Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine, which is one tool for grassroots activists, has seen an increase in subscriptions in the last year. Editor Tom Minnery, who is also the senior vice president for government and public policy at Focus, attributes that to one thing.
"People are concerned with what they see in the country," he says. "We try to keep people up to date on hot national issues."
But the essence of Citizen is local, Minnery says.
"We are well-connected with grassroots Christian activists," he says. "There is always a lot more encouraging work done at the local level than you ever read about at the national level. Washington, D.C., is a place of endless frustration.
"But localities, where most people are focused, have immense possibilities for doing good and seeing accomplishments. The government is much closer to the people, and people can have a greater influence on it. There's always hope at the local level, and that is the strength of Focus on the Family."
Minnery started Citizen in 1987 to address hot topics and provide stories of hope and how-to, with a strong focus on the grassroots.
"How did they close down that sexually-oriented business? How did those people get elected to the school board? Here's how they did it," Minnery explains
As other magazines lose readers, Citizen seems to have found its niche.
"There are still a lot of people who like to have something in their hands when they sit down to study an issue," Minnery says. "Magazines customarily produce longer articles than the Internet. It's more comfortable to read a magazine than sit at a screen. It's our opportunity to cover issues more in-depth than we can in CitizenLink."
TAKE ACTION
Buy your family a subscription to Citizen and give another as a Christmas gift. To receive the 25 percent discount, call (800) A-FAMILY (232-6459) and mention this code: CT09KECZDO.
(A one-year subscription to Citizen — 10 issues — typically costs $24. The 25 percent discount lowers the price to $18.)
Learn more about the magazine, or e-mail the editor.
