A broad cross-section of nearly 1,200 New Orleans-area residents gathered at First Baptist Church on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A broad cross-section of nearly 1,200 New Orleans-area residents gathered at First Baptist Church on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. They came to the 2007 Katrina Anniversary Prayer Rally to praise God for His abiding grace over the last two years and, under the high-energy direction of worship leader Lisa Pierre of Houston, praise God they did. They came to pray and – led by pastors from all over the city plus one high school girl – pray they did, for safety in the city, people who are standing in the gap, mothers keeping their families strong, students and teachers and more. Hard times continue in New Orleans, so they came also to be encouraged. George Shinn, owner of the Hornets pro basketball team, did more than that: With a coach’s pre-game fervor, he motivated those who had gone through a bad season to have faith – in America, New Orleans, oneself, neighbors and God. But Will Graham – son of Franklin, grandson of Billy – brought the unexpected. The program had William Franklin Graham IV bringing a “message of … [Read more...]

Trinity Baptist reported 250 professions of faith and 119 other decisions during four days of revival last week. LAKE CHARLES – Trinity Baptist reported 250 professions of faith and 119 other decisions during four days of revival last week. Ronnie Hill of Fort Worth, Texas, was the preaching evangelist. Ray Jones of San Antonio, Texas, was the music evangelist. “Folks were saved; folks were revived. It was quite a deal, a God deal,” said Pastor Steve James. “We prayed and asked for God to do something supernatural, and He did. “It wasn’t like anything this church has ever experienced in its 75-year history,” James continued. “I’ve been pastoring for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like this.” Prayer was the key, the pastor said. The church family – about 1,500 attend Sunday morning worship – individually through the week and corporately on Sunday for 40 days went through a revival preparation prayer guide developed by the Arkansas Baptist Convention and adapted by Trinity that included scripture, devotional thought, directive prayer and prayer specifics. “Ronnie just preached real simple messages and connected with the people,” James said. “We had 50 encouragers, counselors, who each received two weeks of … [Read more...]

Every week leading up to the week of prayer a recipient of the State Mission Offering will be highlighted. You’ll see a snapshot of your missions offering at work around the state.  The week of prayer for the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering (September 16-23) is just around the corner. The state goal is $1,500,000. Every week leading up to the week of prayer a recipient of the State Mission Offering will be highlighted. You’ll see a snapshot of your missions offering at work around the state. What if those who shape our culture—musicians, film-makers, entertainers and artists—used their art form to communicate the Christian faith? James and Amy Welch asked themselves that question as they processed God’s call on their lives to church planting.  As artists, they felt drawn to “cultural creatives”—the highly educated and highly creative—who are often outside the reach of a traditional church. “We wanted to plant our lives with the people who are influencing the broadest segment of our society,” Welch said, “and bring the Gospel and redemption to the culture.” Sojourn Ministry, the sole Southern Baptist presence in the heart of the arts district of New Orleans, is engaging the culture with solid biblical … [Read more...]

What is the worst idea yet to invade the Internet? What is the worst idea yet to invade the Internet? Could it be the countless number of pornographic sites that saturate the World Wide Web? Perhaps it is the “dating” sites that enable married persons to commit adultery? Or maybe it is the Internet gambling sites that separate a fool from his money 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year? Well, according to San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com columnist Mark Morford, none of the aforementioned even registers on the digital Richter Scale as to what is really bad on the Internet. In a recent sarcasm – saturated column, Morford blasted the Christian website GodTube.com – which was launched earlier this year – as the absolute worst idea to grace the Internet. In the same sardonic breath, he took derogatory potshots at Christians. Well, not all Christians, just those who have a conservative worldview. GodTube was designed to be a wholesome alternative to the popular website YouTube.com. For the uninitiated, YouTube is an Internet site that enables users to share digital video by uploading content to the web site. Some of the content is decent but much of it is crude, crass, pornographic and downright … [Read more...]

She was born 660 years ago into a world tormented by fear, chaos and death. She was born 660 years ago into a world tormented by fear, chaos and death. Her mother wanted her to be a “normal” daughter, to marry and rear a family behind the relatively secure walls of middle-class Italian society. But Catherine Benincasa – later to become known as Catherine of Siena – wanted something more: to love God completely and serve Him without reservation. The 23rd of 25 children, Catherine was walking home from church at age six when she says she had a vision of Christ smiling and blessing her. “The sense of affirmation that God was calling her to ministry was powerful and permanent,” write James D. Smith and Kimberly Dawsey-Richardson in a profile of Catherine in the spring edition of “Christian History and Biography.” She persuaded her family to allow her to join a religious order at age 16, but continued living at home, retreating to solitude and self-denial in her room. “Seeking purity, humility and communion with God, she wrestled for three years to gain dominion over her heart and fleshly impulses,” Smith and Dawsey-Richardson recount. “Hers was a total surrender....” Catherine’s spiritual retreat didn’t lead her to a … [Read more...]

The Gulf Coast Baptist Association may be small in numbers, but it is strong in spirit. The Gulf Coast Baptist Association may be small in numbers, but it is strong in spirit. Covering the parishes of St. Mary, St. Martin and a small slice of Iberia, the Gulf Coast association ministers to a population of more than 125,000 in this predominantly Catholic conclave. Like many South Louisiana parishes, the region has its share of farmers, crawfishermen, commercial fishermen and shrimpers and skilled laborers. It is also home to numerous oil field workers. Serving in the midst of a predominantly Roman Catholic population, the Southern Baptist churches there face some unique challenges. “It is a neat area to work in,” said Director of Missions Bert Langley. “There are quite a few Catholics, but the area also features a variety of other nationalities as well. And this mixture of people is what makes this region such a unique area to serve. “We do a lot of individual work … basically people to people, who share the Gospel wherever it can be shared,” he said. While inroads have been made in the area’s growing Hispanic community as well as with a sizeable Vietnamese population, Langley cites the work of Bobby Hodnett, … [Read more...]