Bray-Missionaries.org: Sure Things for 2005

By Bill Bray

VIRGINIA - Although political pundits still debate how strong a mandate George W. Bush got in recent elections, all agree he won on "moral values." People voted their hearts, not pocketbooks, in 2004. Obviously many hearts yearn for righteousness.

FEEDING ORPHANS, like this child in Ethiopia, will hopefully increase in the future but only in context of what Bill Bray calls the "Seven Eternal Certainties" in the Bray Family Missionary Ministry. (WCF Photo by David Buchanan)
What does this mean to you, as one of our Bray Family Missionary Prayer Partners or Support Team members?

To me, the lesson is obvious; we are on the verge of another revival. As a missionary team, we must respond to this cry. Many are sick and tired of our national sin, crying out for the restoration of strong moral and spiritual leadership. We're at one of those spiritual "tipping points" when things can go either way.

Only a Holy Spirit filled, repentant, prayerful, unified Body of Christ can give us the spiritual leadership that we need today. Government cannot lead in this.

Serving this cause is a legitimate part of our missionary mandate. Many have responded positively when I speak out on this. So if you agree that the moral decline of the church (and thus our culture) must be addressed, then I need to hear from you. I need to make sure that this direction is from the Lord. To do so, I need more prayer partners and supporters to join us and stand behind us.

I believe that the 2004 elections didn't really give anyone a moral mandate, but they certainly revealed a moral vacuum. In the Great Commission, we were given a mandate from God to fill that vacuum.

What The Coming Revival Will Look Like

This next revival, to be effectual, must include a revival in changed behavior and missions outreaches that obey Christ's Great Commission. In other words, it must manifest itself in a renewal of our righteousness and obedience. Just "going to the altar" does not complete the work of God among the nations - even when the tears are genuine and the vows we make are heart felt and real.

In this environment, it is not enough to just believe correctly, one must act correctly. Doctrine and behavior must be consistent; something that we lost in the gender and sexual revolution of the 1970's.

In the Great Commission of Christ, our Lord ordered us to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe his commands (study Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20). The clear result of any revival based on these verses will be "obedient-living learned from obedient-living missionaries."

My prayer for 2005 and the future is this: "Lord, make me a man of obedience." And in order to do this, I am crying out to the Lord to raise up partners who will support us in answering this prayer for holiness.

New Directions for 2005 and Beyond

As you know from reading recent issues of the Bray Family Call to Prayer, the Lord is making changes in the direction of our missionary ministry in 2005. This culminated in events around the "Operation Africa Child Mission Tour" we organized in October, 2004. (See Bill's "OAC Blog" for details about God's leading in Africa.)

To go in the Lord's direction for the "Autumn and Winter" seasons of my ministry, I am:
(1) Doubling my goal from 100 to 200 partners in 2005! This is the only way to raise up the additional prayer and support that is so essential;
(2) Negotiating changes in our job descriptions. We are doing the same work as always but I want to make sure it is faith based and in context of what I am calling the "Seven Eternal Certainties" in our ministry.

The Lord has given me a scriptural theme for this new emphasis from Isaiah 58:12, "Thou shalt raise the foundations…and thou shalt be called the repairer of the bridge, the restorer of paths." This is an apostolic and prophetic call to rebuild the broken down walls of our faith and behavior but I cannot move out on this alone.

A missionary cannot "go" unless he is sent by the Body of Christ -- not just called by the Lord. In fact, I need to know that you are renewing your support for me because God confirms his call by sending us out through His church.

Sure Things You Can Expect

So what are these "walls" and foundations that I am planning to rebuild in context of our missionary call? Here are the certainties that the Lord has impressed upon me:

"True Religion" outreach to the fatherless and widows based on James 1:27.
Supporting New Testament local church planting and apostolic leadership;
Rebuilding biblical family units on biblical gender callings and gifts;
Supporting indigenous missions and missionaries in the above three endeavors;
Emphasis on evangelism and outreach to the unreached nations (i.e. mostly African and Asian nationalities, but not limited to the 10/40 window);
Focusing on my prophetic communications gifts and Ivy's administrative gifts;
Seeking to do all this while maintaining a "four-way balance" between truth and righteousness; justice and mercy.

Every action I undertake as head of the Bray Family and our Missionary Team is being judged against these standards. Please pray that I might be faithful in this resolve.

This especially includes the selection of project and program partners with which we work. That means we are going to be limiting ourselves to partnerships led by local churches and so called "faith based" organizations aligned to them.

In a small space like this, it is impossible to elaborate on the above points. However, I welcome dialogue, especially from those who support this missionary ministry with prayer and finances.