By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ROBERT – Talk about adding insult to injury. First, their worship center flooded with 12 inches of water Aug. 12. Now, Crossgate Church of Robert is dealing with another problem – theft of a fork attachment used to load items for those affected by the flooding. Pastor Louis Husser noticed the equipment was stolen Aug. 18, when some members and volunteers were preparing to load the supplies for delivery. The green 521 Loader was worth $2,500. “We have 10,000 houses that flooded in Tangipahoa Parish and this piece of equipment was needed to help them,” Husser said. “But we will roll on.” When word got out during a pastor’s meeting Crossgate Church was in need of a new loader, a fellow Northshore Baptist Association church responded. After hearing of the situation, Carl Richardson, chairman of the deacons at Lee Valley Baptist Church in Loranger who also works for a company that sells tractor supplies and equipment, contacted his pastor to see if they could provide funding for a new loader. The congregation obliged, agreeing to turn what could have been a trying situation into a good ending. Richardson sees the gesture as a way to pay forward what others have done for … [Read more...]

By Message Staff As Louisiana prepares for thousands of volunteers this Labor Day weekend, Louisiana Baptist disaster relief officials are reminding everyone assistance will be needed long past the upcoming holiday weekend. "It looks like we will switch from disaster relief to disaster rebuild and we will need volunteer groups from all over Louisiana and the country to help us," said John Hebert, missions and ministry director for Louisiana Baptists. Individuals and church teams can visit the Volunteer Guest Services page and sign-up for dates listed. Once the form is complete, an area coordinator will contact volunteers about potential opportunities. Through Aug. 29, the seven incident command centers in the state reported that: 18,000 meals per day are being prepped by Oklahoma Baptists at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. 7,000 meals per day are being prepped by Missouri Baptists at Walker Baptist Church. Another 10,000 meals are being prepared by Mississippi Baptists at Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond and Texas Baptists in Lafayette. Over 251,000 meals have been prepared to date. 955 projects have been assessed and more than 400 jobs have been completed. Mud-out teams are still … [Read more...]

Louisiana Campers on Mission has issued a call for anyone interested in assisting them with completing a variety of projects during their annual work week Sept. 4-9. Scheduled at Camp Harris in Minden, the organization has assignments for workers of all skills, including carpentry, general cleaning, landscaping, painting and sewing. The camp has accommodations for anyone staying there overnight. To sign-up to help or for more information on the annual work week, contact Charlie Lechner by e-mailing mail@harrisbaptist.com or by calling 318-927-3706. The organization's president Keith Brown may be contacted at 225.620.4265. … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message “If your heart is of goodwill and your love of God is unconditional… you will see the Glory of God, the Glory of His Promises and the Magnificence of His Deeds done through your life and answered through your prayers. Open your heart, forget your mind - for God answers all prayers.” JACKSON, MISS. -- God does answer prayers. Saturday (Aug. 27) at 10:03 a.m. Kelly Longoria, accompanied by her mother Lisa Kiper and her husband Shane Longoria walked out of the Jackson, Miss., rehabilitation hospital six weeks after being shot in the head by an assailant and left to die. When she was first brought in to NSICU (Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit Hospital and Medical Center in Jackson), doctors gave 22-year-old Kelly little hope of surviving the night. They could not remove the bullet because it would cause significant damage and were unsure what effects leaving the bullet alone would have. She was intubated, unable to move her left side could not open her eyes or speak. The prognosis was grim. This family, whose faith was so strong, did they only thing they could … they turned to prayer … and asked others to pray as well. A prayer chain, which consisted of individuals, prayer groups, Sunday … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE – In a culture where many are searching for joy in the wrong places, the one source for true satisfaction is found in Jesus Christ, Eric Thomas reminded more than 400 pre-teens on Saturday, Aug. 27. And in the quest to find that joy, surrounding one’s self with a circle of godly friends is vital. “We turn up volume on that joy by being with friends who love Jesus,” Thomas said. “When we have friends who don't love Jesus and we are trying to run toward joy, they hold us back. They are like a load that keeps us from experiencing that joy. “We need to surround ourselves with a family of friends,” he added. “They can love you like Jesus has loved them.” Speaking from 2 Corinthians 5:17, Thomas told the youngsters attending PreTeen Invasion while they can find happiness with friends or at school, those earthly things will not make someone be filled with true joy. “All of us here are made to want joy,” he said. “We are made to want joy. Only Jesus can give you the joy you need.” Thomas, pastor of First Baptist Church in Norfolk, Va., was the main speaker for PreTeen Invasion at First Baptist Church in Lafayette. The event also featured music by the worship team from … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message JACKSON, Miss. – ‘We’re coming home!’ “Kelly Kiper Longoria has been released from the hospital this morning,” Lisa Knight Kiper, Kelly’s mother, wrote on her Facebook page. It was welcome news for the thousands of prayer warriors who have been lifting up Kelly Longoria and her family since early July. On July 16, 22-year-old Kelly was abducted at a convenience store on her way to work, shot in the head by her assailant and left for dead near a Winnsboro graveyard. When she was airlifted to the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at Jackson Memorial in Jackson, Miss., the outlook was grim. Doctors told the family the chances were very high she would not make it through the night as they could not remove the bullet. They were concerned what the adverse effects would be by leaving the bullet. Scared and hurting, the family turned immediately to God for strength and intervention. And God answered in a mighty and powerful way. “After six long weeks, I’m happy to say today we are coming home. The past six weeks have been miraculous to say the least,” Shane Longoria wrote on his Facebook past Aug. 27. “Praise God for his miracles. “I've seen my wife fight for her life and fight for her … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – Disaster relief leaders are asking for more workers to volunteer to meet the overwhelming demand for assistance in mud-out and related services caused by historic floods in Louisiana. “Our disaster relief people began working as soon as the floodwaters began to go down,” said John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists State Director of Missions. He added that Louisiana has 1,000 certified disaster relief “yellow shirts” deployed around the state “working eight to 10 hours daily.” “Their numbers have been bolstered by Southern Baptist disaster relief teams from 20 states,” adding about another 1,000 volunteers, Hebert said. But even with help from other faith-based organizations, kids helping from schools and churches organizing their members locally, the 61,000 flooded homes needing restoration far exceed the manpower available now to respond. “We are going to get a big shot in the arm this weekend, but the biggest influx of people will take place Labor Day weekend,” Hebert estimated from reports he’s receiving from around the country. “Louisiana is about to see the biggest mobilization of manpower since Hurricane Katrina.” But he emphasized even more help is needed quickly to … [Read more...]

