By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Helping Hands Thrift Store in Pineville has donated a portion of its proceeds from the sale of its facility to the CENLA Pregnancy Center in Alexandria. Representatives of both organizations gathered at the pregnancy center office in Alexandria on March 11 to celebrate the unspecified gift that will help further the pro-life cause. Although both parties preferred humbleness, over announcing the actual amount, both conceded it was a sizeable contribution. In that regard, CENLA Pregnancy Center Director Claire Lemoine said the generous gift will help expand services in such areas as: pregnancy decision coaching by trained advocates; pregnancy testing; ultrasound imaging; counseling about pregnancy options; distributing maternity and physical resources; and, providing post-decision support (parenting education and abortion recovery group classes). “We are incredibly grateful to Mr. Ray Powell and the board of directors of Helping Hands for a timely gift to us,” Lemoine told the Baptist Message. “God has provided for our needs and continues to provide for the future needs of the center.” Ray Powell, director of Helping Hands -- who attends both the First … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MANY, La. (LBM) – Many High School’s gymnasium became the center of a Holy Spirit movement during the Sabine 2020 revival, March 8-11. By the end of the four-day event, 17 people came forward to declare Christ as Lord, 76 indicated a desire to restore fellowship with the Lord and one individual proclaimed a call to ministry. Attendance ranged from 800 to more than 1,200 for each of the sessions. FIND HOPE Throughout the revival, evangelist Sammy Tippit urged those attending the services to find hope in a relationship with Christ. “Hope is here because Jesus is here,” Tippit told 1,000 people gathered inside Many High School’s gymnasium Sunday, March 8. “There is life in Jesus. “He gives abundant life,” he continued. “Do you have the Son living in you?” Tippit shared how Christ transformed his life when he was a freshman at LSU in 1965. Although he was raised in church, Tippit never surrendered to Jesus and eventually chose a life of partying. But during an evangelistic harvest event at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Tippit turned to Christ and surrendered to preach two nights later. Since then, he has conducted evangelistic crusades and other events in more … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Twenty-five students came to the altar to cry out publicly to the Lord for personal renewal during the recent Louisiana College spring campus revival. Held inside Guinn Auditorium, March 10-12, the revival featured challenging messages by Blake Newsom, pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, and music led by the worship staff of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, the LC Elevate worship band and the Voices of LC. Philip Caples, the LC vice president for the integration of faith and learning, said the fruit of the revival will be seen in the months to follow both on campus and in the community. “I am grateful to see our students praying over each other and for each other, which is a sign of revival happening on our campus,” Caples told the Baptist Message. In his messages, Newsom challenged students to reach out to Jesus and allow Him to rescue them from the abyss of their sins. “We need someone outside the depths who can go into the depths and pull us out,” Newsom said. “And that’s what Jesus has done.” He encouraged the students to admit their need for repentance and seek God’s forgiveness. “Sin can grip us so tightly we … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BLANCHARD (LBM) – On a day when the nation faced uncertainty from the pandemic of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), members of the First Baptist Church in Blanchard witnessed the hope found in Christ with the baptism of four new converts on March 15. BAPTIZED BY WATER Andrew Roe, 18, was among those who shared their testimony of belief through baptism that day,and one of nine believers baptized by the congregation in 2020. He professed his faith in Christ during a church-wide revival that saw 100 people turn to Christ, Feb. 16-21. His dad, Jamie Roe, was given the honor of baptizing Andrew, and described the moment as emotional. “I cried like a baby when I did it,” the father told the Baptist Message. “I was so happy when we trusted God and we had worship that day. It does give us a sense of hope, knowing that Jesus is still in the saving business.” Pastor Clay Fuqua credits prayer as a factor for the Holy Spirit moving during the revival, which drew as many as 211 worshipers for one of the sessions. During the month prior to the revival, the congregation participated in 21 days of prayer, and fasted every Thursday. Additionally, they received a daily text … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists are facing a new normal since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to the shutdown of schools, restaurants, entertainment venues, other businesses and churches in mid-March. President Donald J. Trump has essentially closed down U.S. borders, banning foreign travel to our country from coronavirus hot spots in Europe as well as Asia and the Middle East. He also has issued guidelines for protecting individuals from infection, asking Americans to work from home if at all possible and to limit assemblies to no more than 10 people. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issued a proclamation March 13 that mandated all events of more than 250 people in attendance be halted through April 13, but days later decreed even tighter limits, restricting gatherings to no more than 50 people, leaving many people of faith wondering how to worship on Sundays and hold other church-related activities. In response to the directives from federal and state officials, the Louisiana Baptist Building in Alexandria closed March 18 and will reopen April 1. All state mission service personnel has been assigned specific tasks which can be done at home. LBC events … [Read more...]

