By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter ZWOLLE -- Mary Gore fishes at the Toledo Bend Reservoir in Zwolle everyday, but she is not your typical angler. “I would starve to death if I had to fish for my supper, even here on this great reservoir,” said Gore, lake missionary and director of the Toledo Bend Baptist Resort Ministry. Instead of trying to land a trophy largemouth bass for which the 185,000 acre body of water is famous, she casts for souls among the thousands of outdoor enthusiasts who visit each year. For 26 years, Gore and her staff, augmented by hundreds of volunteers have been “fishers of men” while sharing the Gospel at the numerous campgrounds, pavilions, boat landings and bait and tackle shops along the Louisiana shoreline. “My gift is I can talk to people, and I can tell them about the greatest fisherman who ever lived, Jesus Christ. I can tell them how Jesus loves them, and how he changed the world with a handful of fishermen and that He still cares about fishermen today.” Memorial Day weekend, Gore and her volunteers were hard at work passing out hundreds of fliers to invite campers and fishermen to a Sunday morning worship service at four different campsites. “Three people professed faith in Jesus … [Read more...]
Pastor pedals for children, God
By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter RINGGOLD (LBM) – Marvin Leleux has a passion -- to pedal with purpose. Leleux, the pastor of Springhill Baptist Church in the Ringgold community, most recently rode his custom-designed bike in the June 15 St. Jude Big River Ride in downtown Memphis to help raise funds for the children’s research hospital. “So far, I have raised about $5,000 for this race,” Leleux said about the pledges and donations he has collected to date for the upcoming 60-mile bicycle course. He rides his composite carbon fiber Trek Domane SL6 Pro bicycle for philanthropic reasons, but Leleux believes he is a disciple, too, actively looking for “God moments” with others along his cycling route. As a cyclist, Leleux has an opportunity to make a connection with people who “normally would not talk to a pastor.” “God rides along with me. He puts me in touch with people who do not go to church and who do not know Him. I get a chance to share the Lord with people from all walks of life and even from all different types of faith and denominations,” Leleux noted. “I get asked questions all the time. I cross paths with these people, and they don’t feel badgered or judged. This is what I call intentional … [Read more...]
Louisiana Baptist camps ‘make the (up)grade’
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana Baptist camps throughout the state are experiencing spiritual and numerical growth and making major facility improvements. “We have new decisions every week during the summer, and we have so many churches calling that many times our rooms fill up to capacity,” Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center Director Josh Bumgardner told the Baptist Message. The spiritual growth is causing numerical growth which in turn is driving facility growth, he said. Bumgardner said renovations on his 123 acre Woodworth campus include: new signage throughout the property; repurposing a conference facility into a new dorm; giving a facelift to showers, floors and décor in one cabin; and, plans to repurpose at least one more building into a dorm while giving updates to other living spaces. “Growth is happening in every direction, not just at my camp but all across the state. It is exciting because churches are bringing their students to hear the Gospel,” he said. ACADIAN BAPTIST CENTER “ABC is hosting 11 weeks of camp this summer with more than 4,000 expected to be in attendance,” Director James Newsom said. “Campers and counselors are excited about seeing construction on … [Read more...]
Renewed Journey: From eviction to rap to multi-ethnic church planting
By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists communication director ALEXANDRIA --To say, “Checkerz Williams did not grow up in the church,” is at best an understatement. According to Williams, his father left when he was born and he was raised by his teenage mother. Growing up in Las Vegas he became addicted to alcohol and had a propensity to get in fights, which eventually led to him being evicted from his home at the age of 19. “I didn’t know what else to do so I reached out to my biological father, whom I’d only seen a few times in my life,” Williams shared. “By this time he had remarried, had two other children and was getting ready to move back to North Carolina. So I moved there and began to work in construction. “While working, my boss, who resembled the TV character Grizzly Adams, would share the Gospel with me,” he continued. “I rejected it at first, thinking ‘Where was God when I was going through all this pain in my life?’ But eventually the Lord softened my heart and I surrendered to my life to Him in November of 1992.” Prior to becoming a Christian, Williams enjoyed rap music. He first thought he might have to give up rap, but his boss encouraged him just to change the message of his music and, as examples, … [Read more...]
