By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WELSH – The waters may have receded in Welsh six months ago but the excitement built since then at First Baptist Church has anything but subsided. First came the rain – nearly 24 inches in a 24-hour period. Soon after, the congregation began ministering to those hurting in its own area, paving the way for a spiritual harvest. Not only have they seen 13 baptisms since after the flood of August 2016 but attendance has not waned, reaching 100 on an average Sunday morning for worship services. Tommy Chaisson, a member of First Baptist Welsh, was among those who received help from the congregation after his personal property was damaged from floodwaters. Chaisson, who was baptized in 2016, said that Christ-like attitude is what made him first want to attend First Welsh in 2015. “In this world we live in that is so cruel, it’s heart-warming to know people like my church care enough to go out of their way for you,” Chaisson said. “They don’t just answer the phone when you call and say they want to help but they genuinely want to be there for you. I still don’t understand a lot of things but I’m growing in my relationship with Christ, thanks to them. Being a part of this church is … [Read more...]

By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Correspondent “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God.”  II Samuel 22:32 PINEVILLE – Jesus is the “solid rock” that offers hope to those sinking in worldly quicksand, the keynote speaker told the women at the Kaleidoscope conference. Captive to her own emptiness and pain fueled by a perpetual cycle of promiscuity and alcohol, Marian Jordan Ellis, the keynote speaker, told the attendees she knew what it felt like to have a God-shaped hole in your soul. “I was living in the world, and it was a total pit of destruction,” Ellis recalled the time in her life when she lived a “sex-in-the-city” lifestyle. Sitting in a bar at the age of 25, Ellis stared at an empty martini glass, and knew she was a desperate woman. “In that bar, I cried out to Jesus. He is our rock. God is our hope,” she said, adding that she had grown up in church without the knowledge that Jesus was the only one who could fill the “hole” in her soul. “I grew up in church, and knew religion. But I didn’t know Jesus,” Ellis said to the 240 women present Feb. 4 at First Baptist Church in Pineville. During the day-long conference, Ellis, the founder of Redeemed Girl Ministries based in San … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – Many of us are living a life of “but I.” Instead, we should be living a life of “but God,” Marty Collier, pastor of Church on Rush Creek in Grand Prairie, Texas, said during the recent Fuego Frio student conference. By the end of the two-day conference Feb. 10-11, 81 of the roughly 1,500 students from six states in attendance decided to commit their lives to Christ and live a life of “but God.” “From the start, the students were engaged with the speakers and music,” said Jeff Luce, coordinator for Fuego Frio. “Three of the speakers ended up changing up their message on short-notice and the Holy Spirit moved. There’s no way anyone could take credit for what happened but God.” Held at First Baptist Bossier City, Fuego Frio featured eight pastors from throughout the U.S., each speaking for 12 minutes on a variety of topics. Other highlights of the weekend included illusionist Danny Ray of Yucaipa, Calif., comedians 321 Improv of Boca Raton, Fla., and musical guests the Hardcastles of Austin, Texas. In his message Brad Jurkovich, pastor of First Bossier, told students God is calling some of them to salvation and they must be ready to follow Him. “You need to … [Read more...]

