By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – Several months after a search began for Louisiana Christian University’s next president, nearly 100 alumni, faculty, and staff of the school along with community leaders gathered for an update at a Town Hall meeting inside the Granberry Conference Room on campus, Aug. 8. BACKGROUND The Town Hall was the second of seven scheduled Town Hall meetings around the state that will offer additional insight from those interested in the search for the next president and in the direction of the school moving forward. Rick Brewer retired in March as the 9th president of the nearly 120-year-old institution. David Jeffreys, who served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2022, was then appointed by the board as acting president, and a presidential search committee was formed. The search committee enlisted the firm of Carter Baldwin Executive Search of Alpharetta, Georgia. The firm has been recognized by Forbes as one of the country’s “Best Recruiting Firms” and, according to the company’s website, it has built and honed an engineered, collaborative, tested and effective search process, and its nonprofit practice helps the world’s … [Read more...]

NOTE: The Baptist Message provides churches an opportunity to share with other Louisiana Baptists an upcoming revival, homecoming, new pastor, new staff member, a community outreach, or a concert in Louisiana Notables. To place your event in the paper, send your information (who, what, where, when, time) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. Please submit your information four weeks prior to the event to insure placement in the Message. ON THE MOVE Eric Halphen is the new music minister at Providence Baptist Church, Baton Rouge. Louis Husser retires as Pastor at Crossgate Church, Robert. Alex, wife Renee, Dupree is the new minister of youth and children at Bethel Baptist, Bastrop. Caleb Whitten is the new worship pastor at Judson Baptist Church, Walker. John, wife Sharon Gibson, Cleveland has stepped down as pastor of Pioneer Baptist Church, Pioneer. Jeff, wife Angela, Hoffman is the new Associational Strategist for Bienville, Webster, Claiborne Baptists Associations as Randy Hales retires following 23 years of service. Tommy Inman is the new pastor at Magnola Baptist Church, Saline. Marvin Bartlett is the new pastor at Ford Park Baptist Church, Shreveport. Alex, wife Renee, Dupree is the … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff WOODWORTH, La. (LBM) – Individuals with special needs will experience a full slate of activities during the upcoming Champions Camp, Sept. 6-8 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center, Woodworth. The camp will match participants with buddies who will accompany them throughout the weekend. The camp will feature games, activities, crafts, karaoke, worship and Bible study designed for children and adults, ages 8 and up, who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. Champions Camp Director David Anderson, who also serves as Louisiana Baptists’ children’s ministry strategist, said individuals with special needs along with their families are one of the most unreached people groups in the state. He cited a 2022-2023 study from the National Center for Education, which found that the number of students ages 3–21 who received special education and/or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was 7.5 million, or the equivalent of 15 percent of all public-school students. “Our friends and family members that deal with special needs in their lives are just like everyone else,” Anderson told the Baptist Message. “They want to lead as normal lives as possible with friends … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer COVINGTON, La. (LBM) – On the heels of a presidential election, the Concerned Women for America’s “She Prays She Votes” bus tour recently made a stop at Lakeshore Church to encourage more than 150 women and a handful of men to pray for the United States and vote. Launched at the Republican National Convention in July, the tour features stops at 12 states through Aug. 20, and includes messages from elected officials and other speakers, food, giveaways and a large pink bus. “We're going coast to coast this summer just to pray over the election and then encourage Christians to be engaged in the upcoming election because we believe in the values and the importance of what we’re voting on in the voting booths,” Concerned Women for America spokesperson Macy Petty told the Baptist Message moments before the start of the Aug. 5 rally. “And ultimately, these are spiritual issues. We know that the devil can do harm through elections and politics, and it's another arena that we need to be engaged in and where we need to be fighting for Christian values. We continue to see women stand up to this call, really engage in amazing ways and stand boldly in faith.” State Sen. Heather … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MONROE, La. (LBM) - The Louisiana Baptist Children's Home & Family Ministries gathered on July 16 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Legacy Room. The room celebrates 125 years of sharing Christ's love with children, their mothers and countless others around the state. The Legacy Room inside the Rucker-Austin Center on the Monroe campus features a chronological timeline of events covering all four walls and artifacts from its history. The LBCHFM was birthed in 1899 when William Cooksey, pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church, Bernice, had a vision to start an orphanage. Since then, the entity relocated from Lake Charles to Monroe and expanded its ministry to see thousands of families impacted by the Gospel through foster care and adoption; compassion ministry; job training for women; ministry to homeless women and their children; counseling services; and a ministerial care residential program. "We're celebrating what God has done for 125 years here at the Louisiana Baptist Children's Home," LBCHFM President and CEO Perry Hancock told the crowd during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "From its beginnings as the Louisiana Baptist Orphanage to the multifaceted … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer INDIANAPOLIS (LBM) – Gary Bowlin and Sammy Tippit, two evangelists with ties to Louisiana, were recently elected to the Southern Baptist Evan­gelists Hall of Faith. Bowlin is a past presi­dent of the Louisiana Conference of South­ern Baptist Evangelists and Sammy Tippit is an evangelist who accepted Christ at Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge. Bowlin, who now re­sides in Summit, Miss., and Tippit, who now lives in San Antonio, Texas, told the Baptist Message they are humbled that their names are included in the display hosted in the Southern Baptist Building in Nashville, Tennessee, alongside the names of so many others they have come to know during their respective evangelistic ministries. “It’s just beyond my wildest expectations to have my name listed among them,” Bowlin said after the June 10 ceremony in Indianapolis, Indiana. “I’ve tried to be faithful to the calling God has placed on my life, and this was a way for Him just to bless me. My peers voted me in and that means a lot.” Tippit echoed the thought. “When I was inducted into the SBC Evangelists Hall of Faith in June, it was a marker for me of God’s grace and faithfulness to me over six … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM) — Cedric Davis entered Bossier Parish Maximum Facility in April, but just two months later the 45-year-old, convicted for simple burglary, gained a permanent reprieve from a spiritual death sentence. “Satan left and Jesus entered into my body,” an ecstatic Davis told the Baptist Message. Davis responded to a Gospel invitation offered by Kyle Williams, a Louisiana Baptist evangelist from Sarepta and a religious volunteer at the prison. Davis was among 41 inmates who made decisions to follow Christ during a jail visit by a team of 25, June 29. Throughout the morning, the volunteers visited various dormitories to pray and share the Gospel with inmates. Williams (a member of Willow Point Baptist Church, Shreveport) and other local ministers will follow up with the 41 inmates and disciple them during weekly visits. “These men that made decisions are no longer bound by sin and have been forgiven of all unrighteousness,” said Williams, who has visited inmates inside the prison since 2010. “For the believer, leading someone to Christ is the pinnacle. It doesn’t get any better this side of Heaven. What a blessing to see men cross over from death to … [Read more...]