By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor
LAFAYETTE – For the first time in 20 years, all the East Bayou Baptist “church family,” as Pastor Mike Walker calls them, gathered together at the same time, Sunday morning, Nov. 14.
Some 2,100 children through adults regularly meet in 10 venues, at two times, in two locations, at what informally is known as “The Bayou.” (A ‘venue’ is a location, such as the on-site coffee shop, with multiple flat screen televisions airing the preaching; the venue provides its own live music.) On Nov. 14, the congregation gathered in a circus-sized tent on the 19-acre property. They came together to celebrate what God has done so far at the 42-year-old church – 26 with Walker as pastor – and look forward “with great expectation to what He will call us to do in the days ahead,” the pastor said.
[img_assist|nid=6878|title=The East Bayou Baptist, Lafayette congregation recently gathered in a circus-sized tent for the first time in 20 years.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]“God led us to build our current facility in 2002,” Walker wrote in the worship guide passed out as people entered the tent. “When we were done, we were $8.8 million in debt. Because of the faithful giving of our people here at The Bayou, today we only have $1.3 million left on that debt.
“We believe God has called us to get rid of that debt within 2011, in turn allowing us to better use the resources He has provided for ministry,” the pastor continued. “Let’s celebrate the lives that have been changed. Let’s embrace all that He is leading us to do now in reaching people through multiple venues, campuses ministry and missions.”
The nearly two-hour worship service included uptempo – some would say “driven” – worship music led by Music Pastor Heith Guilbert, with two additional vocalists, three guitars, keyboard and drums, plus the Lord’s Supper, a recap of the last year, testimonies, a message from the pastor on “Becoming a world changer,” and a special offering.
In the order the information was given by Executive Pastor Lyndale Holloway, The Bayou sponsored more mission trips this year than ever before, to Alaska, New York, Ghana, Peru, Houma and New Orleans. More than 400 people from the church participated in Family Project Day. About 800 participated in the second annual marriage conference and the first-ever Parent Summit drew about 200 participants.
The Youngsville campus, with Andy Tribe as campus pastor, started in February and has about 160 in worship Sundays at an Episcopal school in Youngsville, which is about six miles south of the Lafayette campus. More than 220 people have been baptized so far this year at The Bayou’s two campuses.
Plans already in place for 2011 include mission trips to Akaska, Ghana and Bolivia, and a second Parent Summit in March, Holloway continued. “We pray we continue to reach people for Jesus Christ,” he said. Pastor Walker’s goal is that the number of baptisms increase to 1,000 or more a year, Holloway added.
Brock Prince’s wife, children, parents and brothers with some of their families followed Prince onto the stage, where he’d been asked to give his testimony. Prince has been a member of The Bayou for three years.
“Seeing how many people followed me up here, it’s pretty emotional,” Prince said in a choked voice. “God has used me to change the lives of people up here – and that’s just the ones willing to stand up here.” Expect to get more of the story of God working in and through Prince’s life in an upcoming issue of the Baptist Message.
Walker preached from Colossians 1:6 in the New Living Translation: This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
To be a world changer, a person needs a radical devotion like Daniel had for God, a radical obedience like Noah and Moses had to God; and to make a radical sacrifice, like Abram and Jesus did, Walker preached, taking care with each example to succinctly tell the story for those unfamiliar with it.
Even when the law said he couldn’t pray to God, Daniel refused to stop. He was put in the lion’s den, and the next morning the king found him still alive. The king then wrote, as recorded in Daniel 6:26, “I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel.” Daniel was a world changer.
Noah didn’t know what rain was, much less an ark. But despite ridicule, he built the ark. With his obedience he changed the world. Moses gave five excuses why he couldn’t lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, but eventually he was obedient, and he too changed the world.
Abram, years before God renamed him Abraham, left everything and started walking, not even knowing his destination. He changed the world with the sacrifice of his personal hopes and dreams. Jesus sacrificed his life so you and I don’t have to pay the price for our sins.
The pastor asked the church family for four things, that each would share Jesus and invite people to The Bayou; serve in a ministry in the church and one outside of it; give sacrificially and become a percentage giver in 2011 – start somewhere, percentage-wise, and work up to a tithe and more – and ask God for a legacy that outlives your life.
Eight years ago, the Bayou moved into its new building and an $8.8 million debt, the pastor said.
“We’ve hacked on it now are at $1.3 million in debt,” Walker said. “We want to punch over the goal line and wipe it out, hopefully within the next 12 months, if possible. Once our debt is gone, that will free up about $430,000 per year for ministry.”
Before people brought their offerings to baskets at the front, David Enright with his wife Jessie at his side, spoke as a member of The Bayou for 32 years.
“Our growth has come by getting plugged in” [to a small group and to ministry opportunities], Enright said. “By having God in our lives, that gave us direction and purpose.
“As a guy, I had to struggle with giving,” Enright said. His decision to start tithing came when he determined he needed to make a full commitment to God if he was going to trust Him.
“The weight of the world lifted off me when I made that commitment,” Enright added.
The celebration was an emotional experience for him both spiritually and emotionally, Walker said later.
“We’ve not all been in one service, in one place, on a Sunday morning in over 20 years,” the pastor said. “Just to come together like that it was just phenomenal.”
About $332,000 was given during the debt-reduction ingathering.
“For the first time in years and years, we are under a million dollars in debt now,” Walker said. “We pay $430,000 a year on our note, so if we don’t do any more, we’ll be debt-free by the end of 2012, but our goal is to be done with it by the end of 2011. That will free $430,000 for ministry.”