By Staff, Baptist Message Tallahassee, FLA. – More than 4,000 people, including former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, stood on the front lawn of the Old Capitol building for Franklin Graham’s ‘Decision America Tour, Tuesday Jan. 12. It was the second stop of the tour. During his nearly hour long speech, Graham covered issues like race relations, prayer in schools and same sex marriage. He assured the crowd his father, 97-year-old evangelist Billy Graham, was joining them in prayer from North Carolina. "We're in economic trouble, political trouble, and we’re in race trouble," Graham told the crowd. "I have no hope in the Democratic Party. I have no hope in the Republican Party. My only hope is in the almighty God. "Our nation is in trouble and there's not a political party that can fix it,” Graham told an enthusiastic crowd on the capitol steps. “Thank you for coming out today. I am so encouraged to see so many coming together to pray.” The tour will be making its third stop Wednesday, Jan. 13 at North Boulevard Town Square near the State Capitol in Baton Rouge at noon. Individuals and churches are  urged to attend this important rally according to Graham. Why? "We need to take a … [Read more...]

By Message Staff VIDALIA – Residents of Vidalia, Natchez, Miss., surrounding communities and parishes came together to plea with God to spare them from widespread damage from the rapidly rising floodwaters of the Mississippi River. And it appears God has answered their plea. Held on Jan. 10 at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center, the Miss-Lou Community Prayer Gathering drew several hundred pastors, laymen and business leaders for a time of prayer and intercession for the community and state. Scripture reading and singing were also part of the afternoon. Bill McCullin, pastor of First Baptist Church in Vidalia, was encouraged by the response of attendees from not just Southern Baptist churches but other denominations. “Just seeing so many different denominations and churches in so many parishes come together to pray and seek Him was a blessing,” McCullin said. “It took rising waters to bring the community together.” The last time McCullin recalls the community coming together for a time of prayer was in 2011, when the town saw its riverfront flooded by the Mississippi River. The record crest was 61.95 feet on May 19, 2011, and took weeks to recede. He believes the community learned from that … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message BATON ROUGE – In a resounding victory for Louisiana Pro-Life advocates and Louisiana Southern Baptists, New Iberia Republican Taylor Barras was elected as the new Speaker of the House in a stunning vote and Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches) was unanimously elected as President Pro Tempre of the Louisiana Senate. The Republican-dominated Louisiana legislature broke ranks with incoming Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards (the first Democratic Governor since 2008) and elected New Iberia Rep. Taylor Barras as their speaker with 56 of the 105 House member’s votes. "We congratulate Rep. Barras on his election as Speaker of the House,” said Ben Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life. “Rep. Barras has a 100 percent pro-life voting record with Louisiana Right to Life, and we are confident the House of Representatives and the Health and Welfare Committee will be under pro-life guidance.” The speaker's race originally featured four candidates -- Barras, New Orleans Democrat Walter Leger III, New Orleans Democrat Neil Abramson and Metairie Republican Cameron Henry. In the first round of voting, Henry and Leger got the most votes. Henry, however, ended up dropping out of the race, throwing his … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – Charles Billingsley is well known as the once lead vocalist of the Christian music group Newsong, recording such hits as “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” and singing at various Louisiana Baptist events. Yet, a successful and storied music career nearly ended in 2009 when Billingsley severely injured his voice during a concert in Florida. What followed was a major surgery to remove a vocal cord and uncertain days ahead. The night before the surgery, friends gathered to pray over Billingsley and issued a challenging question that if he never sang again, would he still love and serve God? The answer was “I think so.” After five days of not speaking or singing, the vocal cords healed and Billingsley was shown a fresh view of God and His plan. “Sometimes the Lord makes you get quiet and get alone in order to get what it means to worship him,” Billingsley said. “Through all that, I learned how to worship again through no music or singing but the power of his presence. That rejuvenated me spiritually and physically. As result, the Lord put a new power in my ministry and in my singing too. I came back stronger and better than ever.” Billingsley, who has been leading … [Read more...]

