Alexandria – Summertime is a busy time for the 60-plus person staff at the Louisiana Baptist Convention building.
By Karen L. Willoughby
Managing Editor
ALEXANDRIA – Summertime is a busy time for the
60-plus person staff at the Louisiana Baptist Convention building.
That’s when they’re finalizing plans for upcoming events and activities
to help the 1,600 or more Southern Baptist congregations across the
state minister ever more effectively to members and people in their
communities.
“We’re busy all year long on ways we can help our
churches reach people through music and worship, but our biggest event
of the year is less than a month away,” said Randy Turner, LBC music
team leader. “The music conference is for those who work with all ages
in music ministry, from children’s choirs to senior adult choirs and
everything inbetween, including handbell choirs and full orchestras.”
The LBC Music Conference is set for Aug. 4-5 at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria.
The annual childhood education workshop set for July
28-29 in Shreveport and July 31-Aug. 1 in New Orleans, is for leaders
involved in any type of ministry to preschoolers and children, such as
day care, Sunday school and mothers’ day out programs.
Teachers and directors are required to take 12 hours of training each
year to retain “A” level certification.
Each two-day workshop consists of six educational
hours each day, including three hours each day of health and safety
training, said Carolle Green, LBC childhood strategist The workshop is
approved by the Louisiana Bureau of Licensing, she added.
“This is the best way for teachers and directors to
gain motivation, insight, new techniques and practical skills to go
back to their churches to do the job the Lord has called them to,”
Green said. Unlike at most workshops developed by LBC strategists,
participants routinely include several non-Christians who need
state-required certification.
“We have people come with sometimes the worst
attitudes,” Green said. “We think it’s our privilege to minister to
them, even though our main focus is on the leaders and teachers in our
Baptist churches.We want to provide the very best training so they will
be able to teach and minister to preschoolers and children and their
families.”
Six regional Sunday school training events are set
for Saturdays between Aug. 19 and Sept. 16 across the state.
These intensive half-day workshops prepare teachers
of all ages – bed babies to senior adults – for the 2006-07 Sunday
school year, said Jim Gifford, LBC Sunday School/Discipleship team
leader.
“One of three key factors in building a strong,
purposeful, talented Sunday school/Bible study leadership team is
quality training,” Gifford said. “The Sunday school leader must know
many things – the Bible, his/her students, the art of building a class,
how to win the lost the Christ, build Christian character, doctrines of
the church, mobilizing members, and so much more. Our purpose in
providing these events is to help teachers and leaders in every
possible way to grow in their effectiveness.”
Specific information is available on the LBC
website – lbc.org. Click on ‘Sunday School’ and then on
‘Ridgecrest events.’
Also in August will be four regional ministry
evangelism conferences led by Charles Roesel of First Baptist Church,
Leesburg, Fla. whose church grew from fewer than 100 attending Sunday
morning worship, to several thousand as people began using their skills
and interests to reach their community in practical ways with the
life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Every church could reach more people if they
instituted ministry evangelism as part of their strategy,” said Wayne
Jenkins, LBC’s evangelism team leader.
“We are just awesomely blessed to have this man come
and spend so many days with us and learn from him,” said Syd Smith,
LBC’s evangelism administrative support staff.