FamilyLife to Move Headquarters to Orlando

Family Life Center at 5800 Ranch Drive in Little Rock.

FamilyLife of Little Rock, a multimedia nonprofit that produces Christian resources related to marriage and family, said Tuesday that it will move its headquarters to Orlando, Florida, the home of its parent organization.

In a statement provided to Arkansas Business, FamilyLife President David Robbins said the organization will move next summer. The organization is part of Cru, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ, an interdominational Christian group with ministries throughout the world.

“Moving to Cru headquarters will provide the space, technology, and global communications — the infrastructure and the atmosphere — to accelerate the effort to impact every home,” Robbins said. “The Orlando property houses several Cru ministries and provides access to global partners with whom we can collaborate to better understand and engage families. Orlando also offers a strong candidate pool as we expand and recruit people to join us on this important mission.”

Since 2005, FamilyLife has occupied a three-story, 104,000-SF building at 5800 Ranch Drive owned by FLTI Inc., a Cru subsidiary. A company affiliated with the nonprofit purchased the 8-acre site in 2002 for $1.5 million from Ed Willis’ Ranch Properties Inc. Construction of the $11 million building quickly followed.

FamilyLife said 225 employees work at the Little Rock headquarters. When it was built, the nonprofit aimed to hire 290 people; the building had room for 500. In 2008, the company cut 30 workers from a workforce of about 300.

FamilyLife began in 1976 as a marriage and family training program for Cru staff members. It opened its programs to the public in 1978. According to FamilyLife, it’s since grown into an international ministry with more than 3 million people attending events, 1.6 million weekly radio listeners and distribution of resources in more than 100 countries. Those resources include video series, books, magazines, websites and curricula on marriage, parenting, families and more.

In his statement, Robbins said families “are facing more challenges than ever before.” He said that in order for the group “to reach every family, we need to position and mobilize our resources and people for maximum effectiveness.”

“FamilyLife is proud that Little Rock has been such an integral part of our history,” he said. “We are grateful for the kindness and support the Little Rock community has shown us these past four decades.”