Promise Keepers Return
to St. Louis July 29-30

Thousands of men will descend once again on the Savvis Center this July 29 and 30 for the return of Promise Keepers to St. Louis. This year’s program, entitled The Awakening – An Unpredictable Adventure, will feature state-of-the-art audio-visuals, a brand new worship band from Integrity Music called PK7, and some of the country’s best known Christian speakers. As one of 20 regional conferences held around the country, the St. Louis event will draw men from Missouri, Illinois and several surrounding states.

Since the turn of the century, Promise Keepers has reached close to 200,000 men and boys at their conferences annually. In addition, thousands more have been reached through the Internet, satellite and radio broadcasts. Now in its 15th year of ministry, Promise Keepers is launching out on their most ambitious schedule since 1999, including a conference in Nassau, Bahamas and an outdoor stadium event in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

While Promise Keepers has brought their conference to St. Louis the past two years, this year’s program promises to bring a whole new experience to those who attend.

“Promise Keepers is calling men to full-alert living as sons of God,” said Dr. Tom Fortson, President and CEO of Promise Keepers. “The 2005 program is designed to awaken men to the epic spiritual battle taking place between light and darkness, between good and evil. Men are struggling to reach their full potential and to find life’s purpose. We want to help them fight for their families, impact their world, and fulfill their destiny.”

The conference theme, The Awakening, is based upon the scripture verse from Paul’s letter to the church at Rome; “...wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” To be ‘awakened’ assumes that something was asleep and needed to be roused or made alert. Spiritually, men often find themselves in that condition. Life is unpredictable and we must be spiritually alert if we are to be what God wants us to be!

This year’s program places emphasis on six different elements of a man’s life: The Epic Battle for a Man’s Soul; The Epic Battle for a Man’s Heart; Learning to Hear God’s Voice; Discovering Your Unique Design; The Epic Battle for a Man’s Work; and The Epic Battle for a Man’s Home.

According to the PK 2005 Program Paper distributed to all of the speakers for this year’s event, “The Awakening will intentionally rouse men’s hearts to awaken to the reality of the sin-infected and enemy occupied world. More so, it will call them into full alert living as sons of God, guiding and equipping them to hear the voice of God, discovering their life purpose, and capturing a vision for how they can faithfully serve the purpose of God in their own generation.”

Featured speakers at this year’s event in St. Louis include Dave Roever, Greg Steir, Larry Jackson, Joe White, Rick Rigsby, Phil Chapin and Gary Rosberg. In addition, crowd favorite and ‘politically incorrect’ comedian, Brad Stine, returns to St. Louis this year. The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29 with special musical guests SALVADOR. Also returning to St. Louis is the highly innovative and entertaining drama team AWAKEN, who will perform brief vignettes throughout the course of the weekend. Popular youth speaker Reggie Dabbs comes back for his third consecutive year as Master of Ceremonies for all 20 PK events.

The need for this type of event is clearly evident. James Williams, Senior Pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church (who is also the official Promise Keepers Conference Area Representative) tells the story of a young man he has been discipling by the name of Aaron. Aaron, an ex-gang member, learned that one of his former associates, a 16-year-old, had been shot and killed in North St. Louis in broad daylight. Upon hearing the news, he realized that it could have just as easily been him, had his life not been changed by Christ. Aaron is now even more dedicated to reaching out to other young men caught in the web of gang-life with the hope, forgiveness and purpose that accompany salvation.

Williams went on to say, “Imagine what God can do through you by mentoring a young man like Aaron? This is a grand opportunity for us all to come together as a Christian community to address one of the major problems of our day, young teenage men in crisis. This year’s Promise Keepers event can prove to be an effective tool, not only to reach out, but to awaken a revival within you.” Pastor Williams is trying to recruit 1,000 young men and boys from the North St. Louis and East St. Louis areas to attend the Awakening conference. If you would like to help him achieve that goal, call him at (314) 521-7079 or e-mail him at nlpchurch@juno.com.

This year’s conference also offers the opportunity for many individuals, both men and women, to get involved as volunteers. Larry Whittlesey, the National Event Volunteer Director for the St. Louis PK event said, “The most important part of our conference ministry is the local volunteer team.” The volunteer team for St. Louis, headed by Larry Vossel and Ray Morgan, will be comprised of almost 800 men, women and teenagers serving in over 75 different positions. Whittlesey noted that “last year over 15,000 volunteers donated 185,000 hours in service to Promise Keeper events around the country, saving the ministry approximately $4,000,000…and that doesn’t even include the countless hours given by the local volunteer leadership team during the weeks and months leading up to the actual conference weekend!”

“The reality is Promise Keepers could not do what it does without the faithful sacrifice of our volunteers,” Whittlesey added. “The PK staff heavily depends on these hard-working servants. Relationships built during the conference often become lasting friendships as staff and volunteers work together to build the Kingdom.”

If you’d like to be a part of the volunteer effort in St. Louis you can contact the PK Volunteer Department through their volunteer hotline by calling (800) 417-1878. You can also sign-up online at www.promisekeepers.org or by E-mailing volunteer@promisekeepers.org.

The all-new 2005 Awakening program runs Friday night from 6:30 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Doors open approximately 2 hours before the start of the program both days. The cost of registration is $89 for adults and $69 for those under 18. Registration includes admission for both days plus lunch on Saturday. You can register online at www.promisekeepers.org, or by calling 1-800-888-7595. Walk-up registration may be available, but many of the local events are selling out in advance so you are encouraged to pre-register. Registrations are non-refundable.