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Frank Morrison, former governor of the state of Nebraska, once
said of Jim
Rayburn Jr., "It would be impossible to evaluate the immense impact which
this man had upon the lives of others." Yet, much of that which made Jim's
ministry unique, his impact upon twentieth century Christianity so
powerful, is slowly being lost with the passing of the years.
I have no doubt that Jim's work will eventually fail to mirror
him if the
people who staff it in the years ahead are not exposed to the Rayburn
family. Jim Rayburn Jr. (my father) created something unique in Christian
history, something that transcends a corporate structure, and something
best shared by those who knew him, loved him, and are a part of him.
When speaking in Virginia a short while back, a gentleman I
didn't
recognize came up to me afterwards, put his arms around me, and whispered
in my ear, "I closed my eyes and only listened, from the back of the room;
I would have sworn I was listening to your Dad." I drew back and looked
into his tear-filled eyes - my word, it was a Young Life staff man from the
sixties. How good it was to see him again! And what sweet words to hear.
I've been blessed to hear that a lot, and to me, it's the greatest
compliment anyone could pay me.
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Which brings me to a part of our vision for this foundation.
A dream God
has placed within our hearts is for the acquisition of a
lodge/ranch/resort, a place where all our dreams come together a bit, a
place to host those activities we mentioned in the "Where Do You Fit In?"
link. It would be a facility to which we would invite the present and
future staff of Young Life, a place hosting alumni reunions, a place for
families to come for the vacation of a lifetime, a place for burned out
ministers and priests who just need to "back out" and find God's enabling
touch again, a place almost everyone would sense "something special"
in the
air, a place where God's love would be more experienced than talked about,
a place with a secular look and feel, and a strong spiritual heart beat - a
place anointed by God to bless people, works, and nations. Idealistic? You
bet! Jim Rayburn Jr. maintained his idealism till the bitter end, and he
wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Just as past presidents have presidential libraries, we feel
there ought to
be a place where Jim's writings, journals, messages, and tapes are
preserved for the good of all (there is very little more inspiring than an
afternoon and evening spent browsing through Jim's journals -
it's a humbling, stimulating, uplifting experience that can bless one in a
deep, rich way). Something little known about Jim as well - he was quite a
photographer. It is an interesting and enriching experience to see the
world as he did, through the lens of his camera. If a picture is worth a
thousand words, Jim's photos would fill a small library. We want to put
them on display as soon as we have the proper facility.
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We don't know yet what the ranch/resort will look like, what
the setting
will be or just how this is all going to happen. We don't own the ranches
shown or any land yet, nor are we in possession of the funds to purchase
it, but we're prayerful that God will raise up men and women across this
nation to give us a hand, and make this seeming impossibility a dream come
true. If your life has been blessed by the work of Young Life, the book
about Jim and Maxine Rayburn, or if you just "relate" to these ideas,
please prayerfully consider helping us out.
If you sense a desire to help build or buy this lodge/ranch/resort,
to
unconditionally love weary souls, to continue the work given birth by Jim
Rayburn Jr., to invest in the "sacred capital" of inspired visions,
to
"capitalize visions of faith," we invite your participation. We don't
want
to build "another corporate ministry," not at all. We just want to
let love
reign, help preserve what Jim Rayburn Jr. left to the world's teenagers,
and make a difference in the lives of multitudes as God reveals His way to
get it done.
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