Former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco dies
Mississippi River falls below 11 feet, ends longest flood fight ever
Salvations, not S’mores, highlight LBC camps
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BASTROP (LBM) – A total of 767 salvation deci-sions have been reported by Louisiana Baptist camps as the 2019 summer season closed. All the data has not been received, yet, but the Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center saw salvation decisions jump from 168 in 2018 to 206 this year (a 22.6 percent increase), coinciding with a 22.1 percent increase in attendance, from 2,428 to 2,965 campers. CHANGED CAMPERS Luke Hallman’s repentance for salvation in early July at “Clear Camp” on the campus of the Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center was a long- awaited answer to prayer for members of the Bonita Road Baptist Church in Bastrop -- who have been fervent for several years in asking the Holy Spirit to draw Hallman into a relationship with Jesus. Those prayers proved to be the spiritual soil for a harvest in Hallman’s life that was sown during a conversation at a worship session with Julie Woodrum, ministry assistant to the Louisiana Baptist youth ministry strategist, Brandon Lewis. “She broke down the questions I had asked very well, such as ‘How will I know I’m saved?’ and ‘How to mean the prayer I prayed?’” Hallman told the Baptist Message. “It’s great to know that when I … [Read more...]
Georgia Barnette provides vital resources for urgent Gospel need
ALEXANDRIA (LBC) – “Did God really say …?” Genesis 3:1. “Truth has been under assault since the beginning of creation,” according to Steve Horn, newly elected executive director for Louisiana Baptists. “When Satan first uttered these words to Eve in the garden, he opened an attack on truth that has only intensified with time. “In fact, some researchers have labeled this period in history as ‘Post Truth,’” Horn continued. “A Barna survey in 2018 indicated just over one-third of Americans, 35 percent, believe in absolute truth.” It is against this backdrop that Louisiana Baptists have launched their 2019 Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering emphasis, “Im-part. Truth. Today,” taken from Psalms 78:4, 6, “… we will tell the next generation … even the chil-dren not yet born …” (NLT). “As we read, listen and scroll through the news, we’re reminded daily that our world is in need of a Savior,” said Cameron Mullins, a member of First Lafayette and cur-rent president of the state WMU Council. “Having served on the State Missions Offering committee for several years, I have personally seen the impact the offering has made on our state.” Reaching out to the audiences identified by the 2013 President’s 2020 Commission (“every … [Read more...]
NOBTS prioritizes Leavell College, enrollment
By Gary Myers NEW ORLEANS (BP) - The executive committee of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's board of trustees approved a plan to renovate the former location of the campus LifeWay Store for use as offices for both Leavell College and enrollment as well as a campus welcome area. On Aug. 1, the executive committee unanimously approved a preliminary design for the space and a budget of $100,000 to complete the renovations. Seminary leaders hope to have the space renovated by January 2020. "The plans are ultimately about advancing the Kingdom of God, seeing people redeemed and restored; it's about people finding the same hope that you had when you came to Christ," NOBTS President Jamie Dew said. "In NOBTS and Leavell College, I see an institution that has so much potential to train people in unique ways. We have something to offer, not just Southern Baptists, and ultimately to the world. But to do that, we need to be healthy." To be healthy and able to train up the next generation of ministers, Dew said, the school must increase enrollment and the number of credit hours taken. It is this belief that led to the urgency to relocate these two strategic offices, he noted. Following his election as president … [Read more...]
Louisiana Tech BCM starts rebuild
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON – Three months after a tornado heavily damaged the Louisiana Tech University Baptist Collegiate Ministry chapel, crews began repairing the facility. Kevin Inman, director of the Louisiana Tech BCM, said workers from Triad Builders in Ruston started work July 22 and that he is hopeful they will complete the job before the start of fall classes in early September. Workers will replace water-logged walls and carpet, rebuild a porch and restore the roof. Insurance money will fund the repairs. “We are very excited and hopeful that a whole lot is going to be done in the next month to get us where we can use the building when the students get back Labor Day weekend -- when we will have up to 1,500 students attending some of our Welcome Week events,” Inman said. “The first week of school is the best time to reach a student, but also the easiest time to lose a student. “Pray that the crews are able to finish this work by Labor Day weekend,” he continued. “And pray that things will be repaired correctly. A number of things can be improved upon to make our building and ministry more effective.” He also asked Louisiana Baptists to pray that staff and student leaders will be … [Read more...]
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