"Mike Tenbusch expertly translates his enthusiasm and passion for youth into a practical book with direct application for educators, child advocates, policy makers, and the evangelical church. While set in Detroit, this story is universal. Tenbusch offers a line of sight to a faction of youth who feel forgotten and invisible in a world where your zip code defines your destiny. This book recounts how collective leadership can be transformational in unleashing the collective genius of urban youth. It shares how the caring capital of a community can be deployed and leveraged at the individual level, institutional level, and systems level to untangle the snare of underperforming schools, concentrated poverty, and unsafe neighborhoods."Tonya Allen, president and CEO, The Skillman Foundation
"The world has watched Detroit's rebirth into a thriving, vibrant city. Yet we risk losing it all if we leave our city's schools and children behind. Mike Tenbusch offers real solutions. As vice president of United Way, he has worked with teachers, administrators, and students to help reimagine and rebuild the city's education system. He showed me how businesses can help through a sustained commitment to partnership, personal connection, and putting students first. As a result, GM's partnership with Detroit-area schools to increase graduation rates achieved incredible results and rewards beyond measure. Mike's compelling, engaging book offers inspiration and instruction for companies and organizations to do the same, and I encourage them to do so."Mark Reuss, executive vice president, Global Product Development, General Motors Company
"The Jonathan Effect is not only a blueprint for social action, it is a reflection of an author who does more than write: he lives his philosophies and employs his own call to action. With this book, Mike Tenbusch dismantles a current crisis with an age-old approach—begin with caring, trust your beliefs, get out to where the problem is, and never give up on children. I've seen it work, as I've seen Mike work. The world is a better place as a result."Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie
"Mike Tenbusch lays out a beautiful and simple expression of the gospel at work in Detroit—churches mobilizing people to love and serve children by investing in schools. This church-school partnership piece is key to loving and serving our cities in Jesus' name, and this book and these stories will inspire more churches to get involved, believing God will change lives as a result."Kevin Palau, president, Luis Palau Association, and author of Unlikely: Setting Aside our Differences to Live Out the Gospel
"This is a moving, inspiring, and important book. Mike Tenbusch has a powerful message for anyone who despairs about the students struggling in our nation's worst schools: these students aren't doomed. But the best solution starts outside the school. With you, in fact. Read on and answer the call!"Dan Heath, coauthor of New York Times bestsellers Switch, Made to Stick, and Decisive
"I'm very particular about how people write about Detroit, my hometown. As a fellow native Detroiter, Mike's book was a breath of fresh air. I was moved to tears as he described the violence in his community, as it rang all too familiar. But his message of hope about the role that churches have in helping to transform schools and communities will inspire all who read it. Beyond inspiration, The Jonathan Effect will help communities identify practical steps to becoming a part of the immediate and long-term solutions. This is a must-read for anyone who cares deeply about urban communities, poverty, schools, and our nation's children."Nicole Baker Fulgham, founder and president, The Expectations Project, author of Educating All God's Children
