By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COAHUILA, Mexico – Instead of joining classmates on the beach or in the mountains for spring break, Baptist Collegiate Ministry students with Louisiana State University and Southern University, along with other Louisiana Baptists, took a road trip of their own – south of the border for a week of sharing the Gospel with thousands of Mexicans. By the conclusion of the mission trip, April 7-14 in the state of Coahuila near the U.S.-Mexico border, the team saw more than 30 people accept Christ, including two LSU students who thought they were there to minister to the spiritual transformation of others. UNITY & SERVICE LSU BCM Director Steve Masters said he was overjoyed with the students’ attitude of serving others first, no matter the unfamiliar situations they faced. “The vast majority of college students in the United States use their spring break to go on a trip or outing with friends,” Masters said. “I am very proud of our 2017 Mexico mission trip participants for using their spring break to spread the Gospel. They worked long hours, traveled in vans, slept on the floor or in bunk beds, did all this without air conditioning, and loved every minute of it.” The team … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor BATON ROUGE (LBM) — Ed Orgeron’s professional life, particularly his coaching résumé, is pretty well known around the country, but not much has been publicized about his religious life. However, during an informal interview conducted by Gary Borgstede, executive pastor and chief administrative officer of the Church of the King in Mandeville, LSU’s head football coach, “Coach O” and his wife, Kelly, shared glimpses about their walk of faith as they traveled along his demanding career path to become the head football coach at LSU. The Orgerons were speaking April 11 at the 2017 Louisiana Pastors’ Legislative Briefing, held in the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge and co-sponsored by the Louisiana Family Forum and Louisiana Baptists Office of Public Policy. Orgeron elicited robust laughter when asked whether he had a “coach” in life, responding, “No question. Number one, my wife … and Number two, Pastor Jacob and Pastor Steve.” Jacob Aranza is pastor of the multisite Our Savior’s Church, based in Lafayette, and once served as chaplain for the New Orleans Saints, and, Steve Robinson is pastor of the multisite Church of the King, based in Mandeville. FAITH IN THE FIRE But, while Orgeron … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD – Nicole Wall and her family have experienced their fair share of tragedy, including damage to their home caused by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. But they also have been blessed beyond measure, evidenced most recently when their son, Noah, was baptized seven months after 36 inches of rain damaged their home church, Woodland Baptist Church in Springfield. The family returned to the area after the record August 2016 flood so they could be a part of the revitalization of the community. “We are thankful God has allowed us to be a part of the rebuilding process,” Wall said. “For us, because we had already been through a flood back in 2005, we were more burdened for them and wanted to help. It’s been neat being back with family and seeing the community come back up.” The March 5th baptism of Noah – who publicly professed Christ as Lord last year – signified his rebirth, but also represented something of a renewal for the congregation, where Nicole and her husband were members of the youth group, and, where they were married. Combined with a string of other baptisms, it is a sign the evangelistic nature of the church is being restored. REGAINING MOMENTUM Woodland … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE (LCNews) - Louisiana College President Rick Brewer has invited Mayor Clarence R. Fields as keynote speaker for the college’s 162nd commencement ceremony. Louisiana College expects to confer degrees upon 121 graduates. Because of the ongoing remodeling of LC’s Guinn Auditorium, the May 6 ticketed commencement service will be held at 10 a.m. at Alexandria’s Calvary Baptist Church located at 5011 Jackson Street. “Louisiana College is deeply pleased to have Mayor Fields address our graduates and their guests,” Brewer said. “He exemplifies the kind of leader that every graduate should emulate. Mayor Fields is a sincere and responsible civil servant, and is one whose Christian faith is evident in his daily life. He epitomizes the result of our vision of preparing graduates and transforming lives.” LC will livestream the event on this website: www.lacollege.edu … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAUGHTON – While communication and money are common problems in marriages, Kirk Cameron believes the main problem is selfishness. “Selfishness poisons everything,” Cameron said. “The heart of the problem in my marriage is the problem of my heart. I know without the intervention of God I will destroy the most precious relationship I have on the planet and that is my wife. I am bent toward selfishness by nature. It is only God who can cure a selfish heart.” Cameron shared his thoughts on marriage at the Love Worth Fighting For conference Sunday, April 30, at First Baptist Church in Haughton, and at First Baptist Church in West Monroe on Saturday, April 29. In addition to Cameron’s message, speaker and singer/songwriter Warren Barfield also shared some