By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WASHINGTON – The ‘Energizer Bunny’ has nothing on church planter Louis Charrier. On any given Sunday morning, he is preaching from the pulpit at Washington Baptist Church, a congregation he has pastored since 1994. Later, Charrier travels 25 miles south to New Life Church in Arnaudville, where he will lead a Bible study. In between, he even stops off to visit with a prospect who recently attended a service at the third church he pastors, Bayou Life Church in Cottonport. While juggling three churches at once can present a challenge, Charrier said the rewards outweigh any drawbacks. “What keeps me going is the calling,” Charrier said. “If you start to think about the plans for the week or month, it can be overwhelming. You have to take the task at hand one day at a time. God will call you and supply all you need.” Charrier first felt the call to plant churches while attending the 1986 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at First Baptist Church in Lake Charles. The emphasis that year was Mission 90, which was a campaign with a goal to start 250 missions and ministries throughout the next five years. He came back to Miller French Baptist Church in Iota, where he … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter ADDIS – When Elizabeth Hill was asked why she and her husband George were baptized at The Church at Addis by Pastor Thomas Shepard, her face broke into big smile. “God brought us here,” Elizabeth Hill, 53, said, following the Feb. 21 service. “This is like a First Century church.” Her husband of 16 years, George Hill, 79, a lifelong Presbyterian and a well-known, retired businessman, agreed. He opened his worn Bible to Acts  2:47, and read aloud, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ Well, that’s what’s going on right here. If not daily at least weekly.” Hill pointed to the front of the sanctuary where Shepard and several members were visiting with a young married couple who’d come forward to join and a young woman seeking baptism. “This is a dynamic church and I want to be a part of it,” Hill said. Shepard said they’ve baptized around 300 people, mostly adult Catholics, and he baptizes someone nearly every Sunday. “We have a massive amount of adult Catholics baptized,” Shepard said. “We‘re saturated with Catholics in this area.” “I was raised a Catholic so coming from that background I’m able to convey the message in a way that they … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA – As he visited with homeowners affected by a powerful tornado that badly damaged more than 200 homes in LaPlace, Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief director, was reminded again of why Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief exists – to show the love of Christ in a tragic situation. Among those he met was Pat Murphy, a single woman living alone in the LaPlace area. When McMillan arrived on the scene, Murphy’s two sisters were being assisted by a disaster relief team in removing debris from her yard. “She moved to LaPlace after Hurricane Katrina where she lost her home in New Orleans,” McMillan said. “She wept as the team prayed with her and her sisters.” Murphy was served by a large team of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from throughout the state. Hours after a series of tornadoes touched down in a number of southeast Louisiana communities, the disaster relief teams were on standby, ready for activation. At least 12 tornadoes touched down in the state Feb. 23, the National Weather Service confirmed. Convent, LaPlace, Paincourtville and Livingston Parish sustained the most significant damage with winds of 111-135 miles per hour … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MONROE – Under construction for the last seven months, a new cottage -- the first in 40 years -- is ready to be unveiled according to Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home President and CEO Perry Hancock. Designed to provide trastional living for women and their children as they prepare for independent living, the cottage is scheduled to be dedicated April 22 at 10:30 a.m. Hancock informed trustees as the Home’s spring board meeting. The HomePlace Cottages, which are located at Martin Village, provide homeless women and their children housing for up to one year at no cost to the residents. While there, the women receive training for a high school equivalency degree and are given life and employment skills training through the Christian Women’s Job Corps. Two more cottages are planned for the near future as additional funds become available. Proceeds from the Brenda Hall Abney Golf Classic, sponsored by Roy O. Martin Lumber Company in Alexandria, is the major funding source for the cottages. Hancock said he had received numerous comments about the positive impact the HomePlace ministry has made on the women. “Many of our churches are providing support for the women,” … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Despite news reports and surveys saying the Millennial generation is not committed to the church, Michael Wood came away encouraged by this generation of students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference. “I’m so encouraged hearing from so many of you who have put your yes on the table,” Wood told a crowd of around 700, mostly college students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries throughout the state. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes. Wherever it takes me, the answer is yes.” Wood, who is pastor at First Baptist Church in West Monroe, challenged the students throughout the two-day conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria to make a difference for Christ in the near and far places. Citing Nehemiah 2:8, Wood said the prophet Nehemiah was presented with a mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He said Nehemiah realized what his mission was after four months of praying and fasting and thus approached the king to seek permission and funding to carry out the task. “Rebuilt walls stand on the foundation of God’s presence and power,” Wood said. “And they are framed with a clear mission.” Likewise, students are tasked with a similar … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Matt Duff resigns as Worship leader at Vidalia First Baptist Church. Taylor Freeland is new as pastor at Tillou Baptist Church, Bastrop. Bill Haley is new as music minister at Clark Springs Baptist Church, Eros. Charles Dupree resigned as pastor at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe. HOMECOMING Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: 34th Annual Homecoming, March 13, 11 a.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Paul’s Journey will be in concert at 1:30 p.m. A love offering will be taken. The church is located at 8735 Hwy 1200, Boyce, LA. Pastor: Johnny Miller. Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell: 55th anniversary, March 13, 11 a.m. There will be a luncheon after the services. Pastor: Arron McGuffee. Trinity Baptist Church, Oak Grove: 54th anniversary, March 13. This will also begin our Spring Revival, March 13-16, Sunday, 10:15 a.m.; Sunday evening, 6 p.m., and Monday-Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Evangelist: Bill Robertson. Music: Ben Waites will provide music Sunday morning while Richard Ainsworth will direct music Sunday evening through Wednesday. Pastor: Rayburn McLarrin. REVIVAL Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: Revival, March 10-12, 7 p.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Pastor: Johnny Miller. First Baptist Church, … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary preaching professor Dennis Phelps is serving as the 2015-2016 president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. EHS promotes the exchange of ideas related to instruction in biblical preaching, academic publication in homiletics and the effective communication of the Gospel from a biblical-theological standpoint. Phelps joined the NOBTS faculty in 2006 and occupies the J.D. Grey Chair of Preaching. He has 19 years in theological education, including 10 at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and more than 21 years in pastoral ministry. In addition to his teaching duties, Phelps also leads the alumni relations office at NOBTS. Phelps is a frequent guest presenter at preaching conferences, including a pastors’ preaching and evangelism conference in Belarus, and has appeared regularly at the E-4 Preaching Conference, a collaborative expository preaching conference hosted by the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Seminary and Louisiana College. EHS will mark its 20-year anniversary when it convenes in October at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Phelps assumed EHS’ … [Read more...]

By Message Staff PINEVILLE – God speaks to Christians in many ways and places. What comes next is a simple but challenging requirement … saying yes to God, no matter what the cost. “God speaks to us in all sorts of places, in all sorts of ways,” Kevin Adams told Louisiana College students and others on Wednesday evening. “And the challenge for us tonight is, are we going to say yes Lord.” Adams’ message was part of a three-day Joseph Willis Symposium and Revival that ends tonight at LC. Adams is pastor of East Baptist Church in Lynn, Mass., and a Welsh revival historian. During his three days at LC, Adams has spoken each night during the revival, as well as in chapel and classes on campus. He also was part of a panel discussion Wednesday evening, March 2, about the subject of revival. Among his topics during the symposium was how God used 26-year-old Evan Roberts to spread revival in 1904 in Wales. The revival resulted in 100,000 people coming to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. He emphasized to the crowd, which consisted mostly of LC students, that not all of them will have a testimony like Roberts. But having a testimony, he told the audience, is important because it can make a difference … [Read more...]