By Lane Moore, Director of Missions of the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association SHREVEPORT – Southern Baptists are known for preacher meetings, business meetings and concerts, why not a prayer meeting? The Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association will have its first ever association-wide prayer meeting Jan. 31. With the spiritual state of affairs that we see in our cities, state and nation, it’s long overdue. This idea came from last summer’s Southern Baptist Convention. SBC President, Ronnie Floyd lead several thousand messengers through a night of prayer on Tuesday of the convention. It was one of best planned and organized sessions of a national convention that I had attended in a long time. During the Call For Spiritual Awakening on that evening last June, I knew I needed to call Northwest Association to prayer corporately. Working around 123 church’s calendars and regular schedules is a challenge. First Baptist Church of Bossier City helped me settle on a date and agreed to host the Prayer Event. About half of our 123 churches have Sunday night worship and we have asked them to join us that evening for prayer. We will follow the model Dr. Floyd used at the Convention. Nearly 50 full-time and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Life is priceless and thousands of Louisianians are expected to turn out for one of three pro-life marches scheduled for later this month in Shreveport/Bossier City, Baton Rouge and Alexandria/Pineville to declare that fact. The Baton Rouge and Shreveport/Bossier City marches are scheduled for Jan. 23 with a third, which was added just this year, taking place Jan. 30 in Alexandria/Pineville. The Louisiana Life Marches are a chance for different denominations, ages and ethnic and racial backgrounds to march together and pray to declare their opposition to the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. The theme for this year’s marches is “Life Is Priceless.” According to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, preliminary numbers for 2014 show 10,211 abortions took place, an average of 28 per day. The total represents an increase from the 9,976 abortions performed in 2013 and continues an upward trend from 9,225 in 2012 and 8,955 in 2011. Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Benjamin Clapper said that the recently released videos showing Planned Parenthood staff discussing the sale of body parts of babies, these marches remind the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – Prior to the Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference, Hispanics in the state will meet for their own version of the event at  First Baptist Lafayette. Scheduled for Jan. 22-23, the Hispanic Evangelism Conference will feature a banquet with music by El Renuevo and messages by Wilson Campoverde. El Renuevo is the Hispanic church at First Baptist Lafayette while Campoverde is a native of Cuenca, Ecuador, who has been serving churches in Latin America. He lives in Mission, Texas, and travels to many countries speaking at discipleship, evangelism and church planting conferences. “I am very excited about the ECON in South Central Louisiana since we now have four congregations in the area,” LBC’s Hispanic catalytic church planter strategist Carlos Schmidt said. “In 2015 we have had a phenomenal growth in LBC works in this area. We have tripled since 2013. We expect a good attendance, a strong challenge and a great number of people mobilized to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Since Schmidt came on board as a strategist for Louisiana Baptists, attendance at the conference has grown, reflective of the trend for the planting of Hispanic churches in the state. When … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message HOMER – The 2016 annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship will be held at First Baptist Church, Homer Jan. 30. The fellowship will begin at 9 a.m. This will be a time of worship and inspiration as speakers, including agricultural missionaries, discuss how God continues to use ag missions to help people help themselves. Anyone interested in this kind of mission activity is welcome and invited to attend. The Ag Missions Fellowship continues to support agricultural mission efforts with the Zapotec Indians of Southern Mexico, which has been an ongoing effort for several years and, by God’s providence, has been quite successful. The Fellowship broadened its scope of outreach during 2015 by initiating support for an ag missions effort in Eastern Europe. Consideration also is being given for agricultural mission projects to begin in Haiti and Uganda. God is opening doors and the need is great. The Louisiana Baptist Agricultural Missions Fellowship is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Membership is only $50 per year per family and all funds contributed go directly to the mission field. There also are opportunities to provide funds for … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Baptists are invited to attend a pre-Evangelism Conference event at a number of churches in Evangeline Baptist Association Jan. 24. Evangelists from the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists will preach and sing at 13 churches in the association for what is called a Harvest Weekend. Some evangelists will appear at churches for one day while others will be at a location for three days. Harvest Weekend organizers are excited about how God will use these evangelists before the Evangelism Conference, scheduled for Jan. 25-26 at First Baptist Church in Lafayette. “The harvest weekend is an emphasis that was begun by our vocational evangelist to assist churches in evangelism,” said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism and church growth director for Louisiana Baptists. “The evangelism division and local association cooperate with them. “Each year this has been a fruitful time for participating churches,” he said. “There are 13 churches participating this year. Preparation materials have been written for the church and evangelist that will assist in maximizing this evangelistic event.” The churches in the area are taking up an offering and the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – Christian comedian and musician Mark Lowry, a Texas native who broke into the entertainment business as a musician, will bring his famous blend of humor and encouraging words to hundreds of senior adults during the 2016 Senior Adult Luncheon at the Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference. “I love my seniors,” said Lowry when reached by the Baptist Message. “They’re my people!  Maybe because I’m almost a senior ... anyway ... I love ‘em! Born in Houston, Lowry overcame battles with Attention Deficit Disorder as a child to attend Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University) and launch a career that has included four-decades of making audiences laugh and leave encouraged. “I started making people laugh early in life,” he said, “because if people were laughing, they weren’t hollering at you. I was just trying to have fun. My dad used to whip me for cutting up in church. Now, I get to cut up all I want and get paid for it.” Scheduled during the second day of the Evangelism Conference at First Baptist Church in Lafayette, the Senior Adult Luncheon will take place from 11:15 am to 1:30 pm. Jeff Ingram, adult ministry strategist for Louisiana Baptists, said Lowry … [Read more...]