Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Making an impact: Pastor Steve Speer (left) of His Church of Pineville has baptized 168 people in the six years since the church was planted in 2006. This young girl is being baptized in Red River. The church which was given financial assistance by the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, has seen its membership grow to more than 400 members.   By Holly Jo Linzay, Special to the Message PINEVILLE/BATON ROUGE – Two church plants, aided by the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, are bringing new life and hope into their communities. The two churches, located in two very diverse geographical locations, are prime examples of how sowing into the state mission field can reap a mighty harvest for the Lord. His Church His Church in Pineville was planted from a vision of its pastor to start a disciple-making church in every major college town in Louisiana. “I had a yearning in my heart, and asked God to make a way, and His Church was born. And God is growing His church,” said Steve Speer, the pastor of His Church. On July 2, 2006, roughly 60 people gathered for the first service of His Church in a community center. From the humble beginnings of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Thousands participate: Students at Kingfisher High School, northwest of Oklahoma City, gathered Wednesday morning (Sept. 26) for the 22nd annual See You at the Pole global day of student prayer. Students shared photos, including this one, on Facebook and Twitter. By Erin Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – About a million teenagers at schools across the nation and the world gathered Sept. 26 for the 22nd annual See You at the Pole global day of student prayer. This year students used Twitter and Facebook to communicate about their involvement, with student Claire Fridey tweeting “One of my favorite days of the school year is #seeyouatthepole! Prayer is powerful!” and a user named Israel tweeting “#seeyouatthepole was a nice way to kick off the day.” See You at the Pole, which began in 1990 among a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, “is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school and nation to God,” according to the event’s website,www.syatp.com. SYATP is student-initiated, student-organized and student-led. “SYATP helps launch teenagers and college … [Read more...]

  By Brian Blackwell, Marketing Director PINEVILLE – Michael Duduit believes application is not just an element of preaching. He believes it is at the heart of the preaching task. “To be clear, when I speak about application, I mean a discussion of how a particular biblical text connects with real-life issues faced by our listeners,” Duduit told pastors attending the recent E4 preaching conference at First Baptist Pineville. “It drives biblical truth into the avenues of our lives, with a focus not on information but on transformation. “Like an archer with his arrows, application in preaching faithfully takes the biblical text and shoots for a target [and] that target might be repentance, obedience, service, or some other biblical challenge,” Duduit continued. “Anointed application has one goal: life change.” Duduit – dean of the College of Christian studies at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C., and editor of Preaching magazine – discussed application in a series of three sermons during the E4 Conference, which is part of the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Awaken effort, which calls for revival throughout the state. In addition to Duduit’s sermons, the conference featured a sermon by Rick Byargeon, pastor of Temple … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message ARRIVALS/DEPARTURES David Womack, pastor of Sherwood Baptist in Baton Rouge, is to retire Oct. 31, after 22 years at Sherwood and 47 years in the gospel ministry. James Hill is new as pastor of Plain Dealing Baptist in Plain Dealing. Adam Stanfield, new as pastor of Siloam Baptist in Dodson, was ordained to the gospel ministry Sept. 9 at Goldonna Baptist. Robert Clay Spinks, new as pastor of Lighthouse Independence. Adam Beach, new as campus pastor of Celebration Slidell. Ryan Thomas, new as associate minister at French Corner Ponchatoula. Pat Deshotel, new as pastor of Welsh First Baptist. Buddy Willis resigned as pastor of Flowers Landing Baptist in Newellton. Needed/Giving First Baptist Leesville seeks a full-time youth minister. Send resume to 1400 Nolan Trace, Leesville LA 71446. Pastor: Jerry Penfield. Alpine First Baptist in Pineville seeks a part-time youth director. Send resumes to Personnel Committee, 7215 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville LA 71360. Pastor: Dick DeBusk. First Baptist Dodson seeks a youth worker. Call Pastor Travis Hampton at 318.548.2268. Homecomings, Anniversaries, Revivals First Baptist Carencro: Revival Oct. 12-14. Speaker: Don Cooper of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Hispanic Mission: Louisiana Baptist Builders and Kingdom Builders have joined forces in helping to build a church for Hispanic Baptists under the operating authority of First Baptist Church of Bernice. Bill and Joyce Temple are the the onsite coordinators for the Louisiana Baptist Builders.   By Robert Lemoine, Special to the Message BERNICE – Volunteers “Raise the Roof” for local Hispanic community. This rural North Louisiana town is home to a joint effort to build a church for Hispanic Baptists under the operating authority of the First Baptist Church of Bernice. Work began Sept. 17 on a cleared lot to raise the Nazareth Spanish Mission Church.  