“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
Acts 20:24
Today is an exciting day as I go public with the details of the next chapter in my life! Many have questioned what my next moves will be when they found out I was dating a beautiful young lady named Katie who lives in Montana. As our relationship progressed, many asked the lingering question, “Who’s going to move?” This was something we talked about early in our relationship as we are both heavily involved in ministry where we are. I being the Missions Director and Young Adult Pastor at my church here in Wasilla, Alaska and Katie being the Discipleship Training School Leader at YWAM Montana Lakeside. We knew from the start there were going to be challenges with long distance and the question of how we were going to handle the decision of who would move if it came to that point. Truthfully, we knew the answer to that question early in the relationship but we kept it to ourselves until the time was right.
Today, I’m officially announcing that I will be moving to Montana to be with Katie as we continue deepening our relationship. This decision has not come lightly and has been preceded by prayer, fasting, and continual confirmation because I’m not easy to convince (Sorry, Jesus). Since the beginning, our entire desire as a couple has been to honor the Lord with our relationship and to do ministry together. One of the biggest barriers we’ve had to overcome is that doing ministry together in Montana means I’d have to go through a 5 month discipleship training school if I wanted to hold a staff position and do ministry with her at the school. If you know me you know the first thought and then the first words out of my mouth were, “That’s stupid.” At the time I had just earned my ministry credentials with the Assemblies of God and now I was faced with having to go do their school. I didn’t like that prospect. I also had concerns about YWAM leadership, concerns over people’s bad experiences, and the belief of some that it’s a cult. These were all things I was wrestling with in my mind. I didn’t want to have to redo the elementary Biblical schooling and I didn’t want some people thinking I was making a poor decision. While I still had some reservations, I took comfort in knowing that YWAM Montana Lakeside is sovereign over themselves and they are known in the community for having a solid Biblical foundation. I had the opportunity to get to know the campus leaders at YWAM Montana and understand their heart, dig into their theology, and feel their spirit. After our meetings I was satisfied that they were genuine in their faith and their intentions in leadership were well placed.
In September I stepped back from my positions as Missions Director and Young Adult Pastor and started focusing on the transition I’m headed towards. I must say, it is incredibly hard to let go of something that means so much to you. Surrendering something to God and trusting that He’s going to continue the work is hard and saying that sounds silly when it’s out on paper, but it’s hard.
Many of you know that I began a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2019 focused on village missions and ending the suicide, addiction, and sexual abuse in Alaska’s villages by supporting the pastors and missionaries who work so hard to minister to these amazing people. Since that time we have directly impacted hundreds of lives with the hope of Jesus Christ. This organization will not be shutting down, rather, it will continue to operate and grow while I’m in Montana. I will continue to lead the organization remotely as president. If you’ve followed us for any length of time you know that after our organization in 2019 we planned a funding trip across the lower-48 states for the year 2020. No one could have guessed that the entire world would shut down and ruin our plans. By the Lord’s favor we survived the hardship and not only paid all of our bills on time, but we managed to save a substantial amount of operating money. The Lord blessed us greatly with amazing one-time and monthly supporters. Going forward I’m excited at the opportunities that lie ahead with being in Montana. The location will allow me to go out more often and share the vision of the organization and raise funds to continue growing and expand our operations and effectiveness. Reach Aviation has always been bigger than me and my vision is that it will long outlive me as it continues to change lives far into the future. Until All Know.
In January I will be attending the Discipleship Training School in Montana for five months. The first three months will be classroom training and the last two months will be direct ministry in another country around the globe. I’m excited for the opportunity and to see what God is going to do and teach me during that time. My heart, and our heart as a couple has always been ministry so it’s exciting being a part of an organization with the goal of sending people out into the mission field and going ourselves! One of the best lessons of leadership is always being willing and open to learn from anyone at anytime. I know this will be a great time of learning and growth for me.
Now the part everyone dreads…
To make this happen I need to raise $10,000 for the school, outreach, and personal support. This is a substantial amount of money and the timing is relatively short, but I know that the Lord is faithful in opening doors for the plans He’s made. I’m placing the need in His hands and committing to walking out the path He has called me to.
If you would like to partner with me in praying and paying for this school, and even consider becoming a monthly supporter as I continue to serve Him afterward on staff at YWAM Montana, I would be so humbled.
To support me, you can make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation at reachak.givingfuel.com/support-tyler-ray. There you can also follow the progress of all the donations with the donation tracker!
Thank you so much for your time reading my life update and for partnering with me in this next chapter of life!
Blessings to you!
In His Service,
Tyler Ray
Only donations made through the link above will be used to support me. If you give through the normal Reach Aviation donation site it will be added to the organization’s general fund. No past Reach Aviation funding will be used to support me.
Comments