By Tammy Sharp, Regional Reporter ALEXANDRIA – Austin Wadlow challenged students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference with a question – were they fully-committed to Christ or just going through the motions of following Him. “Are you all in?” asked the university pastor of First Baptist Church in Denton, Texas. “Is your ‘yes’ on the table, or are you straddling, halfway there, where are you? If we’re going to realize the impact that ‘together’ has on the mission of God, we, together, have to go all in.” Wadlow’s message was part of a two-day conference that included seminars designed to equip students with sharing their faith, worship by Digital Age and a late-night time of fellowship. Held Feb. 3-4 at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, the conference drew 621 students from 16 churches and 15 BCMs. Wadlow’s messages and the various seminars were centered around the theme of CEC – Together. “This is the only time of year where we get all of our students from the BCMs and our church college ministers together in one place,” said conference coordinator Chad McClurg, who also serves as director of the BCM at University of Louisiana-Monroe. “Since our theme was Together, we had a focus on … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Director of Planned Giving ALEXANDRIA – The welcoming of new members, updates on investments and the approval of a motion to upgrade software highlighted the first quarterly meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation Board of Trustees meeting Feb.7. INVESTMENT UPDATES Deville’s E.L. Paulk, chairman of the investment committee, began the morning session by having  LBF Executive Director Wayne Taylor discuss his work with the Graystone Consulting to reallocate a portion of the Large Cap portfolio from active management to passive management, a move approved in October. Lee Morris, Investment Consultant with Graystone, reviewed the investment holdings and performance for the final quarter of 2016 and reported the US Domestic Equities as a whole ended the year strong after a rocky start to the year. In January, domestic equities were down by approximately 12%, then rallied to the point of being positive by a modest 2% before the election, and finished the year with a 12% gain.  Portfolios that were actively managed, in general, were positioned for a presidential win by Clinton and lagged their benchmarks after the Trump victory. He said active management will likely continue to underperform passive … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Lee James has resigned as music director at Homewood Baptist Church, Alexandria. Curtis (wife Kristy) Owens is the new pastor at Crockett Point Baptist Church, Crowville. Mickey Bounds resigned as pastor of Delhi First Baptist Church; now serving as interim pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Oak Grove. HOMECOMING Fair Park Baptist Church, West Monroe: Anniversary Sunday, March 5. Pastor: Waymond Warren. REVIVAL New Hope Baptist Church, DeQuincy: Revival, February 26 – March 1.  Service times:  Sunday, 10:30 a.m., nightly, 6:30 p.m.  Evangelist: Jason Townley, Music: Mackey Willis Family, Pastor: Roland Hebert. Vatican Baptist Church, Carencro: Harvest Sunday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m. Evangelist: Joe Aulds. Pastor: Chad Thibodeaux. Pine Grove Baptist Church, Pineville: Revival, Feb. 26- March 1, Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria. Special Music: Kerry Longoria. Pastor: Ken Gilmore. Bonita Road Baptist Church, Bastrop: Revival, March 5-8, Sunday 6 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday 7 p.m. Evangelist: Casey Johnson, (Sunday), Rubin Weaver (Monday), Craig Franklin (Tuesday), Gevan Spinney (Wednesday). Music: Tory DarDar Family. Pastor: Casey Johnson. Antioch Baptist Church, Farmerville: Remember, Rejoice & Reload … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS -- The state committee charged with writing new science standards for Louisiana schools has moved forward without the small edits lobbied for by Louisiana College biologist Wade Warren. Declined were edits no larger than two-word additions reflecting science information currently included in many textbooks such as the sudden appearance of body forms in the fossil record known as the “Cambrian Explosion.” The sudden appearance of fossil forms is viewed by some as problematic for the Darwinian idea of gradual change over large periods of time. “I think it was very clear there were no content answers for my content questions,” Warren said. “So, in that sense, it’s very disappointing, but not surprising.” Content standards, outlined in state law, are statements that define what a student should know or be able to accomplish at the end of a specific time period, grade level or at the completion of a course. A larger 86-member state committee convened as “work groups” throughout last fall to propose new set of standards to the 39-member Science Standards Review Committee, of which Warren is a member. The review committee met in New Orleans, Feb. 13., in a public … [Read more...]

By Message Staff College students, retirees and church staff members are coming together to minister to those affected by tornadoes that devastated parts of Louisiana Feb. 7. Members of the Louisiana State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry teamed up with a church from Wyoming to work on three homes heavily damaged from the powerful storms in New Orleans East. Like previous disasters such as the August 2016 flood, the students stepped up again to help a hurting community. “This was another good reminder of how thankful I am for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and BCM students,” said Sarah Farley, associate director for the BCM at LSU. “BCM students had the desire to help and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief provides the means to do so. The need is great here in south Louisiana both in New Orleans and still in Baton Rouge.” The disaster hit home for Ari Saravia, a sophomore at LSU. Her family’s home in Millerville took in 3 feet of water and when the opportunity to give back to someone in similar need was available, she signed up to help. “Being able give back today was fulfilling to say the least,” she said. “Hearing descriptions of the tornado, empathizing, picking up debris, tarping a roof, sharing a meal, … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE (LC News) – Michael Wood had his own plans that never included living in Louisiana or becoming a pastor. But as Wood, who is pastor of First Baptist Church West Monroe, shared with students during the Feb. 9 chapel service at Louisiana College, God has His own plan for their lives. Furthermore, “never forget your position in God’s grand story.” Drawing from Psalm 78, Wood shared aspects of his ministry journey as he noted three leadership principles: make people a priority, be trustworthy and love others. “Become the best you can for God so people will see God’s work in you,” he said. Wood shared leadership principles, which include leading well begins by submitting well, leadership doesn’t start someday, it starts today, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought and leadership is not for wimps. Regarding pastoral ministry, Wood said, “The good days are better than I thought. And the hard days - harder than I thought. … If my heart is not captured by Christ, I will never love people or be trustworthy, and people will not be my priority.” … [Read more...]