Nashville PK Energizes Fathers, Sons, Brothers

9000 men donate blood, food for local charities

Nashville, July 23, 2007 – At Promise Keepers in Nashville this past weekend, 9,000 men connected over issues of adventure, truth, life and death, brotherhood and the mystery of women. They left the Sommet Center prepared to engage their families, workplaces and communities with a practical and visible Christian faith. Dr. Tom Fortson, president and CEO of Promise Keepers, challenged the attendees to put their faith into practice. “Promise Keepers began as a movement, and is now a movement with a mission. We want to help men demonstrate integrity in action.”

Notes and quotes from the event

Integrity Music’s PK7 and worship leader Stephen Newby tuned up the crowd with up-tempo praise and worship music throughout the event. The 2007 collection of music Promise Keepers is called Energizing.

As the book world celebrates the final installment in the Harry Potter series, Nashville-based politically incorrect comedian Brad Stine took on witches. “School kids in Washington had to cancel their Halloween costume party because a local member of Wicca was offended by the stereotype of pointy hats and brooms. Don’t they have a potion for that?”

Citing 2006 research on the decreasing number of friends in the U.S., Bishop Joseph Garlington (www.ccop.org) addressed “The Significance of Connecting with a Few Other Men.” “We are a part of the whole, and we won’t function apart from the whole,” said Bishop Garlington.

Bishop Larry Jackson helped men understand the “Heart of a Woman.” “She wants your ears, men. So many arguments are caused when you try to solve the problem before you have heard the problem.”

Community Impact

On Friday afternoon, fifty-eight (58) productive units of blood were raised in the lobby of the Sommet Center. The Tennessee Valley Region of the American Red Cross organized the blood drive, and 50 men were first-time blood donors.

On Saturday morning, Nashville conferees and church vans brought cases and cases of food to the arena. The 4,780 pounds of food filled a truck from Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and restocked the shelves during typically lean summer months.

Friday at Sommet Center

As a professional adventurer, Bob Cornuke (http://www.baseinstitute.org/) admits many people don’t understand his work. “When you look for Noah’s ark, people think you have tin foil wrapped around your head and you’re looking for the mother ship,” he says. But Cornuke isn’t just chasing adventure. He says he’s out to prove the accuracy of scripture. In looking for the shipwreck of the Apostle Paul, an event described in detail in the Book of Acts, Cornuke says, “The precision of scripture is amazing. If you follow its clues, you won’t just find fantastic objects. You’ll find it’s a roadmap for life.”

Chair-throwing evangelist Adrian Despres tackled hypocrisy among Christians. “Evidence number one of being a Christian is your love, joy and peace,” Despres said. “The other evidence is the conviction of sin.” Among those raised in a Christian home, 176 men rededicated their lives to Jesus Christ. Another 148 men, young men and boys made first-time decisions to follow Jesus Christ with their whole lives.

from Promise Keepers

Promise Keepers Nashville 2007

Men Gather 9500 Strong for Promise Keepers at the Sommet Center...

Many thanks for the hard work from all of the volunteers - hundreds of women, youth and men gave of their time to facilitate the third stop on the seven conference schedule... more to come!











Click here to visit the Nashville 2007 Flickr set for more photos!

* PARKING UPDATE for Volunteers *

LifeWay Christian Resources has generously offered our volunteers the free use of three of their parking lots during the conference. Parking is at your own risk and neither Promise Keepers nor Lifeway Christian Resources is responsible for any damage or theft regarding your vehicle or personal property. In order to honor their generosity and not abuse the privilege, please adhere strictly to the directions below:

NORTH LOT – corner of 10’th Ave N & Church Street

(Available all day Friday and Saturday - first come, first served)

FROST LOT – between 8’th & 9’th Ave at Commerce St

(Available after 4 PM on Friday and all day Saturday – first come, first served)

10’th Ave Visitor’s Lot – corner of 10’th Ave & Commerce St

(Available after 4 PM on Friday and all day Saturday – first come, first served)


PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE BOOKSTORE PARKING LOT (BROADWAY & 10’TH)


Please place the placard below in plain view on your dash board and pencil in your mobile number in case of emergency!

----------------------------

PROMISE KEEPERS VOLUNTEER

Mobile Phone # ___________________

Please remember to bring your volunteer liability form so we can speed you through volunteer check-in and onto your assignment. Please be sure to show up 30 minutes before your shift assignment. Thank you for your service and sacrifice to reach the men for Jesus Christ.

Proudly serving with you,

Tim Richards
Assistant Event Coordinator
Promise Keepers Nashville 2007

In just a few hours...

