people in pews/tim ray

Whether it's finding storage for a group needing space in the church or signing people up for a church softball team, Tim Ray is willing to help when a need arises.

Ray is a member at Cape Bible Chapel and serves on the deacon board, which oversees some of the daily needs in the church whether spiritual or physical.

Ray and his family have been members at Cape Bible Chapel for 8 1/2 years.

And while his duties at the church are important, his commitment to his family has the utmost priority. Ray and his wife, Mary, have five children and are expecting a sixth.

Someone else could make sure the church had a softball team or that everything was stored away properly, he said. "But I try to be the best husband and father, and those are things no one else could do."

One of Ray's favorite jobs at the church is to coordinate a small-group prayer meeting each Wednesday.

Sheets listing prayer needs are circulated each Sunday and Wednesday. The office keeps a master list of the needs, but Ray tries to make notes throughout the week. He often calls members to check on their concerns or to get more information before a prayer meeting.

The small group holds its prayer meeting at the same time other groups are conducting Bible studies. "We pray for everything on the list" and things that are important in the life of the church, Ray said.

The prayer meeting format changed from a large-group experience to a smaller gathering about six years ago. The group that meets now is "praying for all the needs of the church," he said.

Ray also helps lead in the senior high youth department as often as he can. He led a Bible memorization team, similar to a college quiz bowl team, in a study of 2 Timothy last year.

The students, about 50 of them, met weekly to practice their memory skills. Most in the group memorized a large portion of the book, but a few only mastered a verse or two. Yet it's important that they finished the program, Ray said.

"Even though they may only do a verse or two, they've gone three months and met weekly with a team studying God's word," he said.

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