For Immediate Release:  October 7, 2007 Stand in the Gap 2007 is now His story Washington, D.C., October 7, 2007 – If we built it, would they come?  Men did come, thousands of them, from every state in the Union, and from other nations, to Stand in the Gap 2007.  Held at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument in the nation’s capitol yesterday, the gathering of old men, young men, middle aged men and boys was timed to occur on the tenth anniversary of the first Stand in the Gap on the National Mall in 1997. The theme Bible verse for the inter-generational gathering came from Psalm 145, verse 4: “One generation will comment your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.” The program was presented in four “acts,” inspired by Nehemiah’s ancient reclamation project at Jerusalem: return to God, remember his attributes, renew our resolve to live godly lives, and in the words of event chairman Marty Granger, “rebuild what is broken in our lives, families, churches, communities and cultural institutions.” Thirteen-year-old Paolo Sossa (Burke, Va.) opened the meeting with prayer.  Early in program, Dr. Rick Rigsby delivered a message called “The Audience of One” and led the men in a poignant five-minute silence. The day was anchored by Joseph Garlington, senior pastor of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh and presiding bishop of Reconciliation Ministries, (www.ccop.org) and Dr. Rick Kingham, president of the National Coalition of Men’s Ministries (www.ncmm.org).  Other speakers, held to interactive messages of 10 minutes or less, included revival authority Dale Schlafer (www.revivalandawakening.org), Michigan Theological Seminary president Dr. Bruce Fong (www.mts.edu), president of Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship Huron Claus (www.chief.org), president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Samuel Rodriguez (www.nhclc.org), former Navy Top Gun pilot and 9/11 Pentagon survivor Tom Joyce (www.immanuelbible.net), senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Glen Arden, Md. John Jenkins (www.fbcglenarden.org), senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and founder of Hawaiian Island Ministries Dan Chun (www.danchun.com), founding pastor of Bethel Outreach International Church, Charlotte, N.C. Bishop Larry Jackson (www.soteriaministries.org), senior pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship - Mountain View, Calif. and host of the daily radio broadcast “Enduring Truth” Paul Sheppard (www.pastorpaul.net) and bestselling author and lead pastor of Mosaic church in Los Angeles Erwin McManus (www.erwinmcmanus.com). Trumpets sounded, men sang At high noon, a 120-man trumpet choir, split into four parts, played a specially commissioned original composition by accomplished film and television composer John Keltonic (www.jdkmusic.com).  The players, from high school, college, professional and amateur ranks across the Mid-Atlantic, were directed by Charlie Peterson (www.trumpetunes.com). The worship leader for the six-hour event was Dr. Stephen Newby, with music director Phil Kristianson.  Other featured musicians included acclaimed vocalist D.C. Washington, Morris Chapman and Mel Washington.  Eight young people from the D.C.-area, the StepSonz, treated the audience to a Scripture-inspired “step” routine.  Wall of Honor A “visual, virtual, perpetual” Wall of Honor was inaugurated, inducting historic, recent and contemporary Christian leaders to an on-line place of remembrance and recognition.  Ten men were inducted at Stand in the Gap 2007: William Wilberforce, General William Booth, D.L. Moody, Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, Dr. Bill Bright, Jerry Falwell, Martin Luther King, Jr., Chuck Colson, and Bill McCartney. The public is invited to visit the Wall of Honor at www.honormen.org and submit a written tribute to a man or men, living or dead, who have impacted their lives in significant ways.  Pocket Testaments Mike Brickley, president of the Pocket Testament League, talked men through ways to share scripture verses with friends, family and acquaintances.  Thousands of Stand in the Gap 2007-edition, pocket-sized Gospels of John were distributed to attendees.  More copies are available through www.standinthegap2007.org. “28 for God” from American Bible Society The American Bible Society launched a new audio Bible download at Stand in the Gap 2007, called “28forGod” (http://28forGod.org).  Chris Thyberg, associate executive director for the ABS, announced the initiative to encourage men do download the audio Bible segments and listen for 28 minutes per day, hearing the entire New Testament in 40 days.  The ABS also videotaped men’s testimonials at Stand in the Gap 2007 (http://shareyourstorynow.org). Generational Blessing At the conclusion of each act, representative of each of the four living generations (70-80s, 50-60s, 30-40s, teens-20s) recited a declaration of return, remembrance, renewal and a pledge to rebuild.  The declarations are posted at www.standinthegap2007.org.  Near the end of the program on that warm October Saturday, representatives from each generation gathered on stage.  There and in the audience, each generation received and offered prayers, led by author and rites of passage authority Chuck Stecker (www.achosengeneration.org). The event concluded with a mass recitation of The Lord’s Prayer (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 9) Established as a once-a-decade event (in the seventh year of each decade), organizers of Stand in the Gap 2007 are planning the next gathering for Saturday, October 7, in the year 2017. DVD sets of the event are available along with other souvenir resources at www.standinthegap2007.org. The organizers and hosts for Stand in the Gap 2007 are the 110-member National Coalition of Men’s Ministries (http://ncmm.org/), representing every major Christian ministry to men in America, and the Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries (WACMM) (http://wacmm.org/), representing eighty participating churches and ministries in the metropolitan D.C. area.  Faith in the Family International (www.faithinthefamily.org), a Virginia-based non-profit organization, led by event chairman Marty Granger, administered the event.   # # # MEDIA CONTACT For media materials and background information, send an email to mediadesk@standinthegap2007.org.