No Longer for Men Only, Promise Keepers Seeks to Include Women

No Longer for Men Only, Promise Keepers Seeks to Include Women
By Chris Glazier

Promise Keepers is broadening the focus of its stadium event this year to reach out to women, the poor and Jewish believers. For the first time in the history of the 19-year-old men's ministry, women will be invited to a Promise Keepers meeting. The day-and-a-half long event, named A Time to Honor, will take place on July 31 and Aug. 1 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. It will be the only Promise Keepers event this year.

"Boulder is going to be the epicenter of an extraordinary move of God," said Bill McCartney, the co-founder of Promise Keepers who recently returned as CEO. "It's going to go around the world. This is the very heart of God, to bring the church together for the difficult days ahead."

The event marks a change in direction from the established Promise Keepers model. The ministry has historically hosted multiple events during the summer that focus solely on men's issues. But the organization has struggled with declining attendance numbers since its peak in the 1990s.

McCartney, 68, brought this new vision with him when he returned as chairman and CEO last September, five years after resigning to care for his ill wife. He said God has led Promise Keepers to restore divisions in the body of Christ, and because of their efforts he believes the Holy Spirit will show up in a powerful way.

The groups they are reaching out to—women, the poor and believing Jews—are reflected in Galatians 3:28, which says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

"It's not about changing Promise Keepers," McCartney said. "We're just calling men to rally around the righteous as the days get more difficult."

Limited resources necessitated the shift from a multi-city tour to a lone event. Last year Promise Keepers scheduled eight events, but canceled one and shifted several others to smaller venues due to a lack of ticket sales.

"The ministry has been on a downward spiral. Our staff and our resources are really limited," said McCartney, who was the head football coach at the University of Colorado when he founded the ministry. "We felt like we wanted to have all hands on deck for the Boulder event, and we feel like it will relaunch the ministry."

McCartney, who founded a ministry for Jewish believers called Road to Jerusalem during his time away from Promise Keepers, believes the display of unity between gentile and Jewish believers will be particularly powerful.

In a letter sent in late April, he detailed this vision through an analysis of John 17:20-22, where Jesus prays for unity among believers during the Last Supper. McCartney writes that, "In effect, Jesus is saying that when these two people [Jews and gentiles], who have had an historic enmity heal the divide and become one, the world will then experience its final harvest of souls."

McCartney is releasing a book that takes an in-depth look on the topic of Jewish reconciliation called Two Minute Warning. Co-authored by Aaron Fruh (pronounced "free"), the book will release in September, but early copies will be available at A Time to Honor.

"The book chronicles 1,900 years of how Satan has done everything possible to divide Jewish and gentile believers," said Fruh, a Jewish believer and pastor who has written several books on the topic. "This event is basically seeking to heal this divide."

Confirmed speakers for the event include Tony Evans, Gary Smalley, Tommy Barnett and Jane Hansen Hoyt, president of Aglow International, who will deliver the keynote. McCartney and Raleigh Washington, former Promise Keepers CEO and current president, will also speak.

Tickets are available at promisekeepers.org for $59. A "pay what you can afford" program is also available.

"We want to make this once-in-a-lifetime conference available to people regardless of their economic condition," McCartney said. "I would just say to everyone: Come, you're going to see a move of God."