By Message Staff LAKE ARTHUR – The sandbags are stacked high around First Baptist Church in Lake Arthur, most of the congregation has evacuated and now all they and the rest of the southwest Louisiana town can hope for is a miracle from God. Threatening to flood the community is the Mermentau River, whose crest occurred earlier Thursday, Aug. 18, at 10.73 feet. The river previously was expected to crest at 11.5 feet on Friday. So far, they are holding up as the community and local churches have banded together to help one another during this time. “We are holding each other’s hand during this time,” said Pastor Jered. “The Lord has shown up and showed off his greatness during this time.” The Lake Arthur Police Department has issued a dusk-til-dawn curfew until further notice for the town of 2,700 residents. Thomas said water was not in the town yet, though he expects to know if water will come into Lake Arthur between later tonight and sometime Friday. Lake Arthur Mayor Robbie Bertrand said in a Facebook post Thursday morning that overnight all levees held, with some amount of leakage due to pressure from the buildup of water against them. Bertrand said the east part of town does not have a levee or pump and … [Read more...]

By Gary D. Myers, NOBTS Public Relations NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana has been no stranger to disaster during the past decade. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ravished the state in recent years. Once again the state is in the epicenter of a historic disaster. During the past week, unprecedented flooding near Baton Rouge has displaced thousands of residents and ruined more than 40,000 homes. While the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary main campus is well outside the affected area, many seminary students and their families are among the victims of this tragedy. The needs are overwhelming and NOBTS is readying for a response as the event moves from crisis to recovery. “The flooding rains and rising rivers that hit South Louisiana during the last several days have created a monumental catastrophe causing severe damages in homes, churches and businesses far too numerous to list.  It will affect our area for a long time to come,” said New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley. “Thousands need food, clothing, and shelter.  There will be an enormous need for workers to help rebuild entire communities.” Kelley said that those who wish to help seminary students affected by … [Read more...]

B By Craig Franklin JENA, - For Louisiana College Head Men's Basketball Coach Reni Mason, basketball is nothing more than a platform to build the kingdom of God. Mason and his assistant coach, Jonathan Brooks, and two other student-athletes -- Raheem Regis and Travis Schutlz -- represented Louisiana College and Jesus Christ August 11 and 12 when they conducted a free basketball clinic at First Baptist Church Jena for aspiring players from kindergarten through 12th grade. "We teach the fundamentals of basketball, but the most important reason we conduct these camps is to share the Gospel," Mason said. "We start each day with a devotion, get into our drills, and end with a devotion. Everything we do starts and ends with God." "I'd like to thank Pastor Dominick DiCarlo and the Jena First Baptist Church family for allowing us to come and conduct this clinic," Mason said. Louisiana College sponsors basketball camps for three weeks each summer, but this year expanded with free clinics to areas outside of the campus after. "This year we conducted two of these clinics, the first was at Alpine Baptist Church in Tioga and the second was here at First Baptist in Jena," Mason said. "We've averaged about 65 youths between … [Read more...]

By Craig Franklin, Jena/Olla Times JENA -- For Louisiana College men's basketball coach Reni Mason, basketball is nothing more than a platform to build the kingdom of God. He and his assistant coach, along with two LC players, brought that platform to Jena last week as they conducted a free basketball clinic at First Baptist Church for aspiring players from kindergarten through 12th grade. "We basically teach the fundamentals of basketball but the most important reason we conduct these camps is to share the Gospel," Mason said. "We start each day with a devotion, get into our drills, and end with a devotion. Everything we do starts and ends with God. "I'd like to thank Pastor Dominick DiCarlo and the Jena First Baptist Church family for allowing us to come and conduct this clinic," he said. "I have never been to Jena so all I knew was what I had heard. Well, I can tell you after being here, Jena is nothing like the image some tried to make it out to be several years ago." Louisiana college, which is located in Pineville, sponsors basketball camps for three weeks each summer but this year began branching out and conducting free clinics to other areas outside of their campus after the camps at LC have … [Read more...]

