By Message Staff JENA – Hundreds of people came forward, knelt, and filled the altar to pray for lost souls in a stirring, powerful moment during the second night of Tomorrow’s Hope Crusade. Answering a call by evangelist Scott Camp, people streamed out of the stands and to the altar to pray for family, friends and neighbors Monday night, Sept. 24. “Do you have a burden for someone? I want you to get out of your seats and come to this altar and pray for that person,” Camp told the crowd inside Jena High School’s gymnasium. “God wants to touch this little town. God wants to touch this parish. Aren’t you sick and tired of letting the devil run over you like a smooth road? We need revival. Get on our face before God. “Our hearts have grown cold,” he continued. “We don’t weep over the lost. Church is just a country club with a steeple on top and it is time we change.” A passionate Camp told the crowd he was a changed man because as a “17-year-old boy, alone in a jail cell,” Jesus came and rescued him from a life of sin. “God still heals people today,” he said. “God still delivers people today. And I’m praying that if nothing else this week, you will get full of the Holy Ghost. ... The Holy Spirit of God will give you … [Read more...]

By Message Staff Prayer will be the emphasis early Wednesday morning, Sept. 26, when students in Louisiana and all over the country will join for this year’s annual See You At The Pole events. Held the fourth Wednesday of every September around their school’s flagpoles, the students assemble to pray for their friends, community and nation. Some churches continue the day of prayer with a time of worship [See You After the Pole) in the evening. This year’s theme is Broken, based on Ephesians 3:14 which states “I fall on my knees before the Father.” The Baptist Message would like to post pictures of your SYATP activities on our Facebook page and publish a photo gallery later on our website, baptistmessage.com. Anyone who would like to share what your students are doing can email your photos to brian@baptistmessage.com.   … [Read more...]

By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists Communications ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – How do you reach a culture that is seemingly not interested in you? How can you instill a vision and passion for missions in children? How can you use current communication platforms to seed God’s truth across the state? How can you bring a once vibrant congregation back to life? According to Missions and Ministries team leader John Hebert, all of the above is possible, “With a lot of help from your friends.” “In the day-in and day-out grind of ministry, it’s easy to forget how large our task is,” Hebert said. “If we’re going to make the impact all of us agree needs to be made, we need more individuals participating in the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering.” David Hankins, executive director for Louisiana Baptists, echoed this challenge. “We have literally hundreds of churches and thousands of our members who do not participate in this crucial offering for Louisiana,” said Hankins. “It’s not simply a money issue, it’s a participation issue, a resource issue. The task in Louisiana is so large, so big, it’s going to take an even larger effort on our part to provide the Gospel opportunities needed to engage the estimated two million … [Read more...]

By Janet Tompkins, Special to the Message ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – Who knows what life would have been like for Flora Coleman if her mother and father had not died in 1930 when she was just 8 years old and living on a mountainside in West Virginia? She would not have been separated from her six other siblings, or gone to work in other households. Maybe she would not have become a nurse or wound up in Otis, Louisiana, where she is a member of Dixie Baptist Church. Those experiences, to be sure, have given her an extra dose of perseverance and a faith in God and fire in her belly to make a difference in other people’s lives — even at 96 years of age. SHARING CHRISTMAS JOY Her current project is Operation Christmas Child, the mission program of Samaritan’s Purse to bring a Christmas package and the message of Jesus Christ to children throughout the world. Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has partnered with local churches around the world to deliver 157 million Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes of gifts to children in need in 160 countries. Each box is filled with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items. “Miss Flora” has her home filled with the decorated boxes in every stage of completion.  There are 100 … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer FOREST HILL – Being wheelchair-bound could not stop 82-year-old Percy Babineaux from publicly declaring his faith in Jesus through baptism. Babineaux repented and turned to Christ three years ago, but only recently was able to gain enough strength in between cancer treatments to participate in his long-awaited baptism at Elwood Baptist Church in Forest Hill. Moments after the baptism, Babineaux pointed to Heaven in celebration. “I wanted to be baptized like Jesus was,” said Babineaux, who has been confined to a wheelchair because of his poor health condition. “At that moment I was so happy, and ever since I’ve been telling everyone about how my life has been changed with Christ.” Babineaux is one of 13 converts baptized at Elwood since January. Pastor Mike Evans said the baptisms are representative of a commitment to missions by the central Louisiana congregation, which averages about 100 in Sunday morning attendance. Elwood is located in a community with a large Hispanic population. The church has embraced the opportunity and formed relationships with this immigrant population through visiting the nurseries that employ them. Subsequently, Elwood has been blessed to … [Read more...]