By Baptist Message staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Opening the Louisiana Senate with prayer, Kirk Jones, president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and pastor with Fellowship Church, Prairieville, asked God to give wisdom, strength and safety to these state leaders. “Father God, we thank you for this day,” he prayed. “I thank you for these who serve the people of Louisiana. Lord God, your Word tells us that if anyone lacks wisdom, that we can ask you for it and you will give it to us graciously. So, Lord, I know that they need wisdom and guidance and insight into the things that they’re deciding. So Lord, I pray that you would provide that for them. “Give them the strength and stamina to do the job,” Jones continued. “Lord God, I pray that you would watch over them and keep them. I pray that they would be able to hear your voice in the midst of all the things that they’re working on and doing. “Lord, I know there’s a lot of voices,” he said. “Father, I pray that they would know the voice of the Shepherd, and the voice of a stranger they would not follow. Lord God, I pray that you would keep watch over their families while many of them are away serving here. Lord, we thank you for the sacrifices they make in that. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer HOUMA, La. (LBM) – As Artemis II completed its recent 10-day mission that included traveling to the far side of the moon, retired NASA rocket scientist Clifton Arnold reflected about his part in helping make the journey a success. “Seeing the takeoff, landing and photos of the Artemis II mission is one of those moments that brings back memories of decades of hard work,” Arnold, pastor with Mechanicville Emmanuel Baptist Church and Kingdom Life Fellowship in Houma, told the Baptist Message. “A lot of people see the end result of preparation for launch or liftoff, but a lot goes into the years of engineering development and testing before you get to that point. “When you plan it, and it goes as planned, it’s awesome,” he continued. “It’s a great feeling to see all the work you’ve done and all the teams that you’ve led over the years get to that point of launch and landing.” Before retiring from NASA in 2025, Arnold served as program manager with NASA Headquarters in the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. During his time with NASA, his involvement with Artemis II included project manager for rocket propulsion testing and development, where he managed and oversaw … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer LEESVILLE, La. (LBM) – Approximately 47 people (of a crowd of about 1,000 who attended on "Church Night") responded to a plea to make a decision for Christ during the opening service of the West CENLA GO TELL America Crusade in the Leesville High School football stadium, April 13. At the invitation brought by Rick Gage, founder of GO TELL Crusades in Duluth, Ga., 23 attendees repented and declared Christ as Lord of their lives and another 24 repented for restoration with Christ. Earlier that morning, 10 people turned to Christ after a message to the First Baptist Church, Anacoco, by Ken Freeman, an evangelist from Martindale, Texas, and another five accepted the Lord after a message by Gage to the Good Hope Baptist Church, Anacoco. Additionally, a trustee with the Vernon Parish Jail became a Christ follower while setting up the crusade stage on April 11. After the crusade team had a time of prayer on the football field, a trustee began asking questions about why they prayed and the purpose of the event. Moments later, the trustee placed his faith in Christ and has asked to be baptized soon, according to Chad King, pastor with FBC Anacoco. “It was a great moment … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – As Artemis II captured the nation and world during its journey toward the moon,  Andrew Riddle, an engineer contracted by NASA and a member of First Baptist Church, New Orleans, said the lunar orbit highlighted God's creation. After graduating from Saint Louis University, Riddle moved to New Orleans and began working at Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans East as a propulsion engineer on the core stage of the space launch system rocket. After almost six years of work, he said that seeing it take off in person from Kennedy Space Center was surreal. FAITH-DRIVEN Riddle said his faith in the Lord plays a part in his appreciation of space and creation. “I’m driven by a desire to better understand creation, like many scientists and explorers throughout history,” Riddle told the Baptist Message. “The night sky especially has always left me in awe of God’s beauty, power and majesty.” He added that the mission has generated renewed excitement by many young people in space exploration. “I love seeing younger people get excited about this new era of exploration,” he said. “My dad grew up during the space race in the sixties and it had a huge impact … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MANDEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Nearly 150 staff and members with First Baptist Church, Mandeville, gathered inside the worship center to read all the way through the Bible during the last weekend in March, according to congregational sources. Held for the second year, “Our Eyes on your Word” began at the end of the congregation's Wednesday midweek worship, March 25, and concluded Sunday morning, March 29.  Men, women, boys and girls of all ages read passages aloud for an hour at a time around the clock. Pastor Ronny Cooksey read three times during the marathon: Genesis 1-2 to kick off the event, Ezekiel at 3 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, and Revelation 22 during the second worship service Sunday morning. The church live streamed the entire event so members and others could tune in and be encouraged any hour of the day. Cooksey said the 78-hour event was “low budget but highly engaging.” “It wasn’t very flashy, yet was so fun,” Cooksey told the Baptist Message. “On the one hand, it’s about lifting up the Lord’s Word and devoting a weekend to just elevating His Word. And then we had a team accomplishment feeling, where long-time and even new members came together for a fun event. “When I … [Read more...]