Promise Keepers, the men’s ministry that once filled NFL stadiums, is now offering virtual events to address issues that men face. This year’s event will address mental health and will take place October 25 at 8 p.m. ET. Promise Keepers’ CEO, Ken Harrison, spoke with The Stream recently to discuss Carried, which will be available to stream on the Promise Keeper’s app, as well as YouTube and CBN.

The Vision

“The vision of Promise Keepers is that we want to number one, be very true to Scripture and number two, talk to men about the things that men need to hear that maybe they’re not hearing from anybody else. Carried is about mental health. It’s about depression, it’s about grief, guilt, suicide and a lot of men just don’t have anybody to turn to, to talk to the about with these things.”

There are 127 suicides per day in America, Ken notes, and 80% of those have been middle aged men. Ken wants men who struggle with these issues to know they can talk with someone about it. “I think so much of that is they have no one to turn to, no one to talk to.”

Promise Keepers created an app and chat rooms to let guys minister to one another. And it’s not just the one-hour event. “There’s a 21-day challenge after that that goes in a much greater depth, taking on individual issues a lot more with a lot more content for what guys are struggling with.” After Carried, men can join a group and work through the three-week program.

They’ll Be Better Prepared 

COVID changed how men are getting help. Men are looking to get together in smaller venues, looking for friends to do things with. Men are less likely to want to go to larger events. COVID’s aftermath has seen an uptick in alcohol abuse, drug abuse and problems with financial stability. “We want to get ahead of that problem. With Carried, we get men solid help, so that if that catastrophe comes … they’ll be better prepared.”

While Promise Keepers encourages men to seek counseling, it’s not the end all. “Men need to be able to communicate with other men, especially older and wiser men, so we, we definitely encourage people to get on the app and get mentored and in a safe place because sometimes … you may or may not have a friend close enough and experienced enough to be able to deal with it or that you trust enough.”

The app lets men communicate and make friends outside of their church, so they can be comfortable sharing mental health difficulties.

Speakers at Carried will include pastor Sam Rodriguez, pastor Steve Berger, mental health experts and others. 

For more information, go to promisekeepers.org/carried.

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.