DEVILLE – The phone hasn’t stopped ringing at Longview Baptist Church’s office this week. Complete strangers, desperate for help, are either calling or emailing the church seeking help to mud out their flood-ravaged home. “We sent a 12-person team to Denham Springs last Saturday with Josh Sikes, our minister of youth/education,” said Robby Poole, pastor of Longview Baptist Church in Deville. “We could do only a couple of houses but the people were so grateful. “As a matter of fact, both families want to come here to personally thank our church for helping them out,” said Poole. “In the meantime, other people in the neighborhood saw our van, wrote down the name of our church, Googled it to get our number I would guess, and have been calling non-stop since Monday.” To help as many as he can, Poole took a group of volunteers Thursday (Aug. 25) and will take another 20 Saturday (Aug. 27). He also plans on going the following week. “This [cleanup] is not going to end this week, the next week, next month, or next year,” he said. “These families desperately need our help. We are being the hands and feet of Jesus and the gratitude of these families’ faces speaks louder than words.” From the storm-ravaged areas beginning … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA - The Louisiana Baptist Convention wants churches and pastors to know help is on the way. Disaster relief teams are in place or on their way, incident command centers are up and operating, taking calls and coordinating assistance (more than 1,000 calls a day just at the state command center in Alexandria), and financial aid is being disbursed to pastors. So far, 57 pastors have received $1,000 each to help with expenses, “distributed through the director of missions in each of the affected areas,” according to Bill Robertson, pastoral leadership team leader. “We expect to help even more,” he added. Louisiana Baptists Executive Director David Hankins, who has been touring the regional incident command centers, said he wants pastors to know they are not alone. “Many of the area pastors are working in their communities in addition to tending to their own needs. We want them to know we stand with them during this difficult and demanding time and will do everything we can to assist them in every way possible,” said Hankins. “Louisiana Baptists are again showing their commitment to the Lord and their communities by their quick and sacrificial response to this historical … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer DENHAM SPRINGS - Patti Higginbotham was at home when her husband Tom walked in with a special delivery from the heavily flood-damaged worship center at Don Avenue Baptist Church. The pews had been destroyed by the current of the Amite River, which ran 6 feet high through the facility, and the pulpit was flipped on its side, she said. But the waters had lifted the Lord’s Supper table and moved it out a side door of the worship center, around a corner in the hallway and turned it 90 degrees against the flow to keep it in place in the back corridor – with the church Bible and offering plates intact. Some might dismiss such a blessing as a coincidence, Higginbotham offered. But she believes it was a symbolic gesture from God. “I just thought of Jesus’ declaration in Matthew, that ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away,” she said. “I immediately sent a text to everyone in the church to encourage them with the news. “I believe it was a way God was telling us He sees us and knows about our situation in this disaster. “He preserves His Word in our hearts,” she said, “but He also saw fit to preserve the tangible Word, the church Bible.” When the … [Read more...]