ABOUT
FORGE
Just as marriage and children are lifelong commitments – our perpetual commitment is to help you build a family that thrives! Through education, research, and grassroots experiences, we are creating a global community of healthy fathers, strong families, and empowered evangelizers. Collectively, this group will revitalize the family, transform the culture, and rebuild the Church.
Regardless of your place on life’s journey, FORGE is committed to meeting you where you’re at … then taking you further than you thought possible. FORGE exists to build men, marriages, and families that are fully alive! By showing the radiance of fathers and families, we illuminate the radiance of He who is life itself: Jesus Christ.
OUR GUIDING PILLARS
LIGHT IN DARKNESS
Guided by scripture and in imitation of Jesus Christ, flourishing Christian families are agents for evangelization both through their witness and through authentic friendship.
NATURAL LAW
Though accessible to all people of good will, the intact natural law is the Church’s gift to the world. Its protection is critical for family flourishing.
PRIMACY OF THE FAMILY
Stable marriages and families are both the bedrock and the pinnacle of civil society. Family flourishing is of paramount importance for global flourishing.
SEXUAL COMPLEMENTARITY
Humanity is intentionally and immutably male and female. The flourishing of the family requires the flourishing of individuals in accord with their sexual difference.
HUMAN DIGNITY
Every person, from conception to death, possesses inherent dignity and immeasurable worth —including preborn children, elderly individuals, and other marginalized members of society.
RIGHT OF THE CHILD
Children are a cherished and undeserved gift. As the privileged place for childhood development, children have a right to the marriage of their parents.
DR. JOHN BISHOP, Ph. D.
Founder and Executive Director
John started his professional career working at the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). During his tenure with FOCUS John served as campus missionary; compiled and/or wrote a variety of resources; and taught on a variety of topics. He oversaw several departments at FOCUS’ international headquarters but is best known for co-founding and scaling FOCUS Summer Projects, an intensive collegiate summer formation program. While working for FOCUS, John earned his doctorate from the Catholic University of America, writing his dissertation on the nature of masculine virtue.
Inspired by the thought of John Paul II, John is now fighting for men and for the family as Founder and Executive Director of FORGE. John lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife Katelyn and their three children.
DR. PAT FAGAN
Founding Content Fellow
Pat has been a grade school teacher and a clinical therapist specializing in child, family, and marital therapy. During his career he has been Executive Director of the Free Congress Foundation, a member of the staff of Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Family and Social Policy at HHS under President George Herbert Bush, the Senior Fellow on Family and Culture at the Heritage Foundation, then as founder and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute.
Pat is the Founding Content Fellow at FORGE. Pat and his wife Theresa have eight children and eighteen grandchildren.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pete Burak
VP Renewal Ministries
Rick Rinehart, M.D.
Board Surgeon, Mentor
Justin Doyle
CEO Blackbird Investments
Louis Brown, J.D.
CEO Christ Medicus Foundation
Ryan Mauldin
Marketing Executive
BOARD OF ADVISORS
John Grabowski
CUA Moral Theologian
Brian Preisler
FOCUS Sr. Director of QGI
Antoine Kazzi, J.D.
FOCUS VP of Legal
Bishop William Joensen, Ph.D.
Episcopal Consultant
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