Ray Family Update from May 2019

Dear Praying Friends,

It is hard to believe that we are nearly halfway through 2019. The past month has brought several anniversaries: the anniversary of my birth, the anniversary of my mentor’s passing, and the anniversary of my start as the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. All of these serve as a reminder that life is short and that we are never assured of tomorrow. This time of year also ushers in our annual Bible Conference which is perhaps the busiest and yet most rewarding time of the year. We anticipate this year’s conference to be our best yet. Please pray with us for the Lord’s will to be accomplished in this meeting.

Newest Projects

Along with the anniversaries, the month of May brought about the close of the spring semester of our Bible Institute. The time off from the Institute allows me to get caught up on some things that have been lacking, but it also affords me the opportunity to branch out into some other areas of ministry. During this break, I started a Monday through Friday internet broadcast on the book of Philippians. The study will consist of seventy-five broadcasts covering fifteen minutes each. If the Lord provides, it is my intention to turn this into a radio broadcast as well. If I can work out a few bugs, I plan to start another broadcast going through our four volume daily devotion series. Also, during this break, I need to finish a writing project I started with one of Brother Knox’s works. It is close to being ready for proofing and I need to have it finished before the next semester of our Bible Institute begins (August 2019).

Asking God for Fruit

Off and on for years, I have asked God to give us some fruit among those who either did not attend church at all or who attended something other than a local Independent Baptist Church. We have sadly become all too proficient at swapping out our disgruntled members for someone else’s disgruntled members. This trend is discouraging to all involved and I am asking the Lord to do something quite different for us. I can see the beginnings of what appears to be the Lord’s gracious answering of this request, but I want to see more. I want to reach people who are not already set in their ways. I want to minister to those whose lives are a blank canvas just waiting for the work of God to be accomplished in their hearts. Along these lines, the Lord (I believe it to be Him) seems to be flooding my mind with things to do in hopes of reaching those who have not been reached and taught by local like-minded churches.

Prayer Requests

* Pray for the Lord’s will to be accomplished in this year’s Bible Conference.
* Pray that the Lord would use the new internet broadcast(s).
* Ask God to help me complete the writing project with Brother Knox before August.
* Ask God to give us fruit among those who are unchurched or underchurched.