During the Pastors' Conference, Louisiana College enlivened the proceedings by recognizing excellence in the pastorate, within groupings of worship attendance up to 100, 500 and more than 500. The winners were, respectively, Cedric Murphy, pastor of Providence No. 1 Baptist Church, Ethel; Steve Armstrong, pastor of Westside Community Church, Addis; and, Brad Jurkovich, pastor of First Baptist Church, Bossier City. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BALL – Pastors, their wives and other members of Louisiana Baptist churches traveled to Kingsville Baptist Church in Ball, Nov. 13-14, to be reminded of and revitalized in their love of Christ and His Gospel. MERRITT James Merritt’s message at the 2016 Louisiana Baptist Pastors’ Conference was simple yet profound – the Gospel is a big deal. “The Gospel is the only message that has the power just like that to take a person from sin to salvation, from hell to Heaven, from darkness to light,” said Merritt, pastor of Cross Pointe Church, Duluth, Ga. “If the Gospel is not true, nothing else really matters. But if the Gospel is true, it is the only thing that matters.” Preaching from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Merritt said pastors must prioritize, recognize and emphasize the message, meaning and might of the Gospel. “The message of our church is not determined by our mission,” he said. “Our mission is determined by our message, and that message is the Gospel.” ALLEN David Allen told pastors that while it is wonderful to know the facts about God, it is much better to actually know God personally through Christ. Allen said God has revealed seven wonders of His Son, found … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Holding a pair of work gloves like the hundreds that were distributed during his presentation, Keith Manuel invited messengers to the Louisiana Baptist Convention 2016 Annual Meeting to commit to a God-sized vision – evangelize the entire state of Louisiana during 2017-2018. Reaching 4.7 million people with the Gospel in a two-year period may seem daunting, Manuel said, but it is within the realm of possibility through the Harvest initiative, a statewide campaign to engage 700 Louisiana Baptist churches to “pray for every home and share Christ with every person” in Louisiana. “This task is hard,” Manuel said during the opening session, Monday, Nov. 14, at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. “It will take work. “Let these gloves serve as a reminder, to lift up your eyes and look at the fields for they are white unto harvest. Let’s go to work and envision a Louisiana where every home receives prayer and every person receives a Gospel witness and if the Lord is willing, may we see the greatest harvest of souls, who grow into the greatest group of reproducing disciples Louisiana has ever seen.” Manuel also gave an overview of what he said could be the largest … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT – Just two years ago, little Hayden Heaberlin was facing the fight of his life, one that no four year old should have to face – a battle with cancer. But those days of darkness were pierced by the light of God’s mercy and provision. There was the time when 50 people from his church surrounded his home in a prayer circle while his family was with him in Memphis, Tenn., where he was receiving treatments; and, there were countless times when his family relayed to him text messages, phone calls and letters of encouragement. But not even the news that his cancer was in remission caused him to celebrate like he did Oct. 23 when he was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport. The worship center was packed with happy family, friends and church members, and Hayden was all smiles as Pastor John Lary baptized him. “You are a new person,” Hayden said about his conversion. “You don’t look different on the outside but on the inside.” Hayden said his battle with cancer “was tough, but I got through it because God helped me. “He can do anything,” Hayden added. “God healed me.” His mom April describes the day Hayden gave his heart and life to Christ as the day … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – At an early age, Ed Newton was faced with a challenge few eight-year-old boys deal with – serving as interpreter for both of his deaf parents. In the midst of that adversity, God drew Newton to a personal relationship with Christ and grew him to become the spiritual leader of one of the largest congregations in the U.S. Now, the 40-year-old pastor of the 27,000-member Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, uses those experiences of his early life to help youth who are dealing with difficult circumstances. “I made a commitment to [Louisiana Baptist Youth Strategist] Steve Maltempi several years ago to always pour into the lives of teenagers,” Newton said. “Developing the next generation as strong spiritual leaders is crucial. I am very excited about what God will do at YEC.” Called to the ministry as a high school senior, Newton is no stranger to student evangelism. He has served as a youth pastor, faculty member at Student Leadership University in Orlando, Fla., and executive director of the LIFT TOUR, an extension of Student Leadership University in partnership with LifeWay Students. Newton will share his story with more thousands of students expected … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer RUSTON – The Harvest evangelistic initiative, a two-year statewide soul-winning campaign, will kick off officially at the 2017 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference with an outreach effort targeting teens and college students. The Evangelism Conference also will feature inspiring messages by speakers from Louisiana and beyond, Jan. 