RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OFFER PATHS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH

For a time, religion simply wasn't fashionable. Many people still went to church each Sunday, but it wasn't something people talked openly about to others.

Thankfully, that has changed.

Conservative Christian values have become a leading movement in America today. Teen-agers can be found wearing T-shirts emblazoned with religious slogans meeting after school in Christian clubs. Thousands of men are banding together through Promise Keepers, and now women have joined the movement with Praise Keepers. These organizations have brought a breath of fresh air to many Americans disgusted by society's emphasis on sex, violence and broken families.

Praise Keepers is the newest of these groups. This coalition of Christian women hopes to pattern the success of its male counterparts, Promise Keepers.

At its first meeting, 17 women gathered in Barnett, a town of about 250 in central Missouri. The organizer is Anna Adler, who saw her husband return fired up from a Promise Keepers convention in Dallas. She wanted similar experiences for women. About 300 women attended its first convention at Lake of the Ozarks last month.

Promise Keepers is certainly worth emulating. It started six years ago in Denver, the brainchild of a former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney. The notion was to help men live godly lives and to focus their attention on building spiritual conviction and becoming better husbands and fathers. Members had to make and keep seven promises pertaining to worship, marriage, child-rearing, moral purity and evangelism. Its first convention drew only 72 men. This year, an estimated 500,000 men will attend Promise Keepers conventions.

Praise Keepers has similar goals: Members must make seven promises. The first is to God, and the second is to their husbands. For years, women have been the spiritual foundation at home, making sure children were raised in the church. This organization can help provide support for that mission and an opportunity to refocus on the importance of families in a fast-paced world.

Studies point to the negative impact of broken families on societal problems. Groups like Promise Keepers and Praise Keepers can help parents achieve healthier and happier families. It is a movement that deserves both momentum and attention in today's jaded world.