LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Ten years ago, Emil Turner left a successful pastorate at First Baptist Church of Lake Charles, La., when he accepted a call as executive director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Ten years ago, Emil Turner left
a successful pastorate at First Baptist Church of Lake Charles, La.,
when he accepted a call as executive director of the Arkansas Baptist
State Convention.
“My wife and I were talking just last night about
the great impact Louisiana Baptists have had on our lives,” Turner said
on March 2. “This is our opportunity to serve the Lord and return some
of the grace we have received.”
Turner sent his team leader for missions ministries,
Darwin Bacon, to participate March 2 in a Project NOAH rebuilding
strategy meeting in New Orleans.
It was not the first time Arkansas Baptists had been in Louisiana.
“Our disaster relief volunteers were among the very
first people into Kenner with feeding units [after Katrina,]” Turner
said. “We bought refrigerated trailers in order to truck food to New
Orleans.”
Arkansas feeding units fed almost 2 million post-Katrina meals in Louisiana, and countless chain saw ministry projects.
Arkansas Baptists also gave cash money – $100,000
the first time – to southern Louisiana directors of missions to pass on
to beleaguered pastors.
Arkansas Baptists helped fund the 2006 evangelism conference and provided small group workshop leaders.
“One issue is that so many Arkansans have Louisiana roots, so we feel close to the state,” Turner said.
“The larger issue is that Jesus Christ cares about
the people who live in New Orleans, and we care about them because He
cares about them,” the Arkansas executive director said. “We serve Him
well when we serve the people of New Orleans.
“I speak somewhere in the state [of Arksansas]
nearly every week, and everywhere I go, people talk about their
churches praying for Katrina victims and sending volunteers in,” Turner
continued. “It [the devastation of Katrina, Rita and breached levees]
is a unified effort for our state convention.”