May 16, 1998 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - In March we reported that Promise Keepers had announced it was laying off its 345 full-time staff workers due to a serious drop in income. At the November, 1997, Stand in the Gap rally in Washington, D.C., Promise Keepers announced that it would no longer charge a registration fee for its stadium events and that it would depend upon donor gifts, the sale of materials, etc., to fund its work. Income immediately plummeted, and on March 31, the workers were laid off.

Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney said in a March press conference that God wants "every church in America" to give $1,000 each to keep Promise Keepers afloat. That has not happened, but enough donations had been received by the second week in April that they recalled the workers, though 70 of them had already found other employment.

Promise Keepers announced on April 9 that $4 million had been received in gifts since the layoffs were announced. Roughly 1,500 churches had given $1,000 or more (Christianity Today, May 18, 1998, p. 29). They said that donations had come from 35,000 people.

In announcing the recall of the workers, McCartney said they would continue to rely on donations. "It's God's plan to ask the body to do this together," he said, and he repeated his belief that every church in America should give $1,000 to Promise Keepers.

Promise Keepers has started a "covenant partners" program through which roughly 40,000 individuals and churches are currently donating some $200,000 to the organization. They also receive a portion from the sale of Promise Keepers materials, such as devotionals, hats, and T-shirts.

The 1998 budget is $45 million, compared to $112 million in 1997.