Submitted by philip on Mon, 12/02/2013 - 15:04 More than 200 Haitian children were ministered to each day through Bible study, crafts and recreation by the 37-person Louisiana mission team. By Julie Cupples, LBCH Communications Thirty-seven Louisiana Baptists were part of a mission trip to Haiti Nov. 2-8. The mission trip sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home & Family Ministries  was in conjunction with the Louisiana/Haiti Partnership. The team consisted of Louisiana Baptists from Calvary Baptist, Alexandria, First Baptist Monroe, North Monroe Baptist, Trinity Baptist, Oak Grove, Jefferson Baptist, Baton Rouge, Belfair of Baton Rouge, Church of Life Fellowship, Baton Rouge, Philadelphia Baptist, Deville, and New Life Baptist, Deridder. These mission volunteers joined together to minister to children and families in the city of Croix-des-Bouquets and in a rural area north of the city known as Canaan. Several churches, in cooperation with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, have worked to establish a Louisiana Baptist and Haiti partnership with the Haitian Baptist Convention. The Children’s Home has joined this partnership to provide orphan support. The intent of this partnership is “first and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams have been activated to minister in Oklahoma, Texas and the Philippines. The teams going to areas affected by the winter storm in Oklahoma and Texas are working there from next week through late this month.  Teams from Carey, Eastern Louisiana and Washington, and Two Rivers associations will work in Hugo, Okla. Another team from Northwest Association will minister in Paris, Texas. The winter storm in Hugo and other parts of Oklahoma dumped snow, ice and sleet and left behind snapped trees and thousands in the dark by the time it moved out of the state last weekend. Residents of Paris and other areas of North Texas dealt with the same weather event, with similar results as Oklahoma. Financial gifts have already been received but between $8,000 and $10,000 is what is needed to complete the cost of the trip in the area devastated by the typhoon. The team is being led by Freddie Arnold who is from Eastern Louisiana Association is scheduled to work in the country Jan. 17-26. Other members of the team are Billy Puckett of New Orleans Association, Ben Fussell of Washington Association,  Joey Rudisill of Central Louisiana Association and Jeff Cook from … [Read more...]