23-24, at Temple Baptist Church. Still, the sessions will focus primarily on the Harvest initiative, which aims to enlist at least 700 Louisiana Baptist churches to “pray for every home and share Christ with every person” in Louisiana. SOUL-WINNING FOCUS Scheduled during the first session of the Evangelism Conference, the kickoff will feature a Gospel presentation by Ed Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his message, students will gather inside the church family life center for a pizza party and entertainment. Organizers are encouraging churches around the state to host simultaneous similar events – including the showing of the live Internet broadcast of Newton’s message -- to broaden the geographic reach of this initial event. The remaining sessions of the Evangelism Conference will be broadcast over the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Louisiana College president Rick Brewer credits God and GuideOne insurance for the $12 million of ongoing campus improvement projects that stem from an April 2015 hail storm. Since late May, 17 of 18 school buildings have received new roofs, and some facilities have received interior upgrades. Brewer calls all of the improvements a miracle. “How all of this has unfolded is nothing short of God’s work,” Brewer said. “What began as the inspection of one hail-damaged roof led to the discovery of additional damage caused by an April storm, a year ago. We could not be more grateful for the consideration and cooperation of GuideOne insurance.” Louisiana College contacted GuideOne insurance to request an inspection, which revealed the refurbishment would be rather costly but the insurer agreed to cover all the repairs. Additionally, Campers on Mission, a national Christian fellowship, offered to do some repairs and updates in other areas of the campus. They launched the first wave of construction, refurbishing a fountain near Alexandria Hall, the main administration building, and formed concrete steps close to a dormitory. They also painted numerous curbs, … [Read more...]

By Tammy Sharp, Regional Correspondent SHREVEPORT – Members of Cornerstone Community Church do not see color at all, said Pastor John Anderson. “We see family.” Indeed, the two-year-old church, whose Sunday worship attendance has reached as high as 80, represents a rainbow of races, with membership comprising approximately 60 percent Blacks, 30 percent Whites, and 10 percent Hispanics – a unique mix, especially considering recent racial tensions that have plagued many communities. “Because Christ is the one who breaks down the middle wall, what’s going on in our nation is not affecting our unity at all,” said Anderson. “We realize this is a sin issue, not a white/black issue.” Anderson, who is white, has been pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Bossier City for two years, as of November. But he began planting seeds as early as Oct. 31, 2011, when, as part of his job with the Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, he first set up a tent downtown to minister to gang members, prostitutes and the homeless, baptizing them in the Red River as people came to know the Lord. After three years, he was laid off from the rescue mission, but not from the call to minister. Although he lost all his equipment, including … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer FRANKLIN – Darrell Guy is a big believer that the church should band together and serve outside the walls of its building. He is pastor of Unity One Baptist Church in Franklin, a predominantly African-American congregation, and his members are committed to ministering to the needs of the community. They distribute bags of food and serve lunch plates to residents of Franklin, and the children in the church raised money to purchase an armored vest and donated it to the local police department. Guy said the encouragement that has broken out among the church’s neighbors has been contagious, and the resulting receptivity has helped the congregation to spread Christ’s love throughout Franklin. “We wanted them to know we are praying for them,” Guy said. “Those are the things we are doing that are sticking out in the minds of the community. They are seeing the church is about giving.” The outreach has produced fruits for the congregation, which began with 12 people participating in a Bible study in Guy’s home during the summer of 2015. By that fall, the group had doubled, creating a welcomed problem – the need to find a bigger space to accommodate the growth. The … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Natural disasters of proportions unmatched in Louisiana’s history required equally historic responses in 2016. Flooding, the likes of which had not been experienced before swept through the state not once but twice this year -- first in March, and later in August, dumped record amounts of rain, causing deaths and enormous property damage. The one-two punch left the state reeling in the aftermath. TRAGEDY & TRIUMPH Yet, through it all, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams, aided by Southern Baptist volunteers from around the country, were faithful to respond – offering the comfort of a helping hand, sharing a message of hope in Christ, and sometimes just prayer-- despite suffering personal losses as well. The spring floods, resulting from more than three feet of cumulative rainfall in 48 hours in some areas, affected more than 18,000 homes and damaged 14 Louisiana Baptist churches. Importantly, an estimated 85 percent of the state’s trained disaster relief personnel were impacted during this time, yet they responded to the many needs of others. Southern Baptists were up to the challenge, too, immediately sending money and hundreds of volunteers to … [Read more...]