By Philip Timothy, Message Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – With a revised estimate of 155,000 damaged homes now being reported by the governor’s office, Louisiana Baptist leaders are asking for more volunteers to meet the overwhelming demand for assistance in mud-out and related services caused by historic floods across the southern part of the state in August. The new number, issued by Mike Steele, communications director for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, more than doubles the previously reported figure of about 61,000 flooded houses. But, Steele stressed the numbers may continue to fluctuate because calculations include direct reports from parishes combined with information gleaned from imaging technology. Meanwhile, Louisiana Baptist leaders are calling for an even greater mobilization of volunteers. Gevan Spinney, pastor of First Baptist Church, Haughton, and president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, thanked Southern Baptists for their response so far and lauded the North American Mission Board for the great work it does with disaster relief. “Those yellow shirts are a reminder throughout our state that we are not alone in this,” he said. But he also urged more … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALBANY – The water was rising to the door of the church parsonage and Pastor David Collins knew he had to make a difficult decision – placing his trust in complete strangers in an airboat to rescue his family. With the water waste deep and Blood River Baptist Church just a few hundred yards away, Collins reassured his two young boys they would be okay. Moments later, Collins joined his children as the three breathed a sigh of relief, for they had found refuge inside the church building. And in the midst of the situation, the Lord reminded Collins of a sermon he preached a few Sundays before on trusting in the Lord wholeheartedly for everything. Collins had to apply the message at that very moment. “It’s crazy how some folks think that it’s easy to put our trust in someone with an airboat, that we’ve never met, and put our little boys and belongings, on the boat,” Collins said. “I’ve never seen these people in my life. They came to rescue us without asking for anything in return. They came into my house to help me pack, grabbed my boys, dogs, and some essential belongings up and unselfishly placed them on their airboat. They asked me what else I needed and I had to say just … [Read more...]

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – The college spirit is coming to Baton Rouge this weekend, but not for a tailgate party near a football stadium. Four hundred college students from five southern states and 18 different Baptist Collegiate Ministry and church collegiate groups are coming together in the city, for one purpose – to help rebuild homes impacted by mid-August flooding. The groups will begin arriving on Friday and the last ones remaining will return to their campuses Monday. They will stay are area churches and come together on Saturday evening for a worship service at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. Steve Masters, Baptist Collegiate Ministry director at Louisiana State University, is one of the organizers of the event. He expects the student groups will complete between 70 and 100 homes. “I’m proud of these college students for being to help other people,” said Steve Master’s, BCM minister at LSU. “It’s so timely these college students would come. The sooner we can get Sheetock out of the homes, the better.” If a BCM is interested in assisting with recovery efforts, call Masters at 225.964.0830 or e-mail lsubcm@eatel.net. … [Read more...]

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...]