National Prayer Breakfast

The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., in February, organized by the cult "The Fellowship Foundation," otherwise known as "The Family."  Superficially, it functions as an open forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and pray together.  The Family, however, is an "invisible" or clandestine organization recognized for strongly influencing powerful public figures.[1] The breakfast was first organized by Abraham Vereide in Seattle and later moved to Washington, D.C., where the group began to influence key players in Washington.

In 1944, Abraham Vereide founded the International Christian Leadership in Washington, D. C. and served as the executive director until he died in 1965.  Baron Frary von Blomberg, who sponsored William Branham's international tours overseas, worked with Vereide in the early days of the organization and served as an executive member.  Von Blomberg worked as a director for the International Christian Leadership, holding conferences for the group. in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  Von Blomberg was instrumental in organizing The International Christian Leadership in many of those countries.  Interestingly, William Branham's Seattle meetings coincide with the migration to Washington.[2]  Whether Branham was a member of the group since 1946 or not, he openly admitted that von Blomberg sponsored his tours through those countries in the 1950s.[3]

Baron von Blomberg has been a leader in the International Christian Leadership program for more than five years and recently returned from a speaking tour in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. He has held audiences with Prime Minster Attlee of England, the Pope and kings and prime ministers of many countries and have been instrumental in organizing International Christian Leadership groups in the parlaments of many of these countries. the organization was founded 15 years ago by Abraham Vereide, von Blomberg explained, and added that many United States congressmen and senators are members, including Representative Joseph R. Bryson of Greenville. The Washington group holds weekly breakfast meetings he said. [4]
- Christian Leadership Group Organized in Fight on Reds - Greenville News, May 31, 1950

In 1953, Vereide moved the organization to Washington, where successors Douglas Coe and Richard Halverson assumed leadership roles.  

Shortly after "The Family" moved to Washington, Demos Shakarian started holding another annual convention in Washington.[5]  The National Prayer Breakfast was held in February and then followed up with a Full Gospel Business Men's (FGBMI) Convention and Breakfast.  William Branham, sponsored by Demos Shakarian and the FGBMI was in attendance at these meetings.   

Sometime ago, a few weeks ago, having breakfast or—in the room at Washington, DC, and a speaker, Mr. Nixon, the Vice President of the United States, was speaking at this time. And he was talking of how Communism was sweeping the land and the space we had to—to travel. For instance, the goal that the world faces like that… Communism has this much of it already. See? And then, that part is mixed up between believers and unbelievers. And Christ said that the Gospel should go to all the world. So every Christian’s got a tremendous job ahead of him. And we must be up and doing, quickly, right about our Father’s business, at once. Every person, and every denomination, every—every person in his own church, to get behind the pastor and the program and to back it up with all that we have to back up with. And that’s why I’m putting my shoulder to the wheel, as God will permit me, to try to bring to each one the view, as far as I have knowledge to do, of the soon coming of our Lord Jesus.
Branham, William. 1954, July 18. The Great Coming Revival And The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit (54-0718A). 

William Branham met with then Vice-President Nixon during these meetings,[6] and both Branham and FGBMI "associated together"[7] with powerful figures in Washington.  The speech by Nixon at the 1954 breakfast would significantly impact Branham's trajectory.  Prior to hearing Nixon's speech, William Branham's claim of having seven prophecies in 1933 was one of a world without peace, and Branham claimed that he did not know which "ism" (Communism, Fascism, and Nazism) would reign.[8]  After the speech, however,  Branham significantly changed his 1933 prophecies to include a doomsday scenario that involved Communism as the main threat.[9]  After meeting with Vice President Nixon, several State Senators allegedly held private meetings in William Branham's home.[10]

The Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship continued to host the prayer breakfast in Washington D.C. long after Branham’s death and continued to influence key figures in Washington.  As late as 1983, Demos Shakarian was a chairman of the committee[11] and invited President Ronald Reagan to speak at a Gospel Businessmen’s meeting in Detroit.[12]  In 2010, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington demanded that President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders stop attending the National Prayer Breakfast for being intolerant and secretive,[13] but the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship Convention and breakfast, not being as televised, went almost unnoticed.

Interestingly, Joseph Mattsson-Boze also published an article supportive of Nixon's agenda.  The June 1954 issue of The Herald of Faith ran an article "Our Christian Propaganda Machine: Shall We Use It in 1954?"[14]

For more information on the Family, read the book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and see the Netflix documentary series The Family.