inspirational thoughts on the subject. Known for his role as young Mike Seaver on the ABC sitcom “Growing Pains” in the 1980s, Cameron now uses his notoriety on the big screen to share the Gospel. He can be seen alongside evangelist Ray Comfort presenting Christ on the video series “Way of the Master” and has starred in such films as “Left Behind” and “Fireproof.” During Love Worth Fighting For, Cameron made several references to … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MOZAMBIQUE – Modern day miracles are taking place in Mozambique and Lucas LaCour is thankful he and his fellow church members have a front seat to the revival happening in a cluster of villages. Since their first mission trip to the country in 2015, Alpine First Baptist Church team members have witnessed more than 40,000 people make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and seen the number of church plants grow from zero to 41. “It’s miraculous,” Lacour said. “And it’s encouraging and convincing of the power of the Gospel. To see them hear it for the first time, there’s no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Christ is on the move in Mozambique.” COOPERATING CAJUNS Alpine First Baptist has taken at least three mission trips to Mozambique each year since 2015. They are in the third of a five-year commitment to take teams to an area of the country that is home to Nsenga people, one of nearly 3,250 who the International Mission Board classifies as an Unreached Unengaged People Group. A people group is unreached where the number of evangelical Christians is less than 2 percent of a country’s population and are deemed unengaged when there is no church planting strategy consistent … [Read more...]

By Message Staff A round of severe weather swept through the state late Saturday and into Sunday dumping more than 10 inches rain in some areas, producing high winds and at least one confirmed EF-1 tornado. At least one Louisiana Baptist church – Faith Baptist Church in Livonia – had the majority of its roof ripped off and a significant amount of water damage inside. CLECO, AEP-SWEPCO and Entergy – three utility companies that serve many areas impacted by the storms – reported significant outages. At the height of the storm, more than 42,000 Entergy, 12,000 Cleco and 13,500 AEP-SWEPCO customers were without power. Among the churches damaged was Faith Baptist Church in Livonia, which lost a portion of its roof. Tommy Middleton, director of missions for the Greater Baton Rouge Area Baptist Association, said the congregation of Faith Baptist was trying to remain positive. “Pray as they try to figure out what to do going forward,” he said. Pastor Freddie Rodrigue, who rushed to the church as soon as the storm had passed, found half of the church’s roof missing, pieces of tin wrapped around a tree and a broken brick column lying on the roof line on the fellowship hall. "Water was coming into the building, the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ST LANDRY – Pastor Jerry Adams’ life almost ended in December when he was forced into a medically-induced coma. But a merciful God – implored by the prayers of thousands in Louisiana and around the world – granted Adams a miraculous return to the pulpit at Centerville Baptist Church in St. Landry, only four months later, he told the Baptist Message. COMMON SICKNESS TO COMA “It’s been a long hard process coming back,” Adams said. “God does have a plan for our life but it isn’t what we always want. It’s always for our best.” Adams’ near-death experience began when a painful and persistent sore throat caused him to visit the emergency room at St. Francis Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria Dec. 1, being admitted shortly afterward. Days later, he was placed into a coma after his vitals plummeted following a tracheotomy, and was kept in this state of unconsciousness for 10 days. Physicians told Adams’ family to prepare to say their final good-byes Dec. 13. Determined not to give up, family and friends joined hands and sought God’s grace. “We began to pray for peace and God’s will alone,” said Josh Adams, the son of Jerry Adams and also pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church in Forest … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Prayer will take center stage May 4 at not only churches, but businesses, courthouse steps, city parks and other locations in the state and U.S. On that day, Louisiana Baptists will join millions of other Christians as they ask God to forgive and heal the nation as part of the annual National Day of Prayer. Created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Harry S Truman, this annual observance in May invites people of all faiths to pray for the nation. This year’s theme verse is Daniel 9:19, which says “O Lord, Listen! O Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act! For Your Sake, O My God.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has already signed a proclamation for this year’s Day of Prayer. Jay Johnston, state coordinator for the Louisiana National Day of Prayer Task Force and associate pastor at First Baptist Covington, stressed the importance of a day of corporate prayer across the country. “The National Day of Prayer provides us an intentional time to gather with people in our community to pray for Government Leaders, families, military, churches, education, media and business,” he said. “This day was signed into law during the presidency … [Read more...]