c. 1998 Religion News Service

DENVER _ Experts on Christian marketing and fund raising predict tough times ahead for the Promise Keepers in the wake of the organization’s decision to become completely donation-based.

The Denver-based evangelical Christian men’s group said Wednesday (Feb. 18) it will lay off its entire 345 paid staff members March 31 and continue operations with volunteers.”It’s a step of faith, because even though it may not make sense on paper, it makes spiritual sense,”said Mark DeMoss, whose organization has done public relations work for Promise Keepers, Jerry Falwell, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Campus Crusade for Christ.”I think it’s certainly possible they can bounce back, or possibly not bounce back.” DeMoss’ agency represented Promise Keepers for the past three years, but their contract ended Jan. 31 primarily because of the ministry’s financial problems.”Quitting cold turkey like this is up for debate, and this will put the organization in a tight squeeze,”said Paul Nelson, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), a kind of Better Business Bureau for evangelical organizations.”But there’s a lot of good will out there and Promise Keepers has been good for the country,”Nelson said, so the organization can be optimistic about getting donors.

Everyone in the organization _ from founder Bill McCartney on down _ will now receive no salaries or honorariums because leaders feel they can attract more men _ especially”lukewarm Christians or non-Christians”_ if there is no charge for attending Promise Keepers events.

Until last fall, Promise Keepers charged $60 for the stadium events they held around the country. But leaders announced then they would no longer charge admission, even though 72 percent of their income had come from registration fees.

Promise Keepers gets good marks from the Washington, D.C.- based ECFA, which acts as a watchdog to make sure its members adhere to the ECFA rules for evangelical non-profits.”We have them on a short leash, but that’s only because they have grown so fast in staff and income and have such a high profile,”said Nelson.”No one is screaming that they haven’t been paid by Promise Keepers. We maintain our own due diligence and have access to their books.” He said his organization knew in advance what Promise Keepers planned.”Their board members are highly reputable and they have networked with people on this to get advice,”he said. However, his organization gives no advice.”It will take an awful lot of donations to fuel this operation,”said Nelson. He declined to say how much Promise Keepers officials earned, but added,”There are no obscene salaries.” McCartney proposed a new way of receiving donations in a speech Thursday (Feb. 19) at a Promise Keepers clergy conference in St. Petersburg, Fla.”What I’m going to say right now is hard, but I believe it’s what God has given me to say,”McCartney told the audience of 3,000, according to the St. Petersburg Times.”I believe that every church that names the name of Jesus is supposed to give Promise Keepers $1,000.” Laura Montgomery Rutt, a national organizer of Equal Partners in Faith, a group that has criticized Promise Keepers, voiced concern about McCartney’s words.”When someone starts proclaiming that they know God’s will, it should cause us to stop and maybe question what they’re saying,”she said.

Fund raising for any group, secular or religious, isn’t easy, said Sylvia Ronsvalle, executive vice president of empty tomb inc., a Chicago organization that researches church giving.”Churches are at a crossroads. Americans no longer give to churches because it’s the right thing to do,”said Ronsvalle.”The idea of the culturally good American giving to church and charities has been eroded. Now the attitude is, `What’s in it for me?’ Guilt no longer works.” Promise Keepers, in order to survive, will have to do a lot of”heavy interpretation”as to what the money will be used for and why it is a good thing to give, said Ronsvalle.

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DeMoss said Promise Keepers has made a”dramatic reversal”in its operation, an”overnight approach, rather than a gradual shift,”such as just cutting registration fees in half.”By now they would have collected several million dollars in advance registration for this year’s events,”he said.”One of the dangers of success for a ministry is when it has the perception of being cash rich. People read about that in the newspapers and view the organization as rich. But the money came in and went out. There was no extra.” Money-raising efforts will have to make that clear to donors, he said.”It’ll take a while for the word to sink in.” Because the organization became so high-profile and so criticized for its conservative stands,”some people portrayed PK as a dangerous organization that was going to take over America,”DeMoss said.”That idea could hurt fund raising.” DeMoss said he probably wouldn’t have come up with the donor-based system for Promise Keepers,”but if I had been on the board, I have so much respect for Bill McCartney and his genuine devotion to following God’s leading that I would have supported this decision.” DEA END CULVER