The Promise Keepers (PK) organized a conference last week in Texas, empowering men to be better leaders in their households, communities and the nation.
The gathering was held at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, presenting a number of influential Christian speakers, CBN News reported.
On Friday, Jonathan Evans, Nick Vujicic and Donald Burgs Jr. spoke at the event. While the final day featured seven speakers, including Lt. General Jerry Boykin, Chad Hennings, Carter Conlon, A.R. Bernard, Samuel Rodriguez, Les Parrott and Robert Morris.
Evans, a former NFL player, urged the participants to become "kingdom men" and build their legacies.
"My prayer is simple - that the men in this stadium and the ones watching around the world right now will decide to become kingdom men, if not already, and start building your legacies today. Because that's your only chance at greatness," he declared.
Vujicic exhorted the men to never give up in their walk with God.
"God sees you. God hears you. Don't give up on God. God will not give up on you. His grace is sufficient for you. That's the promise of God. And my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Promise Keeper," he said.
Last Night This is what it is all about. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers in the altars surrendering their lives to Christ and creating a new legacy for their families. Can't wait to see what God is going to do today!#PromiseKeepers#PKConference pic.twitter.com/j0x0zMCiJd
"” Promise Keepers (@PromiseKeepers) July 17, 2021
David Closson, a director at Family Research Council, shared that seeing men at the football stadium, worshiping God instead of drinking and cursing was encouraging.
"Here is a stadium known for football, but instead of beer and profanity, it was filled with men confessing their sins, praying and praising God. It was encouraging to see men kneeling at the 50-yard line on the Dallas Cowboy star, surrounded by thousands of men on their knees, crying out to God. That stadium became a sanctuary," he stated.
The organization was established in 1990 by Bill McCartney, then head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder's football team.
Speaking to the Religion News Service, Pastor James Merritt said that the purpose of the movement is to help men become people of integrity, wherein they are expected to become good husbands and fathers, as well as being faithful to their wives.
The organization held a huge gathering in 1997, hosting about 700,000 participants at the National Mall in Washington. But PK declined after that year.
According to McCartney and the organization's current CEO, Ken Harrison, part of the reason of its decline was due to its strong emphasis on racial reconciliation while the majority of its members were Caucasians.
But Bernard, a PK board member and Black pastor, disagreed with McCartney and Harrison, saying that the problem was rather the lack of strategy to tackle racism.
In an interview with Christianity Today, Harrison said that the movement will continue its mission on racial reconciliation but will also address denominational issues.
Further, he shared that PK will focus more on discipleship and partnership with local churches, instead of holding large events, to better understand and solve the communities' racial issues.
The PK CEO added that they want to "effect real change this time" by reaching out to different kinds of people.
