Fathers Are Essential--Including in Ways You Might Not ExpectIn the United States, approximately 40 percent of children are born to single mothers. In the African American community, that number is closer to 70 percent. But even when a father is physically present in a household, presence doesn't guarantee engagement, leadership, or formation. The consequences ripple outward into rising rates of juvenile delinquency, depression, incarceration, poverty, and broken families.Present, involved fathers make a difference--not only to their own children but to our society at large. In The Fatherhood Effect, Bradley makes the case for the indispensable roles fathers play as foundational pillars in both family and community and offers a practical path forward. Drawing on both sociological research and Christian formation, he addresses:● what dad-deprivation means and the disastrous results when fathers are absent or disengaged● why engaged fatherhood is inseparable from intergenerational faith transmission, and what the church loses when it ignores this● practical, structural strategies for empowering fathers and father-figures to joyfully fill their essential roleThis book is a call to action and a vision for what becomes possible when fathers step fully into their role.

Fathers Are Essential--Including in Ways You Might Not ExpectIn the United States, approximately 40 percent of children are born to single mothers. In the African American community, that number is closer to 70 percent. But even when a father is physically present in a household, presence doesn't guarantee engagement, leadership, or formation. The consequences ripple outward into rising rates of juvenile delinquency, depression, incarceration, poverty, and broken families.Present, involved fathers make a difference--not only to their own children but to our society at large. In The Fatherhood Effect, Bradley makes the case for the indispensable roles fathers play as foundational pillars in both family and community and offers a practical path forward. Drawing on both sociological research and Christian formation, he addresses:● what dad-deprivation means and the disastrous results when fathers are absent or disengaged● why engaged fatherhood is inseparable from intergenerational faith transmission, and what the church loses when it ignores this● practical, structural strategies for empowering fathers and father-figures to joyfully fill their essential roleThis book is a call to action and a vision for what becomes possible when fathers step fully into their role.

Fathers Are Essential--Including in Ways You Might Not ExpectIn the United States, approximately 40 percent of children are born to single mothers. In the African American community, that number is closer to 70 percent. But even when a father is physically present in a household, presence doesn't guarantee engagement, leadership, or formation. The consequences ripple outward into rising rates of juvenile delinquency, depression, incarceration, poverty, and broken families.Present, involved fathers make a difference--not only to their own children but to our society at large. In The Fatherhood Effect, Bradley makes the case for the indispensable roles fathers play as foundational pillars in both family and community and offers a practical path forward. Drawing on both sociological research and Christian formation, he addresses:● what dad-deprivation means and the disastrous results when fathers are absent or disengaged● why engaged fatherhood is inseparable from intergenerational faith transmission, and what the church loses when it ignores this● practical, structural strategies for empowering fathers and father-figures to joyfully fill their essential roleThis book is a call to action and a vision for what becomes possible when fathers step fully into their role.