Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family was founded in 1977 and is a Christian non-profit focused on helping families thrive in Christ. They provide biblically based advice and assistance regarding areas of marriage, parenting, foster care, adoption, special needs and spiritual development. Their mission is to see families, communities and societies redeemed worldwide!
Maria Boddington
Maria was born in Wellington, New Zealand, where she attended primary school in Upper Hutt and secondary school in Wellington. She began her hairdressing career at George Janis Hairdressing, where she was honoured as a magazine cover winner by L’Oréal.
Married to Aaron, Maria is blessed with three children. Her lifelong goal is to help everyone she encounters experience the love of Jesus through acts of service and solid teaching. By the age of 23, she had already travelled to 23 countries to share the gospel message. In her spare time, Maria enjoys tending to her garden, and working out at the gym. In addition to her hairdressing career, she has experience in real estate, working in a school office, and dedicating 25 years to youth ministry.
In her current role at Focus on the Family, Maria leverages her strong listening skills to truly understand and meet the diverse needs of families. Her interpersonal skills are crucial, as New Zealand is home to a wide range of family dynamics that require effective communication. As a confident leader, Maria is not afraid to make tough decisions and guide others in the rewarding mission of helping New Zealand families thrive in Christ.
Ellie Whitaker
Ellie works full-time in pro-life ministry, serving as National Coordinator for End the Killing, a grassroots activism organization that conducts street outreach, roadside displays, and door-knocking campaigns across New Zealand. She also serves as Sanctity of Life Coordinator for Focus on the Family New Zealand, where she helps lead and organize the annual ACTIV8 conferences. Ellie lives in Christchurch, and is looking forward to marrying her fiance in November.
Prayer Points
- Finances – We need a very generous outpouring of Gods provision in order to be faithful in the tasks we have set before us – this current financial year is short 120K.
- We are called to serve the Church equipping families with tools enabling families to really thrive our prayer is that hearts maybe open to share and that hearts that are hungry may be fed.
- That our Hope Tour will in fact spark Hope in this nation giving hope to the weary, strength to counsellors and pastors.
- Pray for all the ACTIV8 participants of 2026, (we had 45 people across both events, of all ages and stages!) Pray that they maintain and live our their pro-life convictions, & that they may have courage & community. Particularly pray for one participant who was post abortive but has now found healing and is pregnant with a baby! And for another amazing participant based in Canterbury who has begun to run a post-abortive healing course called SaveOne!
- Pray for continued funding and sign ups for the ACTIV8 events in 2027! So that ACTIV8 continues and flourishes, always improving and reaching the right people at the right time.