News from the churches Potpourri n WALKER – Judson church: Joe Aguillard, guest speaker; Aug. 27, 10:30 a.m.; Merlin McCon, pastor. n WEST MONROE – First church: “It’s a Mom Thing” women’s conference; Aug. 26, 8:30 a.m. registration – 4 p.m.; Chonda Pierce, Jennifer Rothschild, Kim Hill, Jill Rigby, Joneal Kirby and Gigi Schweikert, guest speakers; Sandi Patty, musical guest; $53 per person/$15 meal package; $55 per person at the door/meal package not available; to register, call (318) 322-5104 ext. 157, (318) 396-3122 or (800) 858-4109; Barry Haire, communications pastor; Bob Utley, interim pastor. n MANY – First church: “A Night of Encouragement” featuring Dennis Swanberg; Aug. 27, 6 p.m. at the Many High School gym; love offering accepted; Steve Kelly, pastor. n HARRISONBURG – First church: Ouachita Associational Evangelism Rally; Aug. 27, 5:30 p.m.; Mack Walker, evangelism director; Ralph Webber, director of missions. n ST. FRANCISVILLE – First church: Benji Harlan to present special music program; Aug. 20, 6 p.m.; Joe Ratcliff, pastor. n PINEVILLE – Louisiana College: “Ridgecrest in Cenla” church leadership and Sunday school teacher training; Aug. 26, 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.; Joe … [Read more...]
Church newsletters provide good info
NEW COLUMN, because you might be interested in seeing what other churches across the state are doing – local ministries, church program, inreach and outreach Each week Section Editor Rhonda Havens reads through all the church newsletters, looking for specific information that she uses for the Louisiana People, Places and Events column. When I was looking through the latest batch of newsletters, I saw a lot of information that didn’t fit in Rhonda’s column. It seemed to me that you might be interested in what other churches are doing across the state – local ministries, church programs, inreach and outreach. So I took the time to set down a page’s worth, all in alphabetical order. Let the Message know if you like this column or not. And send in your newsletter so we can report what your church is doing! I also noticed some things missing from some church newsletters; check yours to make sure it includes the pastor’s name, your mailing address and phone number with area code. Airline Baptist, Bossier City; Chad Grayson, pastor: A MOPS – mothers of preschoolers – ministry started Aug. 6. World Changers was here. Youth and youngsters attended Camp Fuego and Centrikid. Sunday School teachers/workers … [Read more...]
God calls ‘ordinary woman’
OAKDALE – “It all started two years ago last February,” says Vicki Booth, a member at First Baptist Oakdale and a clerk at Wal-Mart. OAKDALE – “It all started two years ago last February,” says Vicki Booth, a member at First Baptist Oakdale and a clerk at Wal-Mart. But really it started when she was 13, Booth acknowledges. That’s when at a GA conference in Texas she told God, “Whatever You want to do with my life, You can have it.” She thought it would be what then was known as ‘foreign missions’ – perhaps as a missionary in Africa. But instead God used teenage rebellion, the kidnapping of her child, Vietnam War, betrayal by her best friend and more, so that today she speaks “with authority,” Booth says. She works at Wal-Mart, and uses that as her primary point of impact, though leaders at First Oakdale credit Booth with instigating the church’s upcoming city-wide Mother-Daughter Incredible Love conference, which will deal with sexual purity in a town where even 10-year-olds get pregnant, and which will involve both blacks and whites in a town where there haven’t been many joint efforts. But to start two years ago last February, Booth felt strangely compelled to chaperone teens on a church-sponsored ski … [Read more...]
Abstinence leads in Oakdale event
OAKDALE – Katrina helped bridge a path between the black and white parts of this small town; now women are working together to address a common problem: premarital sex. A day-long, city-wide, mother/daughter conference is set for Sept. 9 at First Baptist Church here, which, once pristinely white, was home for more than four-and-a-half months to about 75 refugees from New Orleans, all of whom were black. “I’ve worked in the schools for many years,” said event chairperson Phyllis Callahan. “I see the need in the schools, and in the community.” Marilyn Morris, founder and president of Aim For Success Inc., which she says is “America’s largest provider of abstinence programs,” has agreed to lead a Saturday morning session and also to speak Friday afternoon at a rally for Oakdale junior and senior high school girls. Aim For Success encourages the character values of self-control, self-respect and self-discipline in the lives of teenagers, according to its website: www.aimforsuccess.org. The conference also is to include a fashion show, lunch, door prizes and Allison Martin from Granberry Counseling Center as the Saturday afternoon guest speaker. “It’s going to teach young women – and their mothers – that they matter, … [Read more...]
1,788 people in Brazil meet Jesus
ALEXANDRIA–LBC evangelism team leader Wayne Jenkins reported 1,788 profession of faiths, construction of a chapel, and hundreds of people treated by medical and dental teams on the state convention’s annual summer mission project to Brazil. ALEXANDRIA–LBC evangelism team leader Wayne Jenkins reported 1,788 profession of faiths, construction of a chapel, and hundreds of people treated by medical and dental teams on the state convention’s annual summer mission project to Brazil. The teams also enhanced a security wall for an orphanage that was being pillaged by neighborhood gangs. This year’s projects were in San Paulo, the New York City of South America, with project needs identified by Southern Baptist missionaries on assignment in the region. “In all, 149 people went with us and we worked with 17 churches,” Jenkins said. “We did revivals and evangelism campaigns. We had a building team that built a chapel in 5 days that will seat about 150.Our construction team built a security wall around an orphanage and we started on a dormitory. We had five medical /dental teams that treated a little over 2,000 patients. We even had a sports team that used basketball and shared the gospel. “God uses all kinds of skills to help us … [Read more...]
