To Our Supporters
Autumn 2017
Dear Friend, Six people I know suicided in the first three months of 2015. They were all middle-aged men, except for one guy in his 30s. I had never been to a suicide funeral before that. Suddenly I was going to two. This summer it hasn’t been a season of friends suiciding but rather marriage breakdowns. Five so far and counting. I have been busy staying in touch with several of these men and helping them walk their way through it. What is it with men? Young guys mostly have a heap of mates who they hang out with. As they get into the family stage of life, they are often too busy to maintain many close friendships. This is the start of becoming more isolated. As the storms of life – relational, health, employment and financial issues strike, men seldom have true, genuine male friends to walk with them. I have developed some deep friendships. These have been a result of intentionally spending time together in Men’s Groups. We meet weekly to catch up and process the events of the week together and see what God is saying about it. This investment of time results in really knowing each other and caring about how each of us is doing. There are so many situations we face in life, but it is a tragedy if we have to face them alone. There is reassurance in having friends that I could call at 2:00am if I needed to. I know that I can rely on them and they have my back. Isn’t that the way it should be? Yet I have only been motivated to build these friendships because of what I have learnt through Promise Keepers. I know that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other men who have experienced vital, vibrant fellowship and friendships because of PK-inspired (and often resourced) Men’s Groups. So there is a deep legacy from the work that Promise Keepers has done over the last two decades. Let’s look to the future…
ongoing activities and adding a few more. We have become more flexible and versatile in our roles. Despite the blessing of working in a ministry like this, there is also stress and sometimes health issues that occur. The necessity of taking breaks away to recharge and protect our overall health has become a reality.
What is happening now and where is Promise Keepers headed? Accelerating change is all around us and this ministry is experiencing rapid change as well. Let’s pull back the curtains so that you – a valued financial supporter – can see what is happening inside the mission that you are supporting.
Our people We have reduced our staffing over the last 18 months while continuing most of the
Our activities Promise Keepers has undergone huge changes over the last two years and going forward our flagship Events in Wellington and Christchurch will look different. In our first major schedule and format change, these will become shorter with a different feel, finishing before dinner on Saturday. We will run Transition, the Youth Event, on Friday night as well as a leadership option. The popular Electives, launched last year, will continue. Behind the scenes, every change made has
downstream consequences. This involves enormous energy to plan and implement the changes well. A lot of this burden falls on Paul Subritzky. We have launched Pit Stop Events in Blenheim and Invercargill this year to better serve regional towns with a physical event. These complement our increasing offering of online events including groups and courses. The More Than Bacon breakfast series livestreams top international speakers to churches and men nationwide. Providing these resources requires a competent team who ensure that the amazing amount of detail and preparation is completed. Paul Monahan is intensively involved in the courses. Living outside Auckland, he has a long, early commute to avoid traffic, usually working in the office from 7am to 7pm 3 days a week, and running more groups outside these hours.
Advertising 1.3% Resource Sales 5.5%
Sponsorship 11.7%
Other 0.1%
Event Expenses 13.3% Event Venue & Technical 14.3%
Event Fees 26.3%
Event Travel & Accommodation 5.1%
Salaries 32.5%
Postage, Printing & Communication 7.9%
Donations 55.1%
Resource Purchases 2.8% Admin & Office 4.8%
Men’s Ministry 12.3% WiseChoices 7% Promise Keepers year ended 31 December 2016
Setting men free Pornography is a very hot topic at the moment, repeatedly coming to media and public attention. At Promise Keepers we are now involved in direct intervention in the battle against porn addiction.
Our toolbox Everything is going online now and people expect to be able to find what they want 24/7 on the net. It is the Netflix/YouTube/Google effect. We want to access what we want when we want it. The last year has seen PK develop a brandnew website and shop that is constantly being updated to support all our activities. Email has become our primary communication tool with physical mailers reduced by 70%. A new online registration system is in use. All our Event videos from 2004 to 2010 (so far) are freely available on Vimeo. All the Event MP3s from 2016 are available to buy and download online. Breakfasts are livestreamed out with speakers Skyping in from overseas. Some groups meet via Skype video from locations nationwide. The opportunities to innovate are staggering!
All of this can make our heads spin trying to keep all these balls in the air, but we have to keep up and be proficient with technology. All this is to enable Promise Keepers to continue to deliver resources and encouragement to men nationwide so that we all become more resilient as we work through the storms of life. Men – better connected with God and enjoying better friendships.
As we are explaining to men, this is not a short-term fix: we recommend a two-year minimum recovery period. Under the name Set Free, Promise Keepers is currently offering two staged courses – the first course is three months, and the second is one year plus. We are also looking at ways we can support wives, to rebuild families to wholeness. The most exciting part for us is not just seeing men go pornography free. It is seeing them so grateful and willing to give back, through supporting others and leading groups or speaking out for the cause. This brings depth and longevity beyond the mentoring of a PK staff member. It brings life!
Your support enables the ministry to continue to be impacting, relevant and powerful in the lives of men throughout our nation. Thank you for your part in making this happen. With gratitude
John Subritzky
Men’s Events 2017 – CHC 18-19 Aug, WLG 15-16 Sept, AKL 6-7 Oct