By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – Baptisms are down in Southern Baptist churches across Louisiana. And, baptisms are up. Wayne Jenkins and Keith Manuel, director and associate, respectively, on the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Evangelism/Church Growth team, recently conducted a study on baptisms in the state’s nearly 1,600 churches over the last 10 years. “The difficulty in looking at these numbers is that in 2001, LifeWay [Christian Resources] changed their reporting method, which caused our numbers to drop by 1,000,” Jenkins said. “After [Hurricanes] Katrina and Rita, we were down by another thousand or so immediately, and we never have picked that completely back up. That’s the down side. “The good side is that the last two years we’ve been up over the previous year, so we’re moving in the right direction,” Jenkins continued. “We don’t know about this year yet; we’re still getting stats in, but we’ve heard some good reports from churches.” Baptisms increased overall by 1.5 percent in the 2008 church year, and by 6 percent in the 2009 church year. “I think we’ve turned the corner; our pastors are doing a good job,” the evangelism/church growth director said. “We’ve got to do a better job in … [Read more...]

It’s often said that statistics are often sterile, cold and boring. There’s an old adage that even draws the connection between statistics and lying. As true as these statements may be, sometimes data, charts, graphs and raw numbers give us the basis for a picture as nothing else can. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation uses numbers, statistics and dollar figures in our annual financial statement and the Book of Reports for the annual meeting. These figures are used to show how well the Foundation is managing the assets entrusted to it. The reports also show that the LBF continues to do the job of encouraging gifts made through trusts, bequests and other estate stewardship planning concepts.   All the numbers may give a snapshot of the Foundation and its purpose, but don’t show the finer details of how the assets are used to impact the lives of people. In the ten-year period from January 2000 through December 2009, the Louisiana Baptist Foundation paid out $42,404,877 to churches, entities, ministries and institutions associated with the Louisiana and Southern Baptist Conventions. The underlying reason that the Foundation is able to make these distributions is: Because someone gave! Much of this amount was paid to … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Foundation recently upgraded its website to better serve Louisiana Baptists. The upgraded site, the first major revision in three years, offers several tools to allow visitors the opportunity to begin the process of Estate Stewardship Planning. Estate stewardship involves the careful and responsible management of all assets entrusted to an individual by God, for His glory. The new website of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation provides specific information about the Foundation.  The website also allows visitors to use the same tools and resources offered by MyLegacyOfFaith.org, a website designed and produced in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Foundation and other Baptist entities. Through LBFinfo.org, guests of the site can access brochures regarding stewardship gift strategies. There are testimonies of couples and individuals who have moved beyond tithing and given God control over all of their assets. The desire of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation is that every Louisiana Baptist participate in quality estate planning as an act of stewardship. The website reinforces the principles of Biblical estate stewardship: God owns everything. We are called to be stewards of our time, talent and … [Read more...]

CENLA – Trained volunteers are needed to help counsel individuals who make spiritual decisions Friday evening, Nov. 12, at Louisiana College’s Wildcat Stadium, announced Cenla DOM Robert Daniel. A pre-event session for volunteers who are already trained to share their faith is to take place at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 in Bolton Chapel on the bottom floor of Guinn Auditorium on LC’s campus. CrossOver is the evangelistic outreach to the local area in conjunction with the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s annual meeting. This year Big Creek, Central and North Rapides associations are participating in CrossOver. The associations are partnering with MegaForce Ministries, who use feats of strength to draw a crowd to hear the Gospel, Daniel announced. The MegaForce team will be in local schools and churches throughout the week, culminating in the Friday night harvest event at Wildcat Stadium. That is where they need your help. Only volunteers who already are trained to share the Gospel are needed. Specific training for the use of follow-up materials will be provided on the evening of the November 12 at 6 p.m. before for the event. Call the Associational Office to volunteer or for more info: 318.445.5772. … [Read more...]