Church members along with other volunteers had the foundation ready when the building crews arrived. Bill Temple, along with his wife Joyce, are the onsite building coordinators for Louisiana Baptist Builders. Barry Joyner, Director of Missions for Concord Baptist Association, contacted Randy Ray with Kingdom Builders about helping the project. The Kingdom Builders stepped it up by raising the extra funds needed to upgrade the roof from shingles to metal. Monday morning was a “wash” due to the rain that … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 2016: Obama's America   By World News Magazine (WNS) – Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary “2016: Obama’s America,” in which the president of The Kings College – located in New York City – shares his perspective on President Obama, appears to have peaked at the box office, but not before it hit $32 million in ticket sales. The film is now one of the top-grossing documentary films of all time, recently passing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth at the box office. World Magazine spoke with D’Souza in Washington recently. He said at that time, “We’re happy with the movie, and we’ve got a good plan for marketing it. Kind of a steady build-up until election day.” Viva la Sameness? (WNS) – A Rhode Island school district has banned father-daughter dances and mother-son baseball games because they may violate the state’s gender discrimination laws. The ban came after a single mom complained that her daughter wasn’t able to attend a dance. The American Civil Liberties Union represented the mother in filing her complaint, which said her child felt left out because she did not have a father to take her to the dance. ACLU lawyer Steven Brown also said the events … [Read more...]

  By Staff, Baptist Message EDITOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 14, Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday and congregations across the United States will receive offerings for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Since its inception in 1974, Southern Baptists have given more than $235 million through the fund. For information on the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund, visit worldhungerfund.com. DELHI, India (BP) – Poverty is extreme in the slums of Delhi, India – the eighth-largest city in the world – but Southern Baptists are making a life-changing difference for 90 children and their families through the World Hunger Fund. When Asha brought her two daughters to the Bread of Life nutrition program, both girls were spindly and their hair was merely small patches on their heads.  Each month, the children were weighed and given a health assessment. Like other children in the program, they were given medication for simple problems such as ear infections, worms or diarrhea. They also were given multivitamins, along with staples such as dried beans and lentils, rice, oil and soap. After a few months, the girls had gained a little weight and were more responsive, and their hair had grown. More than half of Delhi’s 22 … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – It doesn’t take a lot of money to make a difference for hungry people in North America. For example: n $20 provides five children food for a week at the GUM Drop backpack ministry in southern Illinois. n $50 will feed 250 homeless people in New York City at soup kitchens and sack lunch distributions. n $60 will provide food for a family for two weeks in the coal mining communities of Kentucky. n $75 will feed 400 migrant workers, through the “Feeding Those Who Feed Us” hunger ministry in California. n $100 will feed 500 meals to the homeless in Las Vegas. According to statistics collected by the North American Mission Board, hunger is a reality for more than 49 million Americans. That’s one of every six Americans and one in every four American children. Only the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund uses 100 percent of all contributions to feed hungry people. Personnel already are in place, supported by the Cooperative Program, so administrative and promotional costs are covered. Twenty cents of every dollar given to the hunger fund is sent to the North American Mission Board to support hunger projects in the United States and Canada. Eighty cents of … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 01:00 Baptisms galore: Recenttly, Mike Shumock, pastor of East Fork Baptist Church, baptized 18 people in the Tangipahoa River.   By Holly Jo Linzay, Special to the Message KENTWOOD – A fire of revival breaking out in East Fork Baptist Church brought in 47 new members during the last three months. “God is up to something at our church,” said Mike Shumock, the pastor of East Fork Baptist Church, located in a rural community just outside of Kentwood. “The Lord is moving in a mighty way,” the pastor continued. “Of the 47 people He has added to our church, 25 of them got saved and baptized. Things are really hopping at our church. There’s been an explosion.” Recently, the pastor baptized 18 people, all dressed in white robes, in the Tangipahoa River in the East Fork community. The baptism drew a large crowd, with one little girl telling her mother it looked like “angels were in the river,” Shumock noted. The spark of revival at his church flamed to life in late June, shortly after Vacation Bible School. The church members had been praying for revival for months. “We even had a prayer vigil asking the Lord to send revival no matter what the cost. We were … [Read more...]