Ray Family Update from December 2019

The arrival of a new year offers an earthly glimpse into a heavenly truth, that God is a God of new opportunities for change and improvement. Remembering the past can be Satan’s tool to distract us from the present and future, but it can also be used of the Lord as one of life’s greatest teachers. With the help of some great men, I have been challenged to take a high-level look at our church ministries and priorities to see where we can improve.

Unfortunately, it is somewhat common for me to see a burden as a call and allow my heart to be tugged in any number of directions. In doing so, I have been involved in some good things but have neglected other things that were perhaps more in line with what God intended for me and our church to do. Because of this, I have had to refocus on what the Lord wants for and from us.

One of the areas of refocus in our ministry involves our outreach. With a large contingency of Independent Baptist churches in our city (most, if not all, claiming to be King James Bible only), we are going to narrow the geographic footprint of our local outreach and increase the number of contacts we make with those who live within that area. Simultaneously, we are going to broaden and improve our worldwide outreach through our internet ministries.

Furthermore, in order to ensure our church’s future, we want to strengthen our position in other areas. In an effort to preserve our doctrinal/practical stand, we would like to have weeklong meetings to remind us why we are Baptists and King James Bible believers as well as to gain a better understanding of biblical music.

Financially, we have made great leaps over the last year. This has come about because of a better grip on our spending and faithful giving by God’s people both without and within our congregation. This may seem carnal to some, but financial security allows our church to do the ministries God has called us to do and hopefully to continually improve how we do them.

We hope the trend will continue in this direction and that God will help us implement the same wisdom in preparing for the future in our church facilities. In part, this means coming up with a better plan for maximizing the use of our present facility rather than considering the purchase of the adjoining property. One of our men recently explained changes we could make that would likely serve our church’s needs until the Lord calls me home and perhaps well beyond that. These changes would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of one tenth what it would cost to purchase and fix the building next door.

I must confess, discouragement has robbed me of many good days over the last couple of years, but my heart has truly been stirred for what the future holds in our service to the Lord. Although the world is spiritually dark, our opportunities to hold forth the word of life are innumerable. Although many good churches have sold out and changed for the worse, God has surrounded me with saints who love Him, His word, and sound doctrine and practice. I am truly blessed!