Ray Family Update from December 2022

Dear Praying Friends,

The transition to 2023 has been jam-packed to say the least. On December 20th, we welcomed our granddaughter (Aria) into the world. Just a week later, myself, Lula, Sara, Isaac, and Charity loaded up in the car to head to Cana, VA, for a Bible conference. We left behind a granddaughter in one hospital and a daughter-in-law in another hospital (both experiencing some difficulties) and took with us one with a sore throat and another one with a rough cough. We thank God for CVS Minute Clinic and how quickly we were able to get medicine and start seeing improvement in those that travelled with us. As I write this, everybody is back to good health.

The meeting at Bear Trail Baptist Church went well. We trust that the Lord was able to use us to be a blessing to the folks who attended and especially to the body of believers that call Bear Trail home. I was able to be back home and preach both services for this past Sunday; I will be at home for a senior ministry meeting Tuesday morning and a youth meeting Tuesday evening; and I will preach here on Wednesday night. Very early Thursday morning, I will go to the airport to fly north to preach a two-day meeting in Superior, WI. If all goes well, I will arrive back home around midnight Saturday night and be home to preach both services the following day. Please pray for travelling mercies and that the Lord will use me during my time up north.

In the next few weeks, I hope to have 2023’s schedule for ministry finalized, both at home and abroad. I know there are several churches where I preach each year and others that I have had to postpone in the past. If your church fits into one of these categories and you want me to come this year, please let me know as soon as possible. I have tried to limit my travels in the past (and will continue to do so), but I can do a LITTLE more this year (for reasons I will cover below). I will try to update this information on pastorandrewray.com/updates as soon as I have it.

Concerning Antioch, there are two major undertakings that I would like for you to pray about in 2023. One of these involves our personnel and the other involves our property. First, we are committing to one year of full support for our assistant pastor, Jonathan Judy. Brother Judy has more than proven himself. He is a faithful man, has a faithful family, and loves the Lord and Antioch. His added presence allows me to focus on some areas of ministry otherwise neglected. This commitment begins mid-2023. Please pray for God’s provisions in this area. Secondly, we have done a great deal of research and have finally developed a plan to renovate our auditorium to help it reach its capacity. Those of you who have visited with us in the past know that we have already done some things to head this direction, but nearly half the seats are separated into caves where people feel isolated from the service. We hope 2023 will be the year that this changes. In all, the renovations will cost approximately $150,000.00. At the present, we have $50,000.00 of this set aside. Obviously, we ask that you pray the rest of the money in, but we also need labourers who will help us. All this being said, we understand the financial forecast suggests that we wait, but we truly believe the Lord will reward our efforts to follow Him and move forward in faith. For those who love our church and might be concerned, please know that we will do this by faith and we will not borrow money and put the church in debt.

In closing, thank you for loving our church and our family. We feel your prayers for us and we could not do what we do without them. We truly hope we can be half the blessing to you that you are to us. Please do not stop praying for us now...we have just begun to fight!