Hannah Wallace, Mississippi College Public Relations DENHAM SPRINGS -- Mary Beth Hughes doesn’t recognize Denham Springs after her hometown was devastated by historic flooding. “Ninety percent of our town was under water,” said the 21-year-old Mississippi College senior. But the amazing thing is her home wasn’t damaged, and never lost electricity. “God had his hand on our house,” Mary Beth said Wednesday after returning to the Baptist-affiliated university in Clinton. “It’s a miracle.” Describing the impact of monsoon rains that brought havoc to Bayou State residents made Hughes tear up at times. “Truly this is the greatest place in the world and the people are the greatest you will ever meet,” she said. “We will need prayers. Denham Springs is torn up. But we will recover.” The storm dumped more than 20 inches of rain on southwest Mississippi, coastal Louisiana, and led to massive flooding in cities like Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana. It left seven people dead and sparked rescues of more than 20,000 people. The Amite River was among several rivers and creeks pouring over their banks. Motorists were stranded. People climbed trees to get away from rushing waters. Louisiana’s recovery team dubbed the Cajun … [Read more...]

UPDATE (3:23 p.m.): Additional mud-out training opportunities have been scheduled through Aug. 23 in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas. The following churches are hosting sessions: Aug. 17: Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, 6 p.m. First Baptist Church, Lafayette, 6 p.m. Aug. 18: The Grove, Prairieville, 6 p.m. Highland Baptist Church, New Iberia, 6 p.m. Aug. 20: Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, 8 a.m. (Hispanic) Aug. 23: First Baptist Church, Jennings, 6:30 p.m. An assessment training session is also scheduled for 6 p.m. on Aug. 19 at Ascension Baptist Church in Gonzales. ORIGINAL STORY: BATON ROUGE – The Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge has announced two mud-out training sessions for this Saturday. Hosted at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, one session will take place from 8 to 11 a.m., led by Charles Watson. The other session is for college students from 7 to 9 a.m. and will be led by Steve Masters, campus director of the LSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry. The cost is $25, which covers the cost of a hat and t-shirt. Each class will be deployed immediately after the training. Participants are asked to bring work clothes, such as long pants, long … [Read more...]

By Message Staff In the 25 years Louis Husser has served as pastor of Crossgate Baptist Church, he said the situation has never been this bad. The church’s worship center and gymnasium both took in one foot of water from flash flooding over the weekend. While some of his members have come to help with clean-up efforts, he said many are unable do much because their own homes are flooded. Many in his congregation had recently finished repairing their homes from flooding in March. Husser, who had water come within an inch of coming into his own home, estimates work to clean up both structures could take at least three months and welcomes any volunteer labor help. “Pray for us,” Husser said. “We need folks to be aware. Any help we can get would be awesome.” Flooded roadways are preventing Pastor Josh Powell from reaching Woodland Baptist Church in Springfield but he knows there was significant damage. The youth building took in four feet of water, the education building and worship center each had a foot or more and the parsonage about 10 inches. Donations can be dropped off at First Baptist Springfield. His church will need one of the LBC’s shower trailer and mud-out teams, as well as cleaning supplies and … [Read more...]

LAFAYETTE -- The Bayou Church in Lafayette and First Baptist Lafayette will host two important training events dealing with the flooding. The Bayou Church will host its training tonight, Aug. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. while First Lafayette’s training event will be Wednesday evening. Both training events will be led by Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief. Volunteers will learn how to properly and safely assist with flood relief efforts in homes. All volunteers must be at least 14 years old. “Please share the word and join us tonight,” the Bayou Church wrote on its Facebook page. “Together, we can help our community.” Pastor Mike Walker said churches needed to seize upon this event to minister to the community. “This is a magnificent opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a hurting community and literally see lives transformed. “We prepared for this event five months ago as we did a teaching series on Generosity,” Walker continued. “We received a special offering to give generously to five non-profits in Lafayette and Haiti and one of the five was for Disaster Relief. “We wanted to be poised to serve people promptly without worrying about asking for donations when a crisis occurred,” said … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MADISONVILLE – Like a good shepherd, Lane Corley spent the majority of the weekend tending to his flock including helping his worship leader and his family to find shelter after they were rescued by the Louisiana National Guard. One of four families from the Bridge Church in Madisonville who were trapped in their homes by rapidly rising water, Will and Charity Phillips, along with their newborn baby and four-year-old twins, were rescued by one of the Guard’s 5-ton trucks Sunday morning. They were taken to a local restaurant, which was situated on higher ground, until Corley was able to reach them and take them to his home. The Phillips will remain with Corley until the floodwaters recede. Corley, who serves as pastor of the Bridge Church as well as LBC church planning strategist, is thankful all four families were able to make it out unharmed. Still, he realizes they and others in south Louisiana have a long road ahead to recