Wait for the Vision: It Will Not Tarry

August, 2002

Dear Friend of Mary Craig Ministries,

Craighouse® is a vision that is now becoming a reality by the grace of God and in His timing. After "saving our shekels," we are finally moving into a larger facility and will officially open our doors next month. This is our history.

On Palm Sunday, 1995, God gave me a vision of a community refuge center, a place for the spiritually orphaned and wounded of the Christian community. The vision was one of a house with different colors pre-dominating different rooms. Red and white would be for worship. Orange and browns would be for library times. Yellow would be for children, youth, and singles. Green would be for garden times and times of conversation and fellowship. Blue would be for teaching times in a parlor/living room atmosphere. Indigo would be for "friendly fire" times for those who want to get into the issues of doctrine and dig deeper into the things of God. Violet would be for prayer in a place where people can come and get alone with God, a safe and quiet place.

The concept of the Craighouse® name comes from Job 39.28 where it describes the "crag" of the rock and the stronghold. Proverbs 30.26 says that the little rock badgers or conies are a feeble folk yet they make their homes in the crags. Isaiah 2.21 speaks of going into the clefts of the rocks and into the crags of the rugged rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Craig is a variation of crag, from Scotland. The Craigs were the people in Scotland who lived in the crags.

My husband, Rev. Jim Craig, and I found that people coming to our home for Bible studies and small groups over the last 30 years just started calling our home Craighouse. We ourselves have gone through times of being spiritually orphaned and wounded along the way; and so, the vision accords with our training and history.

Who are the orphaned? The orphaned are those whose problems have been ignored or denied. These have been abandoned because there has not been enough time to talk out the poison of the problem in perhaps an impersonal and/or institutional environment. It may be a perception or a reality.

Who are the wounded? The wounded are those who have experienced rejection, isolation, mistreatment and/or discrimination, have been found "incomplete," or perhaps perceived things to be so.

Craighouse® will open its doors to those seeking help and hope in Jesus Christ, offering refuge, times of refreshing, and restoration in an atmosphere of grace. [See Craighouse Calendar for details.] We aspire to minister the resurrection power of Jesus Christ through worship, witness, the Word, and the Holy Spirit to those God brings to our doors. We purpose to present the truth of Christ in a paradigm for living by the Word and by the Holy Spirit.

Craighouse® will open its doors to those seeking help and hope in Jesus Christ, offering refuge, times of refreshing, and restoration in an atmosphere of grace. We aspire to minister the resurrection power of Jesus Christ through worship, witness, the Word, and the Holy Spirit to those God brings to our doors. We purpose to present the truth of Christ in a paradigm for living by the Word and by the Holy Spirit.

Craighouse® is here because of the need to have a refuge, a safe place where people can come to grow in the Christian life in grace. The Bible says that the Lord is our refuge when our souls are destitute, when others fail to acknowledge us, when no one cares for our souls, when we seek the land of the living, when enemies attempt to subdue us. (Psalms 141, 142, 144) A refuge is a place into which we flee and take hold of the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6)

People come to Craighouse® from Palm Beach to Miami and from all different area churches, just as the Board of Directors of Mary Craig Ministries, Inc. is comprised of pastors and people from several different churches and denominations. Many, from pastors and people in ministry to unbelievers seeking for Jesus, come for teaching and training in specialized areas, such as learning the Greek language, training in spiritual warfare, training in handling emotions, deeper studies of the life and person of Jesus Christ, etc.

People come to Craighouse from Palm Beach to Miami and from all different area churches, just as the Board of Directors of Mary Craig Ministries, Inc. is comprised of pastors and people from several different churches and denominations. Many, from pastors and people in ministry to unbelievers seeking for Jesus, come for teaching and training in specialized areas, such as learning the Greek language, training in spiritual warfare, training in handling emotions, deeper studies of the life and person of Jesus Christ, etc.

Where is Craighouse®? Our new facility is in the Pompano Plaza, 114 East McNab Road. Pompano Plaza meets at the intersection of S. Cypress Road and S. E. 15^th Street in Pompano Beach, Florida 33060. Also in the Plaza are a Bank of America, ProAm Dance Studio, a 7-11, a post office, a County probation office, two furniture stores, several restaurants, and some other very nice places.

And now that the vision has become a reality, we find ourselves moving into the next phase. Our immediate needs are great. We have had much to do with the move: changing locks, getting the electric on, paying deposits here and there, cleaning everything, getting required equipment, finding furnishings, etc. It’s exciting, and we find our faith growing as we see God provide in the daily answers for "small" things.

And now that the vision has become a reality, we find ourselves moving into the next phase. Our immediate needs are great. We have had much to do with the move: changing locks, getting the electric on, paying deposits here and there, cleaning everything, getting required equipment, finding furnishings, etc. It’s exciting, and we find our faith growing as we see God provide in the daily answers for "small" things.

