Thirteen years ago, pastor Alton Hardy planted a church in an underresourced African American community near Birmingham, Alabama. Alton worried about the crime, poverty, and lack of education he saw around him. But more than that, he worried about families.

And most of all, he worried about fathers.

In 2023, the CDC recorded that 70 percent of African American babies were born to single mothers. Overall, 40 percent of all births in the United States are now to unmarried moms, a number that doubled between 1980 and 2010.

Alton got to work, preaching the gospel, teaching God’s design for our lives, and calling young black men to become strong leaders of their churches, homes, and communities.

I can’t tell you he's witnessing a wholesale revival. But Alton’s church is growing. And for the first time in decades, couples with baby strollers are walking the sidewalks in his community.

This is the story of how the gospel can change a life, a family, and a neighborhood. But it’s also a story that can change the way you think about your parents, your kids, and why God loves you.

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