DENVER—Bill McCartney, the former college football coach who forged Promise Keepers into a formidable men’s movement, has come out of retirement to lead the evangelical Christian group.

McCartney, 68, has returned as chief executive officer and chairman of the ministry he co-founded. The announcement was made last week.

Promise Keepers has struggled to find an identity since its heyday in the mid-1990s. In 1996, the group drew 1.1 million men to 22 stadium conferences; 10 years later, 18 conferences attracted some 132,000.

McCartney also brought back former Promise Keepers executive Raleigh Washington to serve as president.