BY STAFF, IMB Communications BANGKOK, Thailand (BP) – Rather than looking forward to freedom, Noon dreaded the day of her prison release. No one had visited her or had even written a letter during the time she had served in Thailand for drug possession. She realized that when prison officials set her free, she would have no place to go and no home to go to. “Everyone in my family, my relatives, they rejected me and forgot me,” the quiet 25-year-old remembers. [img_assist|nid=6896|title=Hands are clasped in prayer at the Womens Correctional Institution for Drug Addicts in Bangkok, Thailand|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]But then another prisoner, a Christian, told her about God. The Christian prisoner also began to teach Noon how to pray. “The first prayer I prayed was ‘If You are God, please bring someone to visit me,’ because for almost two years, no one visited me or wrote a letter to me,” Noon says. “I said, ‘God, if You want me to know Your grace, answer me and let someone come to visit me.’” One week after her plea to God, an officer announced over the loudspeakers that a visitor had, in fact, come to see her. She remembers crying, “Oh, thank You, God! Thank You, God!” “I was so excited … [Read more...]

BY ADAM MILLER, NAMB Communications ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – The challenges and opportunities smaller Southern Baptist churches might embrace to reach their communities with the Gospel was the focus of a Small Church and Bivocational Pastors Missional Initiative Dialogue at the North American Mission Board. Congregations of less than 200 members account for 33,522 churches within the Southern Baptist Convention, a majority of the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination. The meeting of two dozen church and denominational leaders served as a follow-up to an 18-month series of discussions between NAMB’s church planting group and field partners, including pastors, associational directors of missions and state convention staff. This birthed the idea for a “small church missional initiative” geared to connect smaller churches to each other for greater impact and cohesion. “This was sort of like the capstone on the whole project,” said George Garner, a church planting strategies consultant at NAMB who moderated the meeting. “We’ve been working on a strategy the last 18 months and it evolved to the place where we really want to put this together under one frame. “What we’re trying to do is get a snapshot. The perception is … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – The Louisiana Baptist Building in Alexandria was the location of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation’s last quarterly Board of Trustees meeting for 2010. The meeting took place Oct. 26 with the Operating and Investment Committees meeting in the morning and the full board meeting in the afternoon. The business addressed during the full Board of Trustees session was fairly routine, with the Trustees approving the budget for fiscal year 2011. The new budget reflects a two percent decrease in projected expenses as compared to 2010. In other business the Board approved allocating an additional $250,000 to offset any negative financial impact that may still occur from the recent economic crisis. The trustees made this move in an effort to assure the churches and institutions of the security of their funds invested with the LBF. Trustees also approved a motion from the Investment Committee to establish a master limited partnership (MLP) account that will give the Foundation an alternative investment vehicle to help diversify the total portfolio. The amount invested in the MLP is limited to five percent of the total assets. The Foundation already uses a preferred stock fund in a similar diversification … [Read more...]

BY STAFF, Baptist Message BAYOU MACON BAPTIST ASSOCIATION – At least once a year, each of the Baptist associations across Louisiana meet for fellowship and to hear the news of what God is doing among them. Associations are a group of churches in a given geographic area, such as Carey Baptist Association of the Southern Baptist churches in southwest Louisiana. [img_assist|nid=6421|title=Perry Hancock President, CEO Louisiana Baptist Childrens Home|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=88|height=100]The purpose of associations is multi-faceted: fellowship that brings together people from many churches into a large group; training events, such as for Sunday school teachers or VBS leaders; doctrinal alignment – before churches are accepted into the association, their doctrinal statements are examined for “like faith and order” with Baptist tenets; and combined force in missions and ministry, such as a community ministry center, or a short-term missions trip. Representatives from LBC entities – children’s home, college, foundation, Baptist Message – often are present at the associational meetings. Sometimes (when invited by the association) they give reports of what their entity is doing; sometimes they’re there just to mix and … [Read more...]

STATEWIDE – In all, 46 churches across Louisiana have begun practice for the 2010/11 season of Upward Basketball. Upward is a parachurch organization for boys and girls in the first through sixth grades. It is based in North Carolina and “reaches kids for Christ through sports,” according to the website www.upward.org. The sports they minister through include football, basketball, soccer and cheerleading. Now is the season for basketball. “I thought Upward was a God-send,” said Robert Daniel, director of missions for three central Louisiana Baptist associations and former pastor of Twin Bridges Baptist Church in Alexandria. He led the church to start Upward in 2000. “Upward gave us a God-sized task,” Daniel continued. “If you run the numbers, there were about 250 children, and you start thinking about moms and dads and siblings and grandparents connected with each of those children, that’s a considerable challenge. On any given Saturday [during league games] we’d have 600 to 1,000 people come to our facility. That would be far more than we could possibly reach in Sunday morning services.” Brent Dix has been pastor of the Twin Bridges congregation for the last four years. “For several years we were the smallest … [Read more...]

