While critics have charged Kennedy with being political from the pulpit, Dobson defended the Presbyterian pastor saying "it wasn't politics he cared about; it was morality and righteousness".
With Kennedy's death the latest among the other American evangelical giants, Dobson asked, "Who will defend the unborn child? Who's going to fight for the institution of marriage which is on the ropes today? Who will teach young people the dangers of both heterosexual and homosexual promiscuity?
"Who in the next generation will be willing to take the heat when it is so much safer and more comfortable to avoid the controversial subjects? Who's going to defend traditional morality and a culture that's spinning into moral decline? Who will call sin by its name and lead a nation to repentance and holiness?"
Dr Charles Stanley, 74, whose biblical messages are also broadcast to millions of homes, understands Kennedy's death is a big loss for the whole body of Christ, not just the religious right, as he recently pointed out. But Stanley is confident a new generation will rise to pick up the torch.
"God always raises up His servants to get His work done," he said in an interview with The Christian Post.
Stephen N Tchividjian, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, expressed his desire to carry on the legacy older evangelicals are leaving behind.
"There's a new generation being raised up to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And it's with that that we stand here and with great hope and desire to carry on the legacy [and - with] each and every one of us having had that impact in our own lives and being charged by the Lord himself to do that - to pass it on to the next generation," said Tchividjian at the funeral service on Thursday.
"There much work to be done," he noted. "You and I have been charged with that."
While wondering if the younger generation would heed the divine call of the Lord and be willing to die, if necessary, to defend the truth, Dobson said he believes new leaders will emerge in the next few years.
"I pray that the Lord will anoint another generation of Jim Kennedys - courageous men and women who will never waver one inch in the defense of righteousness," he said. "May God help the younger generation carry on the work that Dr Jim Kennedy did so aptly for more than half a century and I pray that the Gospel will continue to prosper in their hands."