Pastoring in a pressure cooker
NEW ORLEANS – If you ask the pastors of Louisiana’s hurricane affected areas how they are doing, the most common answer is tired. Fatigue comes with the territory of being a pastor in a pressure cooker. NEW ORLEANS – If you ask the pastors of Louisiana’s hurricane affected areas how they are doing, the most common answer is tired. Fatigue comes with the territory of being a pastor in a pressure cooker. Joe Williams, chaplain for the North American Mission Board, helps pastors and staff members deal with the emotions they are feeling after the storm. Since arriving in the New Orleans area, he has warned ministers of compassion fatigue. Using the analogy of a sponge, he describes how ministers soak up family, church and personal stress until they burn out or are wrung out. If they are wrung out, most pastors repeat the process, able to absorb less each time, until they burn out. The norm is that 80 percent of all staff members will leave an area after a major catastrophe in 18-24 months, mainly due to burnout. “Leading a church through a disaster is so energy-consuming that you could do it only once every 10 years because it takes several years out of your life,” First Ponchatoula’s pastor, Jake Roudkovski, … [Read more...]
Disaster Relief reigns victorious
Before the storm made landfall in the wee hours of Aug. 29 near Buras, LBC disaster relief leaders made arrangements for what Jones called “the granddaddy of hurricanes.” A week later, 16 units from Louisiana had been activated to minister in the state. By the end of the 2005, four kitchen units, 10 chainsaw and one shower unit had responded to the largest disaster relief effort in Baptist history. LAPLACE – Cal Jones never will forget the excitement on the faces of Louisiana Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers in LaPlace after a physically- and emotionally-draining 12-hour day of feeding thousands of people. One by one, workers reported leading Hurricane Katrina victims to a relationship with Jesus. Though the number varied, one female worker led 15 people to accept Christ that day. However, the scene was not just limited to LaPlace. Site after site in Louisiana, disaster relief volunteers shared stories of leading Katrina victims to a personal relationship with Christ. “Seeing others come to Christ is the main reason Southern Baptists started disaster relief,” Jones, who served as interim LBC disaster relief director earlier this year, said. “We wanted to show the victims of the storm that we cared and the … [Read more...]
Overview: City under siege from all sides
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A thin edge of normality veils the emotional trauma of living for the last year in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which has been called the nation’s worst-ever natural disaster. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A thin edge of normality veils the emotional trauma of living for the last year in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which has been called the nation’s worst-ever natural disaster. As Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page noted after being in New Orleans July 17, “I quickly realized that there is no way to see the absolute scope of devastation without visiting there personally. Literally, mile after mile of devastation greets any visitor.” A year into Katrina recovery, the situation in greater New Orleans remains acute, and some pastors are to the point of emotional exhaustion. “The hardest thing about being in New Orleans at the present time is seeing the devastation every day. It’s still an awful sight to drive through the flood zone,” said David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans. “Another hard thing is saying goodbye to your friends, weekly,” Crosby said. Despite a city-imposed Aug. 29 deadline for home repairs to be started or contracted for, only … [Read more...]
Page: We can make a difference
TAYLORS, S.C. (BP) – Words cannot express the depth of emotion that I have felt recently, having returned from a trip to New Orleans and surrounding areas. TAYLORS, S.C. (BP) – Words cannot express the depth of emotion that I have felt recently, having returned from a trip to New Orleans and surrounding areas. Like many people, I had seen media reports on the damage of Hurricane Katrina. However, I quickly realized that there is no way to see the absolute scope of devastation without visiting there personally. Literally, mile after mile of devastation greets any visitor. I was there at the invitation of David Crosby, pastor of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans. (By the way, that church has maintained a 10 percent giving level to the Cooperative Program, even during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina!) David and I have known one another for many years. While there, I spoke at the First Baptist Church of Covington, La., which is under the capable leadership of Waylon Bailey. I also was privileged to speak to the many leaders of the greater New Orleans area.Pray for them as many in their congregations are experiencing an ongoing lassitude. But in the midst of the horrible devastation, there were bright spots. As we … [Read more...]
NAMB shows national response
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – At the national level, more than 30,000 people, churches, associations and state conventions have given $23.8 million through the North American Mission Board for Katrina-related disaster relief and recovery efforts. ALPHARETTA, Ga. – At the national level, more than 30,000 people, churches, associations and state conventions have given $23.8 million through the North American Mission Board for Katrina-related disaster relief and recovery efforts. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program was tapped for $12.5 million. The SBC Executive Committee last September allocated to Katrina relief the beyond-the-budget giving of Southern Baptists that had been received the previous fiscal year. New Orleans Theological Seminary received half of the total; SBC Disaster Relief received 25 percent; Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama state conventions received the remaining 25 percent. To date, Louisiana has received $4.5 million and Mississippi, $4.7 million from NAMB. About $500,000 each was disbursed to Alabama, Florida, Baptist General Convention of Texas and Southern Baptists of Texas state conventions. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary received about $150,000. About $1.1 million was … [Read more...]
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