COMINGS AND GOINGS Charles Reynolds, executive pastor, resigned from Summer Grove, Shreveport, going to Connor, Ga. Steven Wade, new as student minister at Westside Emmanuel Baptist, Bogalusa. B. K. Miller, new as interim pastor at College Place Baptist, Monroe. Andrew Voss, new as pastor at Hillcrest Baptist, Franklinton from Satsuma Baptist, Livingston. Daniel Brimer, new as youth pastor at Emmanuel Baptist, Denham Springs. Steven (wife Stephanie) Smithson, new as pastor at North Acres Baptist, Minden. David (wife Jennifer) Eastland, new as pastor at First Baptist, Harahan. RETIREMENTS Ronnie Mills, associate/education pastor, retired from Grawood Baptist, Shreveport. DEATHS BATON ROUGE – D. Ray “Bo” Watts, age 70, died Sunday, Oct. 31; he pastored a number of churches in Louisiana and Mississippi. NEEDED Full-time senior pastor needed at Little Pass Baptist, Charenton; send resume to Pastor Search Committee, PO Box 326, Charenton LA 70523. Bi-vocational music minister needed at First Baptist, Sterlington; send resume to Search Committee, PO Box 725, Sterlington LA 71280. ANNIVERSARIES AND HOMECOMINGS ATHENS – New Hope Baptist: Homecoming Sunday, Nov. 14; Joe Aulds, speaker; Eddie Balance, … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana College is to be the site of the Jan. 8 “Preteen Invasion,” the first-ever time for an event like this targeting students in grades 4 through 6. “Invading the darkness with the light of truth” is the theme of the event that starts with registration at 8 a.m. and is set to close about 4:30 p.m. on that second Saturday in January. Ephesians 5:8 – You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. – is the theme verse. “We wanted to offer a ‘Youth Evangelism Conference’-like experience for preteens, where they can be inspired to live out their faith, and emboldened to share their faith in Christ with other preteens,” said Kevin Roberts, childhood ministry strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “Preteen Invasion” is to take place in Guinn Auditorium on the LC campus, where seating is to be first come, first served. “The earlier you register, the closer to the stage you can sit,” according to a promotional flyer about the event produced for  LBC Childhood Education by the LBC Communications Department. The event, funded in part by the Cooperative Program giving of Louisiana Baptist churches, basically is an evangelism conference for fourth-, fifth- and … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE  – The MegaForce evangelistic power teams are to be in Rapides and Grant Parishes the week of Nov. 8-14 to share positive messages about issues children and teens are dealing with during the day, and to share the Gospel at night, announces Robert Daniel, director of missions for three central Louisiana Baptist Associations: Big Creek, Central Louisiana and North Rapides. They will be part of the three associations’ CrossOver efforts that are to precede the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, set for Nov. 15-16 at the Riverfront Center in Alexandria. Alpine Baptist in Pineville hosted an “Old-Fashioned Tent Revival” Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 8-10. Gateway Baptist and Kingsville Baptist sponsored a contemporary Christian concert Wednesday evening. Hebron Baptist in Dry Prong plans to host a tent revival at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, through Saturday, Nov. 13, and at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. Georgetown Baptist plans to host the Craig Franklin Family in Concert at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. MegaForce is headed by Steve Carrier, world record holder for breaking 30 Louisville Slugger bats over his knee in 44 seconds. While in 20 schools across Cenla, Carrier and his teams plan to present … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – Using current technology available to pastors and church leaders through an Internet connection, the LBC Communications team hosted its first Webinar Oct. 26. This is a technology that brings some of the very best experts in a particular field into the office/home of a group of interactive participants via the Internet usually at a very low or no cost. Michael Stewart, LBC Cooperative Program/Stewardship strategist, facilitated the inaugural Webinar. The expert was Ben Stroup, a nationally-recognized leader among younger pastors in equipping today’s church with biblical stewardship methods. There were a total of 24 who signed up for this pilot session. Stewart has plans for the Webinar to become a series of discussions with participants. As a result, he titled the first event a Webinar Series – The Fully Funded Church: Topic No. 1: How to talk about money in the church. “This is a first for us. However, we hope this kind of production will gain traction,” said John Yeats, LBC Communications team leader. “In a day when there is so much discussion about being effective and efficient with church strategies, the timeliness of engaging this method for equipping pastors and interested church leaders is perfectly … [Read more...]

By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor ONEIDA, Tenn. (BP) – Times are tough all over the country, especially in places like Oneida, Tenn., where the unemployment rate hovers between 20 and 22 percent. But when a volunteer team from First Baptist Church ventured to southeast Missouri, the firsthand experience prompted the church to enlarge its missions commitment. “We had a team come back from a mission trip and report,” said First Baptist member Dale Smith, a retiree who was baptized at the church as a teenager. “They talked about the needs they saw and how we need to do something, but nothing was decided. I said to a deacon – he happens to be on the finance committee – that we ought to increase our giving to the Cooperative Program.”[img_assist|nid=6842|title=First Baptist Church in Oneida Tenn. has ministered to a community with 20-22 percent unemployment|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100] The finance committee agreed and proposed a 1 percent increase, to 11 percent, of CP giving in 2010, and the congregation unanimously approved. “The Cooperative Program makes it possible for the missionaries to go out and do what God has called them to do, and we’re all blessed by our support of it,” Smith continued. … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press EDITOR’S NOTE: December 1 is World AIDS Day, focusing on not just those affected by AIDS around the world, but also highlighting opportunities to make an impact on this deadly disease. One place Southern Baptists are helping make a difference in the lives of people suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS is in Sweetwaters, South Africa. SWEETWATERS, South Africa (BP) – Walk the dusty paths of Sweetwaters, a rural community nestled in the hills of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, and you see death everywhere you look. Nearly every house has up to a dozen graves in the yard – most are only a few years old and most are there because of AIDS. Young Bongiwe plays in her front yard while her 16-year-old sister Xoliswa washes clothes in a metal tub. Nearby, 11 graves bear mute witness to the fact that all the adults in their family are dead because of AIDS. Xoliswa now cares for the little ones. Earlier this year, infant Seth and his 3-year-old brother Nzuzo were buried alive by their mother, who was dying of AIDS. A neighbor discovered them, rescuing the brothers from certain death. Seth has AIDS. Their mother is now dead and the location of their father is not known. Recently 17-year-old … [Read more...]