By Message Staff CROWLEY – A man was left in serious condition after he was shot while attending a funeral at the First Baptist Church in Crowley Saturday, Nov. 10. According to Cullen Clark, pastor of First Baptist Crowley, the incident took place ‪around 11 a.m.‬ outside the church, which was being used for a funeral for a son and his mother. Pentecostal Bishop Aaron Wilson was leading the funeral of 26-year-old Brydon Gray and his mother when shots rang out, causing panic among the nearly 300 in attendance. Gray was fatally shot at his home in Crowley October 28, and his mother passed away from natural causes a few days later, according KATC TV. Crowley police Chief Jimmy Broussard said a male victim was exiting the church during the procession when multiple shots were fired before the suspects fled the scene. The male victim was taken to the hospital after being shot three times. He remains in serious condition. The shooters are still at large In addition to the injuries to the victim at the funeral, multiple vehicles were hit with bullets, including one belonging to Wilson. Clark told the Baptist Message his church will look for ways in the days ahead to minister to its community. “We are not going to become insular … [Read more...]

By Staff RUSTON, La. (LBM) — David Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, announced his plans to retire during the pre-convention meeting of the Convention’s Executive Board in Ruston Monday afternoon. “At the close of this annual meeting, I will be giving Dr. Bailey, president of the Executive Board, official notice of my intention to retire,” said Hankins. His retirement will be effective June 30, 2019. “The theme of this year’s annual meeting is “Marking the Next Generation,’” Hankins told the board. “I have great confidence in the future generation of leaders God will choose to lead Louisiana Baptists.” According to the Convention’s by-laws, Hankins announcement will initiate a process in which the Executive Board will form a search committee. Once formed, the search committee will elect its own chairperson to begin a search for a new executive director. Hankins has served as executive director since 2005. He is a California native who was reared in Texas. He is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University as well as Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned both a masters and doctoral degree. In a statement on his resume, Hankins indicates he was exposed to … [Read more...]

By Message Staff RUSTON – Louisiana Baptists came together with their Hispanic brothers and sisters to celebrate their unity in Christ during the opening session of the Pastors Conference, Nov. 11 at Cook Baptist Church in Ruston. In step with the conference theme “Whole: Equipping the church to love the whole church,” the session featured music led by Fellowship Church in Prairieville and Istrouma Espanol in Baton Rouge, and a message shared by Louisiana Baptist Church Planting Strategist Carlos Schmidt. “Since we are all in Christ, all ethnic, social, economic and gender barriers have crumbled,” Schmidt said during his message. “He does away with it. Christ is all in all. We can truly say we are one family in Christ. “Therefore, in our relationships with one another, they should be saturated with kindness, mercy, humility and forgiveness,” he continued. “There is no place for un-forgiveness in the Christian life. As you have been forgiven by Christ, therefore you should also forgive one another. “All of us might be different but the scripture says there is none good enough, there is none righteous,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are white or Hispanic in God’s eyes, we are all sinners and Christ paid the … [Read more...]

Washington Baptist Church, Washington: Revival, November 16-18, Friday and Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Dinner on the grounds will follow morning worship. Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria. Special Music: Brad Mount. Pastor: Louis Charrier. … [Read more...]