Ray Family Update from July 2016

Dear Praying Friends,

I want to begin by thanking you for your prayers and encouragement! No man of God could fulfil any part of his calling apart from the help of God and faithful intercession of God’s people. So, thank you!!! That being said, please do not stop now. There is always much to do for the Lord with little time to accomplish the work, but the next five months are especially crucial for me. I do not want to bore you with the details, but I have four books that need completion. Three of these are mostly written and need only to be formatted and edited. What could prove to be the most important of the four books is only one third of the way written.

Before all the chaos ensues, I have two trips planned. One is a much needed family vacation and the other is a ministry trip. Please pray for safety, refreshment, and encouragement on these trips. I definitely need God’s grace and strength!

The Youth Adventure Trip

We are so privileged to have a wonderful group of young people and youth leaders in our church. Every year they take what has become known as an “Adventure Trip.” Washington, D.C. was this year’s destination. The trip included recreation but also incorporated devotions, Baptist History, and ministry opportunities. The trip just concluded and my wife and I were privileged to accompany the group.

I returned with a greater appreciation for the young people of our church. When we keep our eyes on the elections, the school system, the crime, etc., we lose courage. However, one week with our young people reminded me that all is not lost. Whoever came up with the idea that biblical truth and scriptural music must be compromised in order to hold the attention of today’s youth never met the young people of our church. Their love for godly music and boldness to witness for Christ is both encouraging and convicting! I came home honoured to know them and humbled to be their pastor.

I ask that you pray with me concerning their future faithfulness, life-changing decisions, and personal purity. We all know the Devil would love to get his hands on young people with potential for Christ.

Ministry Forecast

In addition to the writing projects, we have much outreach scheduled for the remainder of the year. After a short break, our faithful folks will resume street preaching this week. We also have two sign bombs remaining and tract distribution opportunities with the upcoming University of Tennessee football season.

Speaking of UT football, this season will bring the largest crowd to ever gather for a college football game with the Battle at Bristol. One of the men in our church, Brother Jonathan Judy, wrote a gospel tract specifically for this event. We will be partnering with several other churches in an effort to distribute thousands of tracts. Please begin praying now for this opportunity.

We are also researching the possibility of acquiring the equipment necessary to print our own gospel tracts and booklets. This would come with a greater upfront cost but could potentially save money in the long run. There are several booklets and tracts we could print if we had the equipment on site to do so. Having this equipment would also allow us the opportunity to freely distribute booklets for the propagation of truth with less concern for covering printing costs. Please pray for wisdom in this matter. We desire the opportunity to print our own materials but only want to do so if it is wise and in accordance with the Lord’s will for our church.

Prayer Requests

* Pray for safety and refreshment in our upcoming travels.
* Pray for the upcoming outreach opportunities.
* Pray for the preparations of the Bible Institute that resumes in January 2017.
* Pray for wisdom regarding our facilities and ministry equipment.
* Pray for the completion of the books that are presently in the works.