When Jesus appeared to his disciples one last time after His death on the cross and his resurrection three days later, before He ascended to heaven, He gave his disciples one more mission calling. Jesus told his disciples to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations.
This is precisely what Dough Burleigh has been doing since becoming a crucial figure in the organization known as The Fellowship. During his time with The Fellowship, Doug has taken over some of the responsibilities of organizing and planning the National Prayer Breakfast since the passing of his father-in-law Doug Coe.
Under Doug Burleigh's shared leadership, this annual event has seen countless politicians from over 100 countries come together, putting aside political agendas and differences to meet in Washington, D.C., as a forum with the specific purpose of praying together.
So, What Is The Fellowship?
The Fellowship was originally founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide, a Methodist clergyman, with the mission statement and purpose to provide a collective forum where the decision-makers that lead from places of power in government can unite in prayer meetings, Bible studies, and give worship to God.
Each year The Fellowship holds one public event known as the National Prayer Breakfast. Interestingly enough, every American president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has attended at least one of these National Prayer Breakfast meetings hosted by The Fellowship.
Membership isn't limited to government officials only; however, The Fellowship has members of corporate executives, heads of religious and humanitarian organizations, as well as political ambassadors, senators, and congressmen from over 100 countries worldwide.
When asked if they would call themselves a "Christian" organization, they would instead describe themselves as a group of leaders that share a love and passion for the teachings of Jesus Christ, believing that all ways of following and loving Jesus are acceptable and meaningful.
What Is the National Prayer Breakfast?
While it is a secretive group/organization to keep its focus on meeting together in prayer and seeking God's wisdom together through Bible studies and worship, they are most known for the National Prayer Breakfast.
On average, this annual event has over 3,400 world leader guests from all over the United States of America and over 100 worldwide countries that send dignitaries to sit in attendance.
It was first started back in 1953 and soon became an annual event. It is hosted by a 24-member committee composed of members of Congress. This committee is composed of Republicans and Democrats, while the chairman switches back and forth between the House and the Senate each year.
The main reason for the National Prayer Breakfast is to be a time set aside by world leaders to come together to Fellowship with one another in prayer for their countries, their citizens, and for the Spirit of God to bring repentance and love of Jesus. The National Prayer Breakfast also works to be a source where these politicians, foreign dignitaries, corporate executives, military officers, and other influential people can develop their own unique support groups.
The National Prayer Breakfast over the years has been beneficial not only to America but to other nations and countries, such as Russia, which has created its own National Prayer Breakfast. Doug Burleigh, a vital figure of The Fellowship organization, was honored to be a keynote speaker at the Russia National Prayer Breakfast.
Doug Burleigh: the Man, the Myth, the Legend
Doug Burleigh is quite possibly one of the most influential men in the world right now though you'd never know it, which is only emphasized by the fact that the Wikipedia page dedicated to him shares next to nothing about this man. As stated at the start of this article, Burleigh, who is the current head organizer of the National Prayer Breakfast, took over after the passing of his father-in-law Doug Coe.
God has blessed this man with the ability to come into contact with hundreds of world leaders, corporate executives, and successful businessmen worldwide as he plans and organizes each year's National Prayer Breakfast.
Doug has held a long and successful educational and professional career in his younger years and spent over 20 years working for Young Life, the last six years of which he led the company as its president.
In an interview asking Doug about his time at Young Life, he shared a time as a young man in his late '20s when he took and led a group of youth teenagers on a mission through Russia, spreading the Gospel and handing out Bibles. Doug later on reminisces about his time in Russia with these youths, how he had attended a reunion party of this mission trip and how the now-adults — then-teenagers — had been baffled and amazed that their parents had allowed them to go to a foreign nation with a single 28-year-old bachelor to walk the streets of Moscow handing out Bibles to strangers.
"When is it that Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives get together around the person of Jesus? And that's the beauty of a Prayer Breakfast," Doug Burleigh said to me recently.
Doug is proud of the work he has been a part of in this annual National Prayer Breakfast that brings all of these world leaders and influential people together under the singular name of Jesus Christ to seek God's will in prayer and Fellowship.
Throughout each year, these relationships are created and built as Doug, and the committee members of The Fellowship, organize the National Prayer Breakfast meeting with congressmen and businesses simply to see how they can pray for them rather than just being another person asking them for some sort of favor. Doug fully believes in the power of these National Prayer Breakfasts as he has seen hundreds of major world decision-makers unite to worship and pray.
John Quick is a seasoned entrepreneur, and a former regional director for Samaritan's Purse. He's also known as chief implementor and red tape cutter. Read John Quick's Reports — More Here
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