During a time when it appears that many are striving to destroy America ’s values, there is a group of men in the Lake Oconee area who are taking a stand to strengthen their marriages, families, communities and churches.

“Promise Keepers” are men who have become warriors and who are attempting to make a difference through living out the “Seven Promises” to God, their families, their fellow man and community. Their vision is simply put in three words: “Men Transformed Worldwide.”

Locally, the group began informally at the old Town House restaurant in downtown Greensboro in 1997. Another group was meeting in Putnam County and soon the two groups combined. Currently they meet on Wednesday mornings between 7:30 to 8:30 at The River of Life Church on Scott Road near the Greene-Putnam county line.

The men represent several churches in the area and there are some who are not affiliated with a church. (You don’t have to belong to a church to become a part of the group.)

Coming from many different backgrounds, the men share a time of celebration and hope, discuss how God is working in their lives, and they nurture the lives of others in the group and in the community.

And they are making a difference by reaching out to those who are in need.

A young man talked about how Promise Keepers had made a difference in his life since his release from prison after spending 19 years behind walls.

“Although I was raised in Putnam County, after 19 years there were none who knew me. All my previous relationships were gone,” he said. “Then I met Mr. Jack Minchey and the Promise Keepers.”

He went on to tell how the men had provided him with support, love, and encouragement. They included him in their monthly meetings, helped him to find a job and to get enrolled in college.

“Their attitude was ‘What can I do today to make a difference in this guy’s life?’” he continued. “I cannot find the words to express what Mr. Jack and the others have done for me and in my life.”

Yes, this is a “doing” group….not just a “meeting” group. In addition to working one-on-one in men’s lives, they also contribute financially to men in need and are beginning a process to give to several local ministries including: First Call Pregnancy Center, ATLAS Ministry, Inc., Refuge of Hope, the Penfield addiction program, and providing food and gifts for local families for Christmas.

They have frequent social events, often wild game meals at the Minchey home and share in fellowship.

Yes, Promise Keepers are a group of fellows who share a time of celebration and hope. They talk abut how God is working in their own lives as well as in the lives of others. And they nurture and support one another.

“In Christ, God keeps all the promises that he made to mankind and we rely upon God as the original Promise Keeper to keep our promises.”

Promise Keepers began in 1989 when Bill McCartney, then football coach for the University of Colorado and Dave Wardell, Ph.D. traveled to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet in Pueblo, Col.

During their discussion, Coach McCartney said he was imagining a revival among Christian men who were willing to take a stand for God in their marriages, families, churches and communities. Revival and discipleship are the two elements that became the foundation and focus on Promise Keepers.

Since that time Promise Keepers has directly reached more than five and a half million men. In 1997, an estimated one million men gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D. C., marking arguably the largest gathering of Christian men in modern

U. S. history. Several men from the Lake Oconee Promise Keepers group attended this gathering on the Mall in D. C. and several amazing testimonies were spawned from this event together. One of the men went by train to D. C. and this proved to be a “first step” in saving his son’s marriage.

To learn more about Promise Keepers, contact Jack Minchey at (706) 473-0431 or Thomas Olsen at (404) 374-6760.