December, 2007

This is to introduce to you, Traci Alexander.

I met Traci for the first time last September. As she quietly shared with me what was on her heart, I felt in

my heart that what she was sharing was both timely, urgent and unquestionably from the Lord. As we

parted from that first meeting the Lord simply spoke to my heart these words, "Help her. She is my

servant." In my 27 years of ministry in the Greater Fredericksburg area, I cannot recall when the Lord

spoke to me so clearly concerning an individual.

It has been my privilege to serve the Lord's purposes in our region over the years by praying for its

congregations and their leaders. From these years of interceding for our community there has arisen

a settled conviction that God's redemptive purposes for this Greater Fredericksburg area would only

be realized as its leaders seriously considered and embraced the Biblical truth that though Fredericksburg

has many congregations there is, in God's eyes at least, only one Church with one true head, Christ Jesus,

the Lord. Among the many things that seemed to divide us, there was one thing that persistently arose

out of the ashes that seemed to offer hope as a venue toward authentic unity. Every pastor I spoke to

agreed that prayer was vital and that whether personally or corporately, all of us were doing far too little

of it and that both leader and congregation were suffering as a consequence.

This conviction has weighed so deeply on my heart that in January of 2000 I resigned as pastor of the

assembly I was shepherding to devote all of my energies to pursue a personal call of encouraging unity

and prayer among the Christian churches in our region. I'll be the first to admit that although I have

endeavored to be faithful, I've not been very successful. Despite the obvious urgency of the hour,

prayer and especially concerted, community prayer events have been sparsely attended and have

seen little significant fruit. Clearly, I was missing an important factor.

As Traci shared the vision of her heart, I realized my error; I had been seeking for a deeper unity

among the Christian community before seeking a deeper union with Christ. I was attempting to foster

something corporately that could only be realized among a people who were, in their own personal

walk with the Lord, drinking from a common wellspring of deepening intimacy with Christ. I saw that

I desperately needed God to come in a fresh way to my own heart and the hearts of other leaders before

the unity we all longed for could be realized.

I believe with all my heart that the Lord has placed within Traci's hands a precious gift to the Bride of Christ.

If we can receive it and are willing to accept its sobering challenge, I believe that what God ha shown her

has the potential to guide both individuals and congregations who long for a deeper walk with the Lord to

a place of intimacy with Christ and fruitfulness of ministry that they have only dreamed of.

I know that you long for an authentic encounter with the Living Christ for both yourself and your congregation

that endures beyond the fleeting high of a conference or a few revival services. You are dissatisfied with

formulaic programs that stir hope but really bring about no lasting change. You know that despite the Lord's

gracious blessing, that there is a power and authority in the preaching of the Word that you have read about

but has to this point has been illusive. You long, as a pastor, to see your church vitally connected to the Head

in such a way that leads them to experience real victory in their personal lives and family relationships and

permanently ends those cycles of defeat. I urge you to attend this free luncheon for pastors and prayer

leaders at the Riverside Dinner Theater on January 10.

I have prayed for years for a visitation of Christ to His Church in this region that would result in real

community transformation. I believe the Lord is beginning to answer that cry of many hearts by

offering us a window of opportunity during Lent of 2008. What you will hear on January 10 is the very

essence of the message of the Cross and the only valid outcome of true repentance, a bridal union

of Christ and His Church that results in hearts passionate for Jesus, hungry for His Word and burdened

for the lost around them. What the Lord has shown Traci is thoroughly Biblical, modeled in the life and

ministry of Jesus, confirmed throughout Church history and all but ignored in the western Church.

In all my 28 years of serving this community, as either as a fellow pastor or as a watchman in prayer, I

have never once made an appeal like this to the clergy of our community. To be honest, I feel somewhat

presumptuous in doing so now. Who am I anyway to make such an appeal? I only ask that you ask that

you pray about your attendance at the January 10 luncheon. If you sense the Lord prompting you to

come, your obedience is between you and your Savior.

I have deliberately not included any details of what you will hear presented on January 10 because I can not

adequately express in this letter the spirit or content of what you will hear. Traci has received this from the

Lord and it is properly her place to present it. I can only shout a glad Amen! to what I am convinced is a

gracious gift from the Lord at a critical hour for our nation and community.

Bowie Curry

PrayerNet of Fredericksburg