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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

FBC Minden conference to help girls find value in Jesus Christ

MINDEN – Cassie Hammett, founder of a ministry that shares Christ’s love with women ensnared in the sex trafficking industry, will challenge middle and high school girls to realize Christ is enough for them at the Masterpiece Conference, Oct. 6, hosted by the First Baptist Church in Minden “Enough” is the conference theme. ”The Word shows time and time again about our worth in Christ,” said Bethany Jones, who co-founded the conference with her sister, Emily. “Our event this year will focus on how we are enough because of Christ and how He is enough for us. “We believe that once young girls can understand that they are God’s masterpiece, their relationships and outlook can truly be impacted,” she continued. “We want this event to be both intentional and relevant for our young girls and leaders.” During the main sessions, Hammett will encourage the girls, along with their adult sponsors, to understand God has a unique plan for their lives. “I want them to understand that at this moment they have a mandate on their lives, placed on them by God,” she said. “They will also understand how to walk that out on a daily basis.” Hammett founded The Hub: urban ministries as an outreach to the homeless. She expanded this … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a Revival, Homecoming, a new pastor, a community outreach or a concert? The Baptist Message would love to share your church news with the rest of the state. It is very easy to do, just send in your information (who, what, where and when) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. To get your event in the paper, please submit your information three weeks prior to the event. ON THE MOVE Stan Foster is the new pastor at Jamestown Baptist Church, Jamestown. Mark, wife Stephanie, Long is the new pastor at Bogue Falaya Baptist Church, Folsom. HOMECOMING Alto Baptist Church, Alto: Homecoming, Sunday, September 30, 10:30 a.m. Dinner on the grounds will be served at noon. Worship leader: Jay Ellerman. Pastor: Alan Miller. Jamestown Baptist Church, Jamestown: Homecoming, September 30, 10:30 a.m.  Covered dish luncheon and fellowship will follow the service.  Bring your family and friends to join us for this special day.  Speaker: Stan Foster. The church is located at 5852 Hwy 153, Jamestown, LA. For more information, call 318.894.8631. Pastor: Stan Foster. Conway Baptist Church, Farmerville: Homecoming, September 30, 10 a.m., Sanctuary Quartet in Concert; 11 a.m., memorial and worship … [Read more...]

Louisiana DR mobilizes, heads to aid storm-ravaged Carolinas

By Message Staff The first Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams have been activated in response to Hurricane Florence. Gibbie McMillan, state disaster relief coordinator for Louisiana Baptists, told the Baptist Message mud-out teams from Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association, Northshore Baptist Association and Washington Baptist Association will leave Sept. 21 for New Bern, North Carolina. They will help clean up debris resulting from the hurricane that sent water into 4,300 homes, about one-third of houses in the city. McMillan said Louisiana Baptists unable to participate can pray and consider donating Visa gift cards for distribution by disaster relief teams. “Please continue to pray for our teams and those they will minister to in the coming weeks,” McMillan said. “This response is made possible through your generous giving through the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering.” Statewide response Lonnie Wascom, director of missions for Northshore Baptist Association, reported in his daily e-mail blast that New Life Missions, a ministry sponsored by Loranger Baptist Church, is collecting items for Florence victims at its warehouse, located at 129 Calhoun Street in Independence. Items will be collected … [Read more...]

J.D. Greear at NOBTS: Mobilize ‘ordinary people’

by Gary D. Myers, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- God's plan for reaching the world involves raising up and sending out "ordinary people" in the power of the Holy Spirit, Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Sept. 13. "The measure of success for any church ought not be its seating capacity" but "its sending capacity," Greear said during a chapel sermon drawn from Acts 7. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and church leaders emphasize the sending out of "ordinary people" as an essential aspect of the call to follow Jesus. As a result, the church has sent out 1,016 people to 248 Summit-sponsored church plants and to other ministries. Greear said Summit reaches a high percentage of college students, Millennials and young professionals, leveraging their enthusiasm, skill and mobility for the Gospel. Summit challenges students to consider serving for two years in one of its church plants after graduation. "We tell them unashamedly, 'Give us two years and we will transform the world with you,'" Greear said. Greear challenged believers to adjust their understanding of the call to ministry. Rather than "something a few sacred … [Read more...]

