Silhouetted against an azure sky and the towering backdrop of Pikes Peak, Focus on the Family’s picturesque Colorado Springs campus was teeming with activity this past Friday, day two of a three-day festival celebrating the 1000th episode of our award-winning children’s radio drama, “Adventures in Odyssey.”
Debuting on airwaves in 1987, the fantastical program has enjoyed a legion of fans over the years. Even its earliest supporters within the ministry weren’t convinced they’d find an audience.
“We weren’t even sure we’d make fifty episodes, let alone one thousand,” said Chuck Bolte, its one-time executive producer. “We knew it was well done, but there wasn’t anything really like it at the time.”
Over 37 years later, some things haven’t changed.
The “One Grand Party” weekend kicked off on Thursday with a “Night at the Soda Shoppe” dinner.
On Friday, 6,000 registered guests were invited back to the Focus campus for a broad range of family-friendly activities. At their leisure, Odyssey’s raging fans got to meet with the show’s voice actors, swap AIO trading cards, enjoy numerous interactive displays, visit the ministry’s Welcome Center, ride its three-story slide, and then shop at the bookstore. Guests received edible treats, too – including Whit’s Ends’ signature Raspberry Ripple ice cream dessert.
The highlight of the weekend was a live recording of the 1000th radio show, complete with live music and on-stage sound effects. Some of the actors performing included Katie Leigh (Connie Kendall), Jess Harnell (Wooten Bassett), Townsend Coleman (Jason Whittaker) and Chris Anthony, the show’s beloved announcer.
Fans of the program came from as far away as Australia and represented 47 states. They arrived via air, car, RV and train. Many saved all year to make the trip, expending most of their vacation time to make it work.
Cynthia and her husband, Dan, had already established a tradition of coming every July to the Focus campus. Growing up listening to Adventures in Odyssey, the couple now have four children – and they decided to come back with their whole gang and spend the week.
Gary is a firefighter in Canada. He loaded up the family van and turned the last two weeks into a memorable summer for him and his wife’s three children.
Testimonials related to the impact the children’s radio adventure has had on children and adults rolled in all weekend. From one listener crediting the show with leading him to Christ to others who talked about it soothing an emotionally uneven transition from foster care to a forever home, it would be impossible to overstate the loyalty, fidelity and gratitude fans expressed.
All of this from a fictional program that blends adventure, drama, comedy, and solid theology into a thirty-minute radio show. In an age of movies and endless streaming on demand, “Adventures in Odyssey” is countercultural – and that’s the draw.
Today’s Christian parents are at war with a culture that wants to grab hold of young hearts and minds. Wicked and evil purveyors of filth want to warp sensibilities, upend societal norms and sow seeds of false doctrine and lies disguised as compassionate truths.
Isaiah warned about these devious tactics when he wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).
The apostle Paul also cautioned believers about the tug of culture and urged resistance. He strongly encouraged the Church in Rome:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (12:2).
Don’t let anybody tell you there isn’t a market for wholesome, uplifting, biblically based entertainment. By God’s grace and favor, coupled with the incredibly talented and gifted Odyssey team, there is an insatiable appetite for stories that point both the young and young at heart back to the Creator of the greatest story ever told.
