the next generation.
The program also features listener testimonies, reflections on Don and Lynda Wildmon’s legacy, and a discussion of how AFR and AFA continue equipping believers and engaging the culture.
Live
