By Baptist Message staff DERIDDER, La. (LBM) - Lynn Clayton, former editor of the Baptist Message, died Nov. 5. Clayton arrived in Louisiana in 1978, after serving as editor of the state newspaper in Kansas. He retired in 2005, after serving 27 years as editor of the Baptist Message. During his time with the Baptist Message, Clayton stabilized the newspaper's finances, growing its endowment and reserve funds, and he engineered several redesigns of the newspaper and upgraded its production. Additionally, Clayton won numerous writing awards, especially for his editorials and his popular “On Second Thought” reflections in the newspaper. Beyond his role as editor, Clayton served in various Southern Baptist and community positions, including as chair of the then-Christian Life Commission and as head of the Association of State Baptist Publications, a Southern Baptist state editors organization. He also served on staff with Louisiana Baptist churches, including as minister of music and later mission pastor with First Baptist Church, DeRidder (September 2003-October 2004), pastor, New Life Baptist Church, DeRidder (October 2003-April 2017), and  interim pastor, Texas Avenue Baptist Church, DeRidder (March-December 2021). Tributes … [Read more...]

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By Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBMO – Recent data shows that numbers are lagging in 2026 for churches who have submitted the Annual Church Profile. This survey collects essential information across the state and is used to gauge the health and growth of congregations as well as to help plan the cooperative missions and ministries of Louisiana Baptists. So far, only 935 or 62.5 percent of churches have contributed to the database in 2026, compared to an average of about 82 percent for each of the prior three years. Shana Johnson, Louisiana Baptists’ support supervisor for Information Services, told the Baptist Message the numbers of reporting churches “are way behind” at this point in the year, but she also offered resources and assistance to help congregations to catch up. “There are blank ACP forms to print off on LouisianaBaptists.org under ‘ACP Forms and Resources,’” she shared. “Also, if a church does not have their credentials for accessing LaOne.org to complete the survey online, I would be happy to assist them.” The ACP survey is a vital tool for assessing the effectiveness of methods and strategies for church planting and outreach, and it helps to identify areas where there is a need for a greater Louisiana … [Read more...]

By Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana Baptist Convention is sending out letters to explain a change by the Internal Revenue Service in how it qualifies group exemptions for churches. Revenue Procedure 2026-8, issued by the IRS in January, ended a freeze that had been in place since 2026 that prohibited the granting of new group exemptions. The new IRS rule also modified what churches must do to be part of an umbrella Group Exemption like the one granted to the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Now Louisiana Baptist congregations must complete a form that declares their desire to participate in the LBC Group Exemption, instead of relying on the IRS to presume their participation by way of affiliation with the LBC. Dale Lingenfelter, chief financial officer and associate executive director for Louisiana Baptists, told the Baptist Message that completing and signing the form “will not affect the autonomy of the local church.” He also said that a church can choose not to participate and instead seek its own letter of exemption from the IRS. Lingenfelter also shared that churches must complete and sign the form (whether the answer is “yes” or “no”) and return it to the LBC Executive Board in Alexandria via email … [Read more...]