The cuts were announced on Monday. Focus on the Family is eliminating there workforce by nearly 18 percent, from about 1,150 to 950 with 20 percent of the cuts being in management positions.

Focus on the Family had just announced it was outsourcing 46 jobs from its distribution department. Back in September 2007 Focus on the Family laid off 30 workers and reassigned 15 others.

The budget for 2009 has been cut from the $160 million in fiscal 2008 to $138 million for fiscal 2009 due to anticipation of tough times ahead for the ministry.

The reason for most of the layoffs and budget revisions are coming from the fact that Donations are way down which the ministry mainly runs on.

Glenn Williams, Focus on the Family chief operating officer, said that more than 95 percent of the organization's income comes from donations, with book sales accounting for the remainder. Donations had set a record high in fiscal 2008, but donations began to decline in October, which starts Focus on the Family's new fiscal year. Focus on the Family expects this holiday season which is normally the most lucrative time of the year to be way down for the ministry.

"Looking at October trends and talking to donors who are not in a position where they can give, we thought we'd be facing a more severe decision in January or February if we waited," Williams said.

The cuts are taking place throughout the organization. The most visible change will be the elimination of the print editions of four of its eight magazines.

The content of the magazines like Plugged In, Breakaway, Brio and Brio & Beyond will remain online.

Williams said that Plugged In, for example, has seen its print subscriber base dip to 30,000 while its Web site attracts 1 million unique visitors a month.

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