Back in the 90’s, Promise Keepers1 had a huge impact on my life. In fact, like many other of my contemporary men’s ministry leaders, PK is the main reason I’m in full time men’s ministry today. During that decade, I took men from my church to five PK stadium events and reveled with tens of thousands of other Christian men in their awesome worship and preaching .
In 1994, my men and I attended a PK event at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. There I purchased a Promise Keeper’s pamphlet entitled “Sharpening the Focus of Your Men’s Ministry.” In it I read about a church that used teams of men to serve its widowed and single parents. That example of using teams of men spurred me to start a men’s team ministry to their widowed and single parents in my own church and, eventually, to found New Commandment Men’s Ministries.
A few of years ago, I had a couple of opportunities to share with Coach Bill McCartney, the founder of Promise Keepers, and Dr. Raleigh Washington, the President of Promise Keepers, how God had been blessing my ministry helping over 900 churches form teams of men to serve their widowed and single parents.
I remember Dr. Washington’s eyes getting wide as saucers. “Wow! That ministry would be perfect for inner city men!”
The prospect of Promise Keepers focusing on forming teams of men excited me. But following those meetings, I heard nothing more about it.
Until now.
This morning I read an exciting article about Promise Keepers’ “New Era of Men’s Ministry.” It announced a new upcoming stadium event in Dallas at AT&T Stadium July 31 and August 1, 2020. The stadium event will also be simulcast to audiences around the world on Daystar TV.
And then I read a quote by Ken Harrison, the CEO and Chairman of Promise Keepers, that made me sit up in my seat.
“Today we can not only do stadium events, digital integration allows us to provide the full spectrum of men’s ministry: a catalytic event that sparks fellowship, discipleship and the formation and nurturing of change making teams of men in communities everywhere, working together to impact the core of our culture.” (Emphasis mine.)
“Change making teams of men.” Wow! Wow! Wow! How exciting is that? I can imagine tens of thousands of teams of men resulting from this one conference alone. Finally, others are catching the vision of using teams of men to accomplish long term ministry.
It took twenty-five years. But it was worth the wait.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Learn how to meet every pressing need in your church here.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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- You can learn more about the ministry of Promise Keepers here.