Schedule & Important Details

Schedule & Important Details

Things You Need to Know

Conference Times*
Friday - Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
Friday - Program runs 6:30 - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday - Doors open at 7:30 a.m.
Saturday - Program runs 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

*All times are approximate.

There is no box lunch provided on Saturday

Wear your wristband to the event. It is required for entry. It’s mostly waterproof, so you can shower with it on (please).

Parking fees will be determined by each parking facility. We encourage you to carpool to save on parking costs. Public parking may be limited.

Men with special needs will find reserved areas at the events that are wheelchair accessible.

Spanish language translation is provided at all events. Spanish language headsets are available at no charge at the arena.

ASL interpreters will be provided at all events. For more information, please call Promise Keepers Customer Service at 866-PROMISE (8:00am -8:00pm, M-F, MT).

There are no refunds on registrations. If you are unable to use your registration, please consider donating it to a local church.

If you lose or forget your wristband you will be required to pay a replacement fee of $5.00.

For specific conference information and updates, or for additional registrations, please call 866-PROMISE (8:00am - 8:00pm, M-F, MT).

Theme T-shirts, Worship CDs and other PK merchandise are available for purchase at each conference.

What should I bring?
A Bible, pen, a friend and an open heart.

What should I not bring?
Coolers, cans, glass or plastic bottles, umbrellas, tape recorders, or video cameras. Professional photo/video equipment must have media credentials. Due to heightened security at most venues, backpacks, briefcases, etc. may not be allowed. Visit your venue’s website for specific information on prohibited items.

On Saturday morning, bring non-perishable food items (hey, bring a case even!) for a local Christian food bank.



*** Registrations are Non-Refundable ***

What can happen in fifteen days?

Within the next fifteen days, there's quite a flurry of activity surrounding the conference. It's hot outside, there are lots of emails flying around, databases to reconciled, paperwork to file and phone calls to make to finish out the extraordinary volunteer effort by the local volunteer team. But take some time to rest and see what God is up to.

What is God up to? - With your prayers, He is stirring the hearts of men to boldly pursue Jesus Christ. To this day, God is still using Promise Keepers, not because Promise Keepers is great, but because God is.

Here's a testimony from a first timer from the Promise Keepers' conference in Anaheim. Let this be an encouragement to all - your efforts and most importantly your prayers do make a difference!

I had never before attended a PK event prior to this last weekend. I was invited by my brother-in-law who has been to quite a few of these events.

During the last couple of months, I have made some life-changing decisions. I recently left the career that I was involved in for the last 6+ years with nothing planned to fill that void with. I also began attending church regularly for the first time since I was a child. I needed to make a change in my life in quite few ways if I intended on keeping my family together and keeping my health. My brother-in-law and a few other friends that are Christians have provided me with great support.

I arrived on Friday evening not really knowing what to expect. The first speaker really hit home with me because, I too am a military veteran. I never served during a time of conflict, but I related to everything that he was saying. When his son-in-law came out, this really hit home. I too came from an abusive and broken family. This is what led me to the military at the age of 17. Hearing what they had to say sent me the message that this is where I needed to be this particular weekend.

The rest of the speakers and entertainers were equally inspiring and taught me a lot about myself. I am a newly devoted man of Christ and am very thankful for the invitation that was made to me to be part of an amazing weekend. I became very emotional several times throughout the weekend and am forever grateful for what I went through. I am greatly looking forward to next years event here in L.A. Thank you PK for a great GOD filled weekend.

Fernando
Simi Valley, CA

Promise Keepers Nashville !

Promise Keepers opened its 17th year of conference ministry at the Mobile Civic Center on the Gulf Coast of Alabama.

Read more about the conference in Mobile here

Got friends sitting on the fence whether or not to attend the NEARLY FULL Nashville conference? Send them (and view for yourself) the new Interactive WebBrochures.

View the Nashville WebBrochure here and pass it along.

It's a quick way to tell your friends, family and church members about the upcoming PK conference...

Meanwhile, the Nashville Leadership Team is finalizing all of the logistics and ministry opportunities to ensure a suberb conference experience!



There is still time to volunteer by registering on the right sidebar by clicking on VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION... just indicate Nashville as the conference city; there are a few spots needed for retail on both Friday and Saturday. This slot is ideal for women of all ages to catch a taste of the Promise Keepers conference experience that husbands, fathers, sons and brothers are passionate about!



Volunteer today and we'll get you in the system immediately as we will be sending out volunteer packet information this week!



Any questions? Just use the Leadership eMail Contacts links or Promise Keepers LINKS on the right sidebar.