By Louisiana Baptist Children's Home communications MONROE, La. (LBCH) - Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries is joining efforts to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. All administrative and support service offices on the Monroe campus will be closed from Saturday March 21st through Sunday April 5th, LBCH President and CEO Perry Hancock said. Administrative staff will continue their work through remote access portals. Granberry Counseling Centers will serve clients through a secured teleconferencing network. The Children’s Home will continue services for all children, young adults, and families in residence. The campus will be closed to visitors. Campus tours and church group activities will be rescheduled. These measures and others will reduce the exposure that our residents and staff have to the virus, Hancock said. "Ultimately, we trust God to accomplish His will and purpose through this crisis," Hancock said. "Know that our LBCHFM family is praying for you as you pray for us. Remember Philippians 4:6, 7 - 'Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)—Based on advisories from local, state, and federal health officials, Louisiana College administrators have updated responses to the coronavirus COVID-19. All public events previously scheduled for the current semester have been postponed. The May 9 Commencement services are rescheduled for August 8 and will be held in Guinn Auditorium: one at 10 a.m. for undergraduate students and the other at 2 p.m. for graduate students. Both services will be livestreamed. On March 30 and for the remainder of the semester, face-to-face classes will transition to online classes for remote learning. “For students without Wi-fi access, we are asking local churches to give students access to their Wi-fi,” said Louisiana College President Dr. Rick Brewer. For students who opt to remain on campus for the rest of this semester, Louisiana College’s food service will remain uninterrupted. However, all cafeteria meals will be take-out. No meals will be served in the cafeteria. For the foreseeable future, LC is discontinuing all campus food service to the local community. During the March 23-27 Spring Break, the Den and Starbucks will be closed. Subway will remain open. The Student Success … [Read more...]

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) –  During a special time of prayer March 16, Louisiana Baptists Executive Director Steve Horn told state missions staff to not succumbed to panic but to pray. “We pray because we should always pray,” Horn told the Baptist Message. “Specific to our present crisis, we pray because we need God’s intervention. We also need God’s wisdom. Pastors are literally having to throw out one model of ministry and develop an entire new model for ministry. We are having to do that as a state mission services staff as well.” Horn led state missions staff in prayers for God to stop the pandemic and save lives; for President Donald Trump and other government leaders; for the Lord to grant wisdom in this moment of fear; and for God to protect SBC missionaries and their families, and emergency responders. The same prayers were the focus of Southern Baptist churches during a day of prayer on Sunday, March 15. Horn offered Luke 18:1-8, James 1:5 and 2 Chronicles 6:28-31 as encouraging verses to look toward in the days ahead. State missions staff will continue to pray at 9:30 a.m. daily at the Baptist Building in Alexandria until further notice, Horn said. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) — Amid event cancellations, school closures and bans on meetings of more than 250 people statewide in the wake of Coronavirus 2019, COVID-19, Louisiana Baptist churches moved ahead with worship services Sunday, March 15. Some churches employed social media to broadcast services, many preceded with normal operations and others added services to accommodate enough worshipers that would allow them to comply with Governor John Bel Edwards' proclamation issued March 13. Edwards mandated that all events of more than 250 people in attendance temporarily were halted to protect the health and safety of Louisiana’s citizens. He also ordered all public schools closed from March 16 to April 13, and reduced face-to-face public interaction at state government buildings. Churches also joined other churches across the Southern Baptist for a dedicated day of prayer for the situation. Bonita Road Baptist Church, which averages 400 people on Sundays, held worship services simultaneously at two locations on its main campus in Log Cabin so it would not exceed the limit on meetings of more than 250 people, Pastor Casey Johnson told the Baptist Message. The church’s campus in Mer … [Read more...]