About 10 years ago, I began writing a novel for tweens. It opened up with my two main characters biking down Haleakala on Maui. During that cycling adventure, I had them stumbling upon a clue that would eventually lead to the solving of a major crime that had occurred on the island. But I didn’t get too far. In fact, I never even finished the first chapter. Too bad because it was probably a Pulitzer for fiction in the making. The story—what little there was of it at the time—was totally in my imagination. Honestly, I’ve forgotten a lot of the plot I had in mind. But without too much effort I could get back there in no time:
Let’s see. One of the bikes gets a flat tire. And while they have a spare, they lack a tool to ply the punctured tire off. Oh, look, through the trees and down that drive, there’s some type of warehouse. Certainly, someone would have a screwdriver. Down the drive, about to knock. Someone screams. A quick glance in the window and three thugs are waving two guns and a machete at a bruised and frightened young man tied to a rickety old office chair. “No matter what you do to me,” he yells, “I’m not going to have any part of your plan!” And then…
Well, you get the point. My crime-solving duo doesn’t really exist except in my mind. I think our imagination is an incredible gift from God. Because of it, we’ve been transported to Middle Earth. We’ve experienced the stone table in Narnia. We’ve rocketed off to Tatooine and galaxies far, far away.
And because you’re reading this blog, I’m going to assume many of you have been inside Odyssey’s Imagination Station. If so, I’ve got some good news about how to return more often. But I’ll let Focus on the Family President Jim Daly tell it, from a letter to Focus donors:
There’s another big initiative underway here at the ministry … that we’re very excited about…I’m talking about the Odyssey Adventure Club, which launched this month.
What is the Odyssey Adventure Club? In order to answer that question, I need to offer a bit of a history lesson. It all starts back on November 21, 1987, when Focus on the Family aired the first episode of our radio drama series, Adventures in Odyssey. It was originally conceived as a 13-week test series called Family Portraits, chronicling the lives of the residents of the fictional Midwestern town of Odyssey—including John Avery Whitaker and his “soda shop and discovery emporium,” Whit’s End. Quite frankly, at the time, no one was certain the series would survive beyond those thirteen weeks. After all, most families were firmly entrenched in TV culture by then. “Radio theater” was seen as a relic of an earlier age.
But if you’re familiar with the history of Adventures in Odyssey, you know that those thirteen pilot episodes were only the beginning of a long and illustrious journey that continues to this very day. The show took on a life of its own and seemed to grow in popularity with each passing year. We believe there are several reasons for this, beyond the fact that God tremendously blessed it. For one thing, the production quality is top-notch. An impressive array of writers, producers and voice actors has worked on the show over the years. Adventures in Odyssey is produced in Hollywood and includes the voice talents of actors who have appeared in major movie productions including Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Winnie the Pooh, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and many more. Although the series was originally conceived for 8-12 year olds, it has earned fans from across the age spectrum. Entire families tune in every week to hear the latest adventures of Whit, Connie, Eugene, and their numerous cohorts.
I’ll interrupt here for a quick moment to say that Whit, Connie and Eugene’s adventures, while meant to entertain, were never primarily about that. As Jim explains:
Even more important to Adventures in Odyssey’s continued success, though, is the fact that the content of every episode is thoroughly grounded in biblical truth and designed to both entertain and, ultimately, point young listeners to Christ. In an age when even PG-rated movies and TV cartoons contain problematic content, parents have come to love and trust what Adventures in Odyssey has to offer. That is certainly true in the Daly household, where our boys, Trent and Troy, have been raised on a steady diet of Odyssey. Families tune in to the radio broadcast, take the CDs on road trips, and use them in Sunday school classes. Once you’re hooked, you can’t get enough of these enriching, character-building, faith-affirming stories.
… Today, Adventures in Odyssey reaches more than 2 million households each week, airing on 2,115 radio facilities in the U.S. alone in addition to being streamed online. It also airs in 45 countries, and in three languages: English, Spanish, plus a live action television series in Hindi. More than 20 million CDs and cassettes have been sold worldwide. The series has also spawned 17 videos, nearly three dozen novels, video games, music albums and more. Adventures in Odyssey is one of the longest-running radio dramas in history, and certainly one of the longest-running ministry endeavors here at Focus on the Family.
And that is where the Odyssey Adventure Club comes in.
But how it comes in, how you can get involved, and what exactly it offers you and your family is something I want to highlight next week. So stay tuned.
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