Times are becoming increasingly difficult for men in America, with men hard-hit by recent job losses. That’s why two events are being held this weekend to offer men encouragement, tools for healing and empowerment.
Beginning Thursday, Bishop T.D. Jakes will host his 16th annual ManPower event. The three-day conference is designed to give men facing “tremendous” pressure the skills “to overcome those forces that have traditionally held them back,” said Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Denver-based Promise Keepers (PK) will host its Igniting Transformation conference Saturday in Orlando, Fla. The event, which is the ministry’s fifth gathering this year, will focus on empowering families spiritually and, in a new trend for the ministry, will be open to women and youth.
Speakers include PK President Raleigh Washington, along with PK chairman Bill McCartney, Bible teacher Anne Graham Lotz and former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden.
Because of the high number of broken families-most of which are led by single mothers-Washington said by not allowing women to attend, they’re ignoring half of America’s families. “We need to transform [all] our families who in turn will transform the church, and transformed churches will transform cities,” he said.
In Fort Worth, the ManPower event will center around the theme “Mended.” The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, is speaking at the event for the first time and expects a racially diverse crowd at this year’s conference, which typically draws mostly African-American participants.
