By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA - The Rapides Parish Coliseum became a house of prayer Monday night, Oct. 15. Dozens of people lined the altar after a call to pray for restoration and the lost by evangelist Ken Freeman on the second night of the Hope4U GO TELL Crusade. “We’re running out of time,” Freeman said moments earlier about the need to share Christ. “We’ve gotta get busy.” https://youtu.be/p0mmsi5dcPw Freeman shared his testimony of how he turned from an out of control life to a purpose-driven one anchored in Christ. After accepting a friend’s invitation to attend a church service in 1968, Freeman found Jesus. For more than 30 years, he has shared the Gospel at more than 3,000 churches and seen more than 200,000 individuals make a decision for Christ. He told the crowd Jesus can transform their lives too, if they repent of their sins and turn to Him. “I’m proof,” he said. “God can take a mess and make it His message.” At the invitation, 38 of the 783 in attendance came forward to declare Christ the Lord of their lives and eight made other decisions. The Hope4U GO TELL Crusade continues through Oct. 17 6:30 p.m. at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria. During today’s session, Scott Camp, … [Read more...]

By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustee chairman Frank Cox announced the names for the 11-member presidential search committee today (Oct. 11) and called on Southern Baptists to pray through the search process. "We ask that Southern Baptists pray for us as we seek God's man to lead New Orleans Seminary into the next century of ministry here in New Orleans and surrounding regions," Cox said. The NOBTS bylaws call for the trustee chairman to appoint a committee with 11 voting members -- including the board chairman, the immediate past chairman, one faculty member, one student and seven other board members. The president search committee is as follows: -- Bryant Barnes, trustee; pastor, First Baptist Church, Columbia, Miss.; -- Jack Bell, trustee; pastor, First Baptist Church, Hornbeck, La.; -- Frank Cox, trustee chairman; pastor, North Metro Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga.; -- John Foster, trustee; retired educator, New Orleans; -- David Leavell, trustee; pastor, First Baptist Church, Millington, Tenn.; -- Jackie Myers, trustee; education specialist, Sicily Island, La.; -- Gary Shows, trustee; pastor, Temple Baptist Church, … [Read more...]

By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees named Chuck Kelley as chancellor of the school through July 31, 2019, and approved the accelerated M.Div. program during their fall meeting Oct. 3. Kelley announced his plans to retire from the school on July 31, 2019, during the Oct. 2 Founders' Day chapel service. As a result, much of the board's work at the fall meeting centered on helping Kelley finish his presidential tenure and beginning the search for the next president. Naming Kelley chancellor was a required step in the initiation of the presidential search process. The bylaws state that the office of president must be vacant before the trustees can initiate the search. The role of chancellor clearly indicates the seminary will continue normal operations under Kelley's leadership while the trustees seek the next leader. Kelley expressed a strong desire to see a successor elected by the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year. This move makes this goal a possibility. "The combination of a strong, healthy board, a planned transition, and a clear process is a great blessing for our seminary," Kelley said. "We were able to work through all the issues and … [Read more...]

By Message Staff   CALHOUN – Revival has come to the First Baptist Church of Calhoun, after members began planning a lay renewal weekend October 12-14. “Renewal first involves repentance,” said Pastor Neil Everett. “God has been convicting us of sin in our lives that we need to get right with him. As people have confessed and repented and gotten right with the Lord, we have seen an increase of power of Holy Spirit moving in our midst.” Since July, a team of lay people within the church has met with the church staff to plan the weekend whose goal is to help Christ followers grow spiritually. Once First Calhoun formed its team leaders, they recruited many individuals who previously did not hold leadership roles in the church. Subsequently, those volunteers are now more enthusiastic about involvement in future ministry opportunities. Early on, the planning meetings became more than just discussing preparations for the weekend. Team members began sharing testimonies and praying together which led to personal spiritual renewal even though the weekend has not arrived. Above all, prayer has been at the forefront for change within the members. The church, which averages 250-300 for its Sunday morning worship, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SIMSBORO (LBM) – The sounds of hammers pounding and electric saws buzzing were music to the ears of Pastor Jason Cole as he surveyed members of the First Baptist Church in Simsboro tirelessly refurbishing a home in their community. Some installed shingles on a roof while others painted the siding and the porch on a home they have been remodeling for nearly four months. The members are there to renovate the house, he offered, but also to build a Christ-centered relationship with the homeowners through project Mission Simsboro. “We do this because we want people to see doing missions is not just foreign, national or state,” Cole said. “It’s local and all of the above. “We want people to be involved in missions as much as possible and have a chance to tell the good news of Jesus with those around us and encourage believers that we run into,” he emphasized to the Baptist Message. Since 2013, as many as 40 members from among the 90 persons who attend Sunday morning worship services have participated in various acts of kindness every fourth Sunday through Mission Simsboro, Cole said. They have hosted backyard Bible clubs, visited prospects and prayer walked neighborhoods, all of … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Baptism for several years seemed like it would remain just a dream for Belarusian teen Anna Atrohkina. Although Atrohkina accepted Jesus as Savior in 2015, she had not been able to attend the annual baptism services at her church in Mogilev, Belarus in either 2016 or 2017. The church does not have a baptistery and, because of extreme weather conditions in the winter, only baptizes once a year in a nearby river. So when the opportunity was presented August 5 at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, she jumped at the chance to be baptized. Surrounded by a few friends and several hundred others inside the worship center, Atrohkina stepped into the water for her long-awaited moment. “In my understanding, baptism for me is immersion in the death of Jesus Christ and renewal to a new life,” Atrohkina said in an e-mail to the Baptist Message. “The past is behind. Jesus gave me the chance to write a new book of my life.” Wayne Taylor, who is executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation, and his wife, Joanna, served as the host home during her Louisiana visit. They both beamed with excitement as Atrohkina stepped into the baptistery. “While in … [Read more...]