By DALE AND JENA FOREHAND, LifeWay Communications With the holiday season quickly approaching, the beauty of Christmas gets easily marred by the busyness it seems to demand. The battle is for your time, as you run from store to store, sale to sale, and party to party. Is it any wonder that by the time Christmas actually gets here, you are absolutely and completely frazzled? Certainly the reason for the season has lost its momentousness, if not its meaning. This pressure, when added to the dynamics of a marriage, can literally tug on the marriage rope of oneness and security. [img_assist|nid=6902|title=A Tug of War?|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=56]If your marriage is or has been overwhelmed by the pressures of Christmas, now is the time to slow down and take a moment to reflect. Your Marriage is a wonderful PRESENT from God With commercialized Christmas revolving around giving and receiving gifts, isn’t it time to consider your immediate family as one of the greatest gifts ever given? Once you begin to view your marriage as a precious gift from God, your Christmas will have an entirely new focus and meaning. With this perspective, you will give your marriage special attention, care, and … [Read more...]

BY MICHELE LOUVIERE, Director of Counseling Celebration Church, Metairie Question:  Our family recently experienced a tragedy. Since then, I have struggled with feeling close to God although I usually have an intimate relationship with him. How can I regain my closeness with Him? Michele Louviere responds: First of all, let me share how sad I am about your recent family tragedy. Secondly, it actually is very normal for people to struggle in their relationship with God after experiencing hurt, loss or extreme trauma. When we experience an unexpected event that overwhelms us physically and emotionally, it also can overwhelm us spiritually. Many people experience anger, isolation and numbness towards God. Some people even question God’s love and care when they are deeply wounded. A biblical example of this happens when Mary, Lazarus’ sister, met Jesus in the road after her brother’s death. She cried out, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died” – John 11:32. In her grief and pain, she felt abandoned by Jesus. She did not question His ability to save lives; rather, she felt betrayed that He had allowed her to lose her precious brother. The unspoken thought could have been, “Jesus, I am not … [Read more...]

By DIANA CHANDLER, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – On the walls of a house in the Lower Ninth Ward, children and young adults draw their realities: symbols decrying rape and drugs, words proclaiming hope and strength, a tear-soaked face. Enchante’ Franklin, founder of the What About Us Community Mentoring Program, WAUS, calls it the expression room, just one area of a non-residential safe house where she mentors at-risk youth. [img_assist|nid=6905|title=Students involved in What About Us Community at St. Thomas Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]Christ is new to many of the 7- to 24-year-olds WAUS serves and introducing them to God is key to the program but difficult, Franklin said. “I’m saying to them, learn the Word, learn His ways, but I have to be careful how I teach it,” said Franklin. ”It’s really hard to just throw God at these kids, because it’s not in the home. We have to slowly give it to them in a way that it connects to their cognitive level.” Franklin pairs mentors with youth to help them connect with God, lead law-abiding lives, avoid jail, develop self-esteem, learn community service and improve academically. Franklin doesn’t call WAUS a … [Read more...]

BY JOANNE BRECHTEL, Administrative Editor JONESBORO – Ebenezer Baptist: Christmas dinner 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19; Candlelight Lord’s Supper 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26; Randy Lee, pastor. MINDEN – First Baptist: Holiday Luncheon for Single Senior Adults 11:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13; Christmas Caroling 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19; Leland Crawford, pastor. WINNSBORO – First Baptist: Christmas Vespers and handbell choir 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 24; Craig Beeman, pastor. [img_assist|nid=6923|title=Birth of Christ|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=64]HAYNESVILLE – First Baptist: Christmas music 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12; Shelby Cowling, pastor. HOMER – First Baptist: Deacon Christmas supper 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10; children’s Christmas program 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12; James Simeon, pastor. ALEXANDRIA – Baptist Temple: Christmas cantata 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. BOSSIER CITY – First Baptist:  “Gloria…A Christmas Experience” multimedia Christmas Spectacular 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 12; Point of Grace, special guests; tickets free; Love Loud Light Night Celebration traveling to six local communities for tree lightings and festivities; Wednesday, Dec. 15; Fred Lowery, pastor. HAUGHTON – Koran Baptist: Children’s … [Read more...]

By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor WEST MONROE – The members of Cedar Crest Baptist Church were serious about prayer even before Pastor Greg Clark arrived in December 1997. A small group met after Wednesday evening prayer meeting to pray first for direction in calling together a pastor search committee, and then to pray for that committee’s wisdom and discernment. Those involved with those prayers feel confident today the pastor search committee made the right choice. “Greg Clark is not just a great pastor; he’s a great citizen,” said John Russell. “He just reaches out all the time. It’s kind of like having a jewel in your community who is also your pastor.” Clark has led Cedar Crest to even greater involvement with prayer, and he has led in the effort to join with other churches in prayer for issues in West Monroe/Monroe. “On May 12, 2000, God clearly gave our pastor a word that Cedar Crest is to be a house of prayer,” according to the church’s website, www.ccbchurch.org. “Since then we have made it our top priority to keep prayer the central focus of all that we do.” The church added three prayer rooms when it built a new worship center. Two are assigned; a third is kept open for those who stop by for … [Read more...]