Counseling session trains 75 for Hope4U Crusade

ALEXANDRIA -- Nearly 75 people attended a counseling training session September 13 at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria for the upcoming Hope4U2018 Crusade. Organizers have held similar training sessions at other churches in central Louisiana in preparation for the multi-denominational event October 14-17 at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria. The crusade is part of a statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. Nearly 900 of 1,650 Louisiana Baptist churches have signed up to participate in concentrated prayer and soul-winning activities such as multi-church crusades, door-to-door outreach, one-on-one evangelism, single-church revivals and other activities which leverage compassion ministries to share about the love of Christ. For more information on how to get involved with the crusade, visit the Hope4U website. … [Read more...]

Multiple decisions highlight final day of Louisiana College Campus Revival

By Staff, Louisiana Baptist Message PINEVILLE – Louisiana College’s final session of its fall revival ended on a high note when 30 students surrender their lives to Christ September 13. LC President Rick Brewer said he was overcome with emotion as he watched the students walk forward to make their decision public. “We rejoice with the news of at least 30 LC students who asked Christ to step out of Heaven and step into their hearts on this final day of our fall semester revival,” Brewer said. “We prayed for a spiritual awakening on campus this year and we trust this is just the beginning of what the Lord wants to do here.” Brewer said his staff will follow up with each student and direct them to a church in their respective hometown. The final revival meeting, which took place in the newly renovated Guinn Auditorium, capped a three-day campus revival September 11-13 with messages by evangelist Dave Edwards and music by the Louisiana College student band. It is one of several spiritual gatherings the school is hosting this semester, including a Fields of Faith student revival Oct. 7 from 5-7 p.m. at LC’s Wildcat Stadium which is in conjunction with Hope4U Crusade, which will be held at the Rapides Parish Coliseum … [Read more...]

E4 Conference emphasizes turning to God in difficult times

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – During difficult times, Blake Newsom believes pastors should turn to God, seek His refreshment and ignore Satan’s temptation to give up. “God is so gracious that even when we are being knuckle heads, even when we are doing right in our own eyes, when we call out to him He still refreshes and revives us,” said Newsom, pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, during the 2018 E4 Preaching Conference Sept. 11. “Not because we’ve earned it but because He’s gracious.” Citing Judges 13, Newsom recounted how Samson was a strong individual set apart by God for a divine purpose. Yet, Samson succumbed to worldly pleasures and eventually found himself in need of God’s deliverance. As a result, God returned his strength one final time before his death so he could defeat the Philistines. Newsom said the account of Samson is a reminder that Christ followers should seek God’s guidance before making important decisions. “We see in him a man who is familiar with what God wants but he does not care that God wants it,” he said. “How many of us in this room legitimately and regularly bring everything in our lives before God and say God I only want to do what you want … [Read more...]

Banquet celebrates pregnancy center’s success changing, saving lives

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Dallas Hixson took a trip down memory lane at the first-ever Gift of Life Banquet September 11 when he recounted how his birth mother chose adoption over abortion and gave him the gift of life. During the event at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, Hixson shared how his mother’s decision allowed him to live a life on mission for God. “I’ve never asked why,” said Hixson, who was adopted from the Sellers Baptist Home in New Orleans after his birth mother gave him up for adoption in 1969. “I realize that because of the honesty and transparency of my parents about my adoption, just how blessed I am to be adopted. “They’ve never ceased to remind me that I’m special and God has great things in store for me. They’ve also have continuously expressed how I’ve been given much and God expects much from me,” he added. Hixson was one of several pro-life advocates who gave testimonies at the Gift of Life Banquet, a fundraiser for the Cenla Pregnancy Center in Alexandria that was attended by more than 250 people. The event also featured recognition of individuals who played a vital role in creating the Cenla Pregnancy Center. Brian Gunter, pastor of First Baptist Church … [Read more...]

Kelley at NOBTS convocation: Meditation isn’t ’emptying your mind’

By Marilyn Stewart, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley urged students and faculty to keep Scripture at the center of their lives during the Sept. 6 convocation marking the official start to a new academic year. Drawing from the exhortation in Joshua 1:7-8 to meditate on Scripture, Kelley said, "It doesn't matter who you are or how long you've walked with Jesus, it doesn't matter how well you know the Word, if you don't 'keep it in your mouth,' if you don't keep it as the center of attention, you will not be faithful in doing what God wants you to do." Joshua, in following Moses as the leader of the Israelite nation, was instructed that success would come if he remained faithful in meditating on God's law, Kelley said. Meditation, Kelley noted, is not "emptying your mind and thinking of nothing." Unlike the practice of Eastern religions, meditation instead means to "keep a conversation with God's Word all the time," Kelley said. Many versions translate the passage as God's law should be "always on your lips" or "shall not depart from your mouth." Kelley explained that believers are made into Christ's likeness when Scripture remains a … [Read more...]