Promise Keepers Conference Aims To Motivate Men Through Faith

A spiritual outreach is firing back up, hoping to light a fire in the hearts of men in the process. Promise Keepers is expected to bring more than 3,000 men to Tulsa from around the midwest this weekend.

Organizers say this isn't really a conference, instead they compare it to a sport without the ball. Promise Keepers hit its peak in the mid 90s, and after dialing things back for a few years, it's once again holding nationwide events.

Motivational speakers, ranging from former NFL first round draft picks to comedians, are all spreading the same message this weekend: release your inner warrior.

"A Biblical godly warrior is a man who protects his home, who leaves a legacy for his children," said Promise Keepers CEO, Raleigh Washington.

Washington said the focus is to strengthen the role of fathers, brothers and sons in the home.

"Have men serve their wives and serve their families," he said.

Bryan Craig started a men's ministry in Tulsa after attending a Promise Keepers conference in 1996.

"It's not about church and religion, its about a personal relationship with Christ, and it can be an exciting thing," Craig said.

"When they get into a sports area like this they feel conformable and when you put God at the center of it, it's amazing what happens," he said.

The promises these men are keeping range from breaking down denominational and racial barriers to abstaining from pornography. They are also keeping the promises they'll make to one another.

"Men have to put the pride aside and maybe it's not that hard for women," said Glenn Keeton.

He made the trip from Joplin from his first Promise Keepers event.

"I think, as men, we have a responsibility to our family," Keeton said.

According to organizers, 80 percent of young men who are raised in the church leave after going out on their own.

They hope conferences like this will prevent that, by arming warriors with the word of God.

"A man's man is a Godly man, whose a warrior demonstrating strength under control," Washington said.

Saturday's event will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online or at the Convention Center box office.

And for the first time, Promise Keepers is offering a nine-month ministry program, so men can continue to strengthen their faith, long after the conference.