It reminds me of breaking out of darkness into God’s light, the moment of salvation. Suddenly things change. All things become new. After years of praying in the vision, it comes. Now that it is, faith continues to grow, not stop. The list just changes, but the need for God to provide, protect, and bless us with His presence does not change.

Pastor Jim and I both want to express our gratitude to all of you who have prayed and given toward making Craighouse® a reality. I remember buying a vacuum cleaner two years ago, in faith that we would have a new facility and it would need to be cleaned. I kept the vacuum cleaner in the box, waiting. Monday, I vacuumed all the carpets with that vacuum cleaner. Praise God for things like that.

Craighouse® is a commission of Mary Craig Ministries. It has a ministerial oversight staff and leadership staff. All are volunteers. This keeps our overhead down, but not eliminated.

Your generous gifts make this possible and continue to enable us to minister the vision God has given us. We very much appreciate those gifts and you. It means you are responding to the desire of the Holy Spirit, trusting Him as you give.

The motto of Craighouse® is: People Bringing People to Help and Hope in Jesus. We look forward to people coming and bringing others with them as together we look to Jesus for grace and favor in our times of need.

I have felt very strongly that God is raising and will raise up these places of refuge. People have come to me telling me about visions of Craighouses being established in the 45 nations where we have gone as a ministry. Some have indicated to me that as they have prayed, they have sensed that the strategy God gave MCM for breaking barriers for the elect to come to Christ will also result in breaking the ground for these places of refuge. In these circumstances, I just keep these things in my heart and wait to see what God will do. Our times are in His hands, and our lives.

I have felt very strongly that God is raising and will raise up these places of refuge. People have come to me telling me about visions of Craighouses being established in the 45 nations where we have gone as a ministry. Some have indicated to me that as they have prayed, they have sensed that the strategy God gave MCM for breaking barriers for the elect to come to Christ will also result in breaking the ground for these places of refuge. In these circumstances, I just keep these things in my heart and wait to see what God will do. Our times are in His hands, and our lives.

There’s a lot going on. This month we will be ministering at a local Haitian church. Our Secretary, Marcia Murray, was invited to speak to a youth convention. Our MCM team will be ministering in worship and prayer as part of this convention.

We also continue to prepare for our expedition into Chile, Argentina, and Antarctica at the end of this year. This will be a crucial mission literally "to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1.8) Antarctica will be the seventh continent called in for Christ. I will be telling you more about it in the months ahead. Our research is leading us into foundation and "earth" issues in the Scriptures. Many think no one lives there, because it’s soooo cold. But people do live there, from many different nations. Nevertheless, I will preach to the penguins and to any and all who will listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know the Father wants His Son to be honored and glorified even in the far reaches of the earth and in the highest heavens. We seek to do this, God willing.

Let me also inform you that Prayers IV and More is now available from MCM for $12.00 ($12.72 for those of you that live in Florida). Add $2.00 for shipping and handling, please. This is the 16^th book/publication of Mary Craig Ministries. Prayers IV and More continues the Prayer Book series but also includes sermons and articles that carry you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Some of the prayers are: A Prayer to Overcome Greed; A Prayer Calling Nations to Resurrection; Defeating Belial in the Midst; Praying for the Persecuted; Praying the Covenant; Buying from Jehovah; Treading on Serpents and Scorpions; A Prayer of Rejoicing; Praying Always; and A Prayer to Depart from Iniquity. There are articles and sermons on the covenant, being grafted into the Body of Christ, loosing the bonds of shame, breaking into the glory of God, things that block the blessings of God, seated, sealed, and singing a new song, and more. Other books and Bible studies can be found in our catalog in the teaching media section.

At Craighouse and Mary Craig Ministries, we know our salvation to be in Jesus Christ. As we expand and grow we see the hand of the Lord as He builds this ministry of healing and restoration to the Body of Christ and prepares the Bride for Jesus’ return. Your gifts of love enable us to help more people coming to our doors. God holds this ministry together. He is faithful, and He is bringing the vision to completion…in His time, and in His way.

[Editor's note: Craighouse® has been open and ministering since Sept. 2002. MCM teams have now reached New Zealand, Australia, Tazmania, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Chile, Agentina, and Antarctica as of Jan 2003.]

Praising God for His Goodness,

Mary Craig 

And the LORD answered me, and said,
Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
That he may run that reads it. For the vision
Is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak,
And not lie: though it tarry, wait for it;
Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:
But the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2.2-4)

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the
Glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
But the LORD is in His holy temple:
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.
(Habakkuk 2.14, 20)

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God
Of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength,
And He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He
Will make me to walk upon mine high places.
(Habakkuk 3.18, 19)