This proven resource on Christian family life has been updated throughout with discussions of recent family-related issues.

"The authors have masterfully pulled together up-to-date and easy-to-access information that makes this resource mandatory for any student, pastor, or Christian leader that aspires to minister to the family. The reader will find an engaging and productive conversation about today's family, beginning with foundational concepts, statistical realities, and foundational theological perspectives on the family."
--Sharon Hargrave, executive director, Boone Center for the Family, Pepperdine University; affiliated professor, Fuller Theological Seminary

"In this latest edition of the classic text, the Balswicks and Frederick prepare a full dining experience, serving the favorite dishes of clinicians, ministers, and academics alike, and all are invited. Whether you are a new student or tenured professor, a practitioner or scholar, you will find something appetizing within their extensive menu on family life--systemic, developmental, and trinitarian reflections. Don't be surprised if you become a regular at this restaurant."
--Jonathan Impellizzeri, director of the Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling Program, Geneva College; clinical director, Cognitive Behavior Institute

"For more than twenty years I have been teaching a course at Asbury Seminary focused on family development and discipleship. I started using The Family when it was in its second edition and have used it ever since as the foundational textbook for the class. This fifth edition, enhanced with psychological insights that Tom Frederick curates from his own research and teaching, continues to offer the trustworthy guidance students need. It remains the gold standard for teaching family ministry in the historic Christian tradition!"
--Chris Kiesling, professor of human development and Christian discipleship, Asbury Theological Seminary

"The Balswicks and Tom Frederick have done the unthinkable, making an extraordinary resource even broader and deeper in its fifth iteration. The range of coverage and theological heft of this book make it an ideal textbook across a number of different courses and disciplines. I cannot recommend this book more highly."
--Lisa Hosack, associate professor of social work, Grove City College; author of Development on Purpose