The adventure begins the night before the event. I had not ordered a ticket in time, and the event was full. At 10:30 pm a friend
called and said that someone in his church could not attend and asked if I would I be interested. The ticket cost $65, and I really didn't have that much spare money, but my wife urged me to go, saying that we'd find the money. The next afternoon we piled into a minivan and headed for RFK stadium. I really had no conception what PK was all about or what
would happen, but I did know one thing: God wanted me there for a reason.
Upon arrival, I was struck by the thousands of men wearing tee-shirts proclaiming their love for the Lord, quoting scripture, etc.
What a bold statement of faith. It reminded me of Paul's statement, "I am not afraid of the gospel." Living in what has been
called "post-Christian America," I have never seen such a bold, public display of faith.
When the conference began, the stadium reverberated with the voices of over 55,000 men singing praises to the Lord. The first
speaker of the evening was Luis Palau, who layed on our hearts what it means to be a man of God. As I listened, God's Holy Spirit was
working on my heart, convicting me to turn my life over to Jesus. I had come to this conference thinking that I was a Christian,
but I was soon convicted of all the unconfessed sin in my life and that I had not accepted Jesus as my Lord & savior. Sure I
had always believed that Jesus was the son of God, but I had never taken that last step of trusting in him and him alone for
my eternal salvation. At the end of Luis Palau's speech, he asked if there was anyone there who had heard the gospel message
that night and who wanted to accept Jesus as their personal Lord & Savior. I knew it was time, and on May 25, 1995 I became a
Christian.
I could barely sleep that night as thoughts of the events of the evening raced through my mind. At 6:00 a.m. the next morning,
I drove back into D.C. from the suburbs, and got lost. Southeast D.C. is about as good a place to get lost as Harlem NY, but I
really believed that the Lord would protect me from harm. I asked a bus driver how to get to the stadium, and after giving me
directions, he asked if I would be willing to give a man on his bus a ride to RFK, because the bus was going the wrong way and
the man wanted to get there too. I have never "given a ride to strangers," but I had the feeling God had put me here for a
reason, so I said "yes." Out climbed an old man in tattered clothes. He was dreadfully poor, and told me that he had hitch-hiked
from Maine so that he could attend Promise Keepers, and he didn't know how he would have gotten there if I had not come
along. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and chills swept over me. I remembered a verse from the bible that I had
read just the other day, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose." Even though this old man was being blessed by getting a ride, it was I who was truly blessed by being an instrument
of His will.
The Saturday session was filled with moving stories & sermons by great men of the faith like Tony Evans, E.V. Hill, Jack Hayford,
and others. It was a time of fellowship with men whom I had never known before, and many of whom I have not seen since,
yet I can see their faces and remember their prayers as if it were only yesterday. This may sound crazy to you if you have
never felt it before in your life, but the I could truly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit of God during that conference.
My wife couldn't be happier about my attendance either - she says I am a much better husband and father as a result of the
things I was taught at PK. I have been forever changed by my experience at Promise Keepers, and pray that if you have
an opportunity to attend an event this year, do whatever it takes to get there - it will change your life forever.
Remember at the beginning, how I didn't really have the money for the ticket? When we balanced the checkbook a few days later, we found a $65 error in our favor. Coincidence? Not likely. That was God showing is faithfulness to me when I was obedient to his calling.
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