By Leigh Guidry, Alexandria Town Talk PINEVILLE – After two years on warning status, Louisiana College has had its accreditation reaffirmed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. “The committee reaffirms the following institution and removed them from sanction: Louisiana College, Pineville, La.,” SACS spokesperson Pamela Cravey read from the accrediting agent’s report on Tuesday. The report had not been posted on the accreditation agency’s website at press time. The SACS annual meeting was held in Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 7-10. The announcement followed a vote of the SACS Commission on Colleges’ Board of Trustees at its annual meeting as well as a comprehensive on-site review of Louisiana College in October by a five-member SACS committee. “They reaffirmed the institution, removed warning status, and there is no monitoring necessary,” LC President Joe Aguillard said, ticking those off on his fingers. No follow-up is required until a five-year midpoint report is due, which Cravey expects to occur in 2015-2017. “It’s not as comprehensive, but it hits the major areas that could become problems,” she said. “It helps the institution get a feel for how they are tracking.” The next site visit will be in 2020. Travis … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 12/16/2013 - 09:33 Preliminary figures indicate Louisiana had a record-breaking year in the collection of shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. During Nov. 18-25, more than 126,000 boxes, a 1,000 more boxes than anticipated, were collected in the state. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Preliminary figures indicate a record-breaking collection of shoeboxes this year for Operation Christmas Child in Louisiana. Throughout the year, churches of different sizes and denominations filled shoeboxes for the ministry of Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization. And by the end of National Collection Week – when individuals and churches dropped off their shoeboxes at major collection centers in the United States from Nov. 18-25 – more than 126,000 boxes were collected in Louisiana alone. The collection surpassed the organization’s goal for the state by more than 1,000 boxes, according to Becca Powers, Operation Christmas Child Texas/Louisiana regional media relations associate. “Breaking these records would be impossible without our year-round volunteers in the area who dedicate hundreds of hours to planning different events and collection logistics,” Powers said. “When we see … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 12/16/2013 - 09:36 Members of Philadelphia Baptist in Deville hosted a group of Louisiana College Chinese exchange students for a Matthew Party in association with My Hope with Billy Graham in early November. Three of those who attended the event prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior that night. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer As he sat among an overflow crowd of 17,800 inside the New Orleans Arena on March 12, 2006, Dean Ross was watching evangelist Billy Graham preach a message of hope to those who were recovering from Hurricane Katrina that devastated the city seven months earlier. Seven years later, in early November, Ross wasn’t inside the arena but at the church he pastors, watching a broadcast of Graham’s sermon to millions through the evangelistic effort My Hope with Billy Graham. The end result throughout Restoration Church, Louisiana and beyond was thousands saved and lives forever changed through what is believed to be Graham’s final sermon. “It was a huge blessing in 2006 for Franklin and Billy Graham to come support the restoration, renewal and revival of our city by bringing the hope of Jesus to so many people,” said Ross, pastor of Restoration Church in … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Mon, 12/16/2013 - 09:38 Tony Nolan By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor BATON ROUGE – To reach the younger people of the state with the gospel, Louisiana Baptists must become more intentional. Recently released findings of the President’s 2020 Commission shows Louisiana is losing significant ground in reaching its younger generation. The report reveals Louisiana has been losing ground for the last several decades in both attendance and baptisms. Therefore reaching the next generation is not only imperative but essential to gospel success for the future. As one of the foremost youth speakers in the country, Tony Nolan of TNT Ministries in Canton, Ga., recognizes the importance of connecting with the younger generation as well as “helping them get it about God’s great love and salvation!” As one of eight speakers at the 2014 Evangelism Conference, he will share how to be more ‘intentional’ reaching today’s youth. “Tony is known across the country for his work with young people,” Wayne Jenkins, director of evangelism and church growth for the Louisiana Baptist Convention said. “His ability to reach the younger generation … to challenge them … is his strength. He will cast a vision on how to reach … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message BATON ROUGE – Success breeds success. After last year’s highly successful servant evangelism project at First Lafayette, Wayne Jenkins, director of the LBC’s Evangelism and Church Growth staff, has come up with another project that would help the BAGBR Association. “Last year’s project (cans of food) was highly successful,” Jenkins said. “We had a number of items brought to the Conference and several churches delivered truckloads of canned goods which were later distributed to the needy. “I can’t thank the pastor who made a push at their churches for these items which were brought to the church in pickups,” Jenkins continued. “Because of their location, BAGBR is heavily involved in prison ministries,” Jenkins said. “In order to assist, we are asking attendees to bring in Prison Care Packages. Each package (a gallon-sized Ziploc bag) filled with items not provided to the prisoners. “I am hoping, like last year, everyone – people, pastors and churches – will rally around this project,” Jenkins said. Among the items needed include: power stick deodorant, Palmolive soap, Ultrabite toothpaste (6 oz.), washcloth, BIC pens (no click pens, please), note tablet, tooth brush – soft handle (4 pack), and … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Message Editor In his book “God With Us: The Miracle of Christmas,” John MacArthur relates the following: “I read a haunting newspaper story several years ago about a wealthy Boston family who had a christening party for their new baby. They invited all their friends and relatives to their magnificent home to celebrate the birth of their precious infant. “A half-hour into the party, when it was time to bring the baby out for everyone to see, the mother made a tragic discovery. The large bed where she had left the baby asleep was piled high with the coats of the guests. The baby was lying dead underneath the mound, suffocated by the carelessly discarded wraps.” MacArthur goes on to draw a parallel between the horrible scene in that Boston bedroom and the manner in which America’s consumer culture “celebrates” the birth of Jesus Christ. “Lost is the realization that Christmas is first of all the birth of the Savior,” MacArthur wrote. “He is all but forgotten....” I agree with MacArthur’s observation and, as a result, I struggle with the commercial carnival that Christmas has become. I cringed when I walked into our local Wal-Mart in early October and discovered “Christmas” paraphernalia where lawn and garden … [Read more...]

By James B. Law, Pastor First Baptist Church Gonzales In recent weeks, I have read with great interest and joy the testimony of Kirsten Powers. Her journey of grace was posted on Christianity Today’s website in October. Since then her story has gone viral and has been the source of much media attention. Powers possesses quite a resume that includes an appointment to the Clinton White House, as well as established credentials as a journalist with such news outlets as Fox News and The Daily Beast. Throughout her career, Powers has been known as a progressive, secular, and atheistic liberal who expressed a pronounced contempt for all things Christian. However, through the witness of a boyfriend and the consistent preaching of a faithful pastor, Powers was confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ. Over the span of eight months of attending church and Bible study, the thick crust of resistance began to breakdown. From a worldview in which God did not exist, Powers describes the beginnings of her awakening, “I suddenly felt God everywhere and it was terrifying.” She explains the culmination of this journey to faith when she writes, “I’ll never forget standing outside that apartment on the Upper East Side and saying to myself, … [Read more...]

By Leon Hyatt, Jr., retired Pastor, Pineville, La. My thanks go to Rob Phillips (Baptist Message, Oct. 24) and Kenny Crump (Baptist Message, Nov. 7) for having the courage to produce writings on the sticky subject of God’s curse on the Amalekites. Though their views seem to be somewhat contradictory, I actually agree with both of them.  I offer a few thoughts to add to their excellent discussions, which may help to reconcile their two views. God put a curse on the Amalekites (Ex. 17:14).  He also put a curse on the Canaanites (Gen. 9:24-27).  Both curses called for total annihilation.  However, God also gave some definite directions about how the curses were to be executed. In Deuteronomy 20:1-19, God gave instructions to the Israelites about warfare against an enemy city that was obstructing Israel’s effort to settle in the land of Canaan. Those instructions included: (1) “Before you attack the city, seek to arrange a peace treaty” (v. 10). (2) “If the city makes peace, let them work for you” (v. 11). God put no limitations on those instructions.  They applied to Canaanites just as much as to any other nation.  God provided a way for Canaanites to be accepted among the Israelites and share their blessings, if only they … [Read more...]