ON THE MOVE Steven (wife Pammie) McAbee is the new pastor of Open Door Fellowship in Coushatta. Avery Dixon is the new pastor at Trinity Baptist Church, Hammond. Bobby LeCompte is the new discipleship minister at Bedico Baptist Church, Ponchatoula. Casey Stark is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Slidell. Zach Husser is the new minister of music/discipleship at Westside Baptist Church, Ponchatoula. Blake Becnel is the new minister to young adults at Westside Baptist Church, Ponchatoula. Ray Werline is the new pastor at Woodhaven Baptist Church, Tickfaw. HOMECOMING First Baptist Church, Doyline: 93rd Homecoming, September 10, 10 a.m., special music; 11 a.m., Worship service; dinner on the grounds will be held following the service. Guest Speaker: Ray Hearron. Special Music: Bruce Lee. Pastor: Paul Pierson. Welcome Home Baptist Church, Hebert: Homecoming, September 10, 10:30 a.m. Speaker: Tony Robinson. Special Music: Kinetek. Pastor: Jim McKeithen. REVIVAL Calvary Baptist Church, Forest Hill: Revival, September 3-6, Sunday, 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Evangelist: Wayne Jones from Freedom Mission, Logansport LA. Special Music: Josh & Vallery Dixon. Pastor: Wayne … [Read more...]

By Message Staff HAMMOND – Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Nebraska man after his unsuccessful attempt of allegedly breaking into New Beulah Baptist Church last weekend. The incident happened Aug. 19 at approximately 2 a.m. when deputies apprehended Kurt Lawson, 51, as he was attempting to flee the scene of the church, according to a news release from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. Once deputies responded to an activated burglary alarm at the church, they observed a white Chrysler mini-van leaving the parking lot at a high rate of speed, leaving behind a cloud of dust and debris. When deputies stopped the vehicle, they observed Lawson was bleeding from his head and arm. Lawson was then detained, pending a roadside investigation. He is in the parish jail, charged and booked with reckless operation of a vehicle and burglary of a religious building. One of the church windows was shattered and fresh droplets of blood were left at the scene, according to the news release. No items were believed to have been taken from the church at this time. Evidence was collected and taken into a Louisiana State Police Crime Lab for further examination. “It is so seldom those who break into our churches … [Read more...]

Area churches teamed up to feed about 70 students at the Louisiana State University-Alexandria Baptist Collegiate Ministry building Monday, Aug.  14. Students from countries such as England, Serbia, Denmark, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Brazil and St. Lucia attended the burger cookout. Local mission minded folks, First Baptist Church in Pineville and Faith Baptist Church in Pineville all donated money and time to provide groceries, drinks and other resources to make the lunch possible. Students also received Bibles and Gospel booklets, and connected with BCM Director Jamey Gilliland and other students. If you are interested in helping with mission and outreach projects like this and are in the Central Louisiana area, email Faith Baptist Church Pastor Clark Palmer at clark956@hotmail.com. … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, Louisiana College News PINEVILLE (LCNews) - The societal ills poverty brings are indisputable. From health risks to increased crime rates, and from a sense of helplessness to illiteracy, poverty claims many victims. A Princeton University study states that children living below the poverty threshold “are 1.3 times as likely as non-poor children to experience learning disabilities and developmental delays.” Best-selling author Linda Karges-Bone addressed the challenges poverty levies on college students at Louisiana College’s annual faculty workshop in a presentation titled “Three Strikes and You’re In: The Truth about Meeting the Needs of First-Generation College Students Who Live in Poverty.” Bone’s research reiterated the long-standing poverty rates in Louisiana, with CenLa graphically noted among the most impoverished regions in the state. Drawing from her best-selling book, “Rich Brain, Poor Brain: Bridging Social and Synaptic Gaps in Schools,” Karges-Bone used the August 14 session to both motivate and inform faculty and staff on brain-friendly strategies to increase retention and success of all students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. “Retention, retention, retention,” she … [Read more...]

LAKE CHARLES - The problem seemed insurmountable for two senior citizen ladies whose backyard was covered with a fallen tree. However, their prayers were answered when a team from Carey Baptist Association showed up Saturday, Aug. 19, to remove the tree that fell two months earlier after a powerful storm came through the area. Association disaster relief coordinator Rob Tibbitts said the team of 15 worked tirelessly to cut up the tree and stack it on the curb. Because of the massive size of the tree, only half of the tree would fit on the curb. Once the City of Lake Charles removes the first pile of debris, the team will return to finish the tree removal. "We were able to pray with the homeowner, give her a Bible signed by each of the team members, and share Christ with her through our words and our actions," said Tibbitts, also pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Vinton. "She was blown away people still cared enough to do this kind of stuff for her." Of those who served on the team, some were first-time volunteers. Among those were parents who came with their children. Tibbitts said that each of the team members expressed their desire to return for future projects. "They got to not only serve in their community … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA - Central Louisiana’s first pregnancy center has found its director. Leaders with the Cenla Pregnancy Center have scheduled a press conference for noon Friday, Aug. 25 to introduce the director and announce the date of when it will open. Marksville’s Clair Lemoine, who has worked more than 20 years in maternal child nursing, will be at the helm when the center opens. According to board president Brian Gunter, senior pastor at First Baptist of Pollock, Lemoine has 10 years of experience serving low-income, first-time pregnant women in a home setting. Located next to the Baptist Building at 1254 MacArthur Drive in Alexandria, the center will offer pregnancy decision coaching by trained advocates, free pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds, information about pregnancy options, maternity and physical resources and post-decision support including parenting education and abortion recovery groups. More than 200 churches of multiple Christian denominations have worked together to establish the pregnancy resource center, a non-profit, pro-life organization that will provide compassionate support to women and men faced with difficult pregnancy decisions. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Students wishing to further their education at Louisiana College now have even more options with the addition of three graduate level degree programs and a bachelor of science in computer science, school leaders announced Aug. 17. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges approved the new programs along with permitting LC to offer classes completely online. “When you look at the demographics, there is a declining number of young people available for traditional undergraduate education,” LC President Dr. Rick Brewer said. “But there is still a demand, still a need for Christian education.” Brewer noted that the “heart and soul of Christian education is not to equip students for just a job. But the heart and soul, the purpose of what we do, is to equip students for life.” When Brewer came to the school in 2015, only the Master of Arts in Teaching degree was offered. Now, LC has expanded its graduate level degrees with the addition of the Master in Social Work and Master in Education in Educational Leadership and the RN to MSN track that will enroll registered nurses practicing with an associate degree in nursing or hospital diploma to … [Read more...]

By Message Staff MORGAN CITY – The 15 churches of Gulf Coast Baptist Association are devoting the month of August to a series of prayer meetings in preparation for a harvest of souls during its crusade featuring evangelist Bill Britt. Scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 27-30 at the Bayou Vista Community Center in Morgan City, the Gulf Coast Crusade will include powerful messages by Britt and special music by Dwight Fitch, worship leader at Celebration Church in New Orleans. Throughout this month, the churches have participated in a pre-crusade rally at Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton. Also scheduled is a prayer meeting at Unity One Baptist Church in Centerville at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 and a prayer walk at 4 p.m. Aug. 26 on the grounds of Bayou Vista Community Center. Individual churches also plan on holding prayer meetings in their members’ homes. Director of Missions Steven Kelly said since eight of his 15 churches have an average weekly worship attendance of under 50 people, the combined effort allows them the opportunity to participate in a revival featuring Britt, who is well known in Baptist circles for seeing many people saved during his revivals. For such harvest to take place during the Gulf Coast Crusade, Kelly … [Read more...]