PROMISE KEEPERS PLANS ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

When a neighbor deposited a packet of information about Promise Keepers on Roger Rice's back porch, he hopped on his tractor and started bush hogging.

He didn't think he wanted to be an organizer for the new men's ministry organization, which is growing nationwide.

"But before I realized it, the Lord had me on the telephone calling all over Southeast Missouri," Rice said. He was calling men to see who might be interested in forming a local Promise Keepers task force.

The nondenominational group will hold an organizational meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the First General Baptist Church. It is open to all men.

Gary Simmons, the state representative for Promise Keepers, will attend Monday's meeting and provide some guidance on how to start a local group.

The organization wants men to make a commitment to become "promise keepers." Members are asked to make seven promises to lead more Christian lives.

Simmons said: "Men have walked away from responsibilities in their families and communities and churches. That has resulted in a society that is becoming fatherless. Eight million children are fatherless."

Promise Keepers' goal is to establish local task forces. "Men can then come together on a biblical basis to figure out how to get their lives straightened out."

Promise Keepers was started in 1990 by Bill McCartney, head football coach for the University of Colorado at Boulder. He envisioned a gathering of men meeting to honor Jesus Christ.

The first conference in 1991 brought 4,200 men together. In 1992, 22,000 men gathered. This year, 13 national conferences are sold out and 750,000 men will attend.

As many as 75 or more Cape Girardeau men have attended Promise Keepers rallies.

Rich Kinsey of Cape Girardeau recently attended a conference at Indianapolis, one of 64,000 men.

Kinsey said, "Men have always been pulled away from close relationships with other men. You would be made out to be a sissy or women would think you are very strange."

Promise Keepers is a way for men to develop relationships with other men. In turn, men can help each other keep their promises.

About 25 men have met four or five times to talk about organizing, Rice explained. Now they are ready to take the official step and become a task force.

They have big dreams for Southeast Missouri's men. When Rice hops on his tractor to bush hog these days, he envisions the Show Me Center filled with 6,000 or 7,000 men all gathered for worship.

"Being able to join in fellowship, we may be able to turn our communities around and this country around," Rice said.

SEVEN PROMISES OF PROMISE KEEPERS

-- Honor Jesus Christ through prayer, worship and obedience to His Word.

-- Practice spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.

-- Build strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

-- Support the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor and by actively giving his time and resources.

-- Reach beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

-- Influence his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

-- Pursue vital relationships with a small group of men, understanding that he needs his brothers to help keep his promises.