wfn.org | Presbyterian Churches in Maryland Rent Community Center

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5-November-1997 
97416 
 
     Presbyterian Churches in Maryland Rent 
    Community Center to House Promise Keepers 
 
    by Jennifer Chaney 
    Montgomery County (Md.) Gazette 
 
GAITHERSBURG, Md.--Before they stood in the gap, they had to sleep on the 
floor of  a Gaithersburg community center. 
 
    But the roughly 200 Promise Keepers from Minnesota, Michigan and 
Montana who bunked at the Casey Community Center before attending 
Saturday's "Stand in the Gap" assembly in Washington did not seem to mind. 
 
    "They were all just incredibly appreciative," said Carl Byrd, a 
Germantown resident, Promise Keeper and key organizer of the event at 
Casey. "Quite a few of the guys from Michigan could not have afforded to 
come any other way than this way." 
 
    Numerous area churches provided accommodations for visitors who 
attended Saturday's assembly, which served as a time of repentance and 
prayer for thousands of Promise Keepers from all over the country. 
 
    The Promise Keepers, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1991 by 
Bill McCartney, former coach of the University of Colorado's football team. 
During the past six years, the number of members has grown exponentially, 
all of them men who say they are re ady to make a stronger commitment to 
God, Jesus Christ and their families. 
 
    To prepare for some of the area's guests, Gaithersburg Presbyterian 
Church teamed up with Neelsville Presbyterian in Germantown to rent the 
Casey Community Center on Friday night, providing lodging for 200 men at a 
cost of $5 per person. Bright and early Saturday morning, the group rose, 
ate breakfast and headed to the Shady Grove Metro station where they took a 
train into Washington. Fifty of the men walked from Casey to the Metro. 
 
    "You just can't describe it," Byrd said when asked about the atmosphere 
on the Mall during the event. "What touched me more than anything was 
talking to as many of the out of town groups as I saw." 
 
    Many people drove from great distances to arrive in Washington on 
Saturday, then immediately turned around and headed home once the event was 
over, Byrd said. 
 
    Others were fortunate enough to have places to temporarily call home. 
Cris Kinney, president of the men's group at the Derwood Alliance Church in 
Derwood, said that up to 350 out-of-towners, including 22 members of the 
White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, were housed at the 
church or in the homes of church members. 
 
    But what is it that attracted so many to this weekend's event and the 
Promise Keepers' movement? 
 
    According to Kinney, it is the spiritual support the Promise Keepers 
provide one another while they attempt to face up to their responsibilities 
as family men. 
 
    "I have been having difficulties, like most of us have been, dealing 
with sin in my life. I knew I needed other guys to help me," Kinney 
explained.  Due to his four-year affiliation with the group, Kinney said he 
is a changed man. 
 
    "I believe I've been a more active father ... I just have a stronger 
desire to be a problem solver rather than a problem avoider," the 
45-year-old Damascus resident said. 
 
    While the number of Promise Keepers rises nationally, men in Montgomery 
County seem to be having no trouble keeping up. 
 
    Kinney estimated that about 100 men out of Derwood Alliance's 325 
members are Promise Keepers. Byrd said that between 20 and 50 members of 
Gaithersburg Presbyterian have also gotten involved. 
 
    "A lot of fathers are bringing sons, brothers are trying to bring 
brothers ... it seems like there is quite a bit of growth," Kinney said. 
 
    Byrd said that after last weekend's assembly, he expects interest in 
the group to increase even more. 
 
    "This has gotten a lot more coverage obviously because of the size of 
it," he said. "To the extent that people agree with the sorts of values the 
organization is trying to promote...I expect to see more interest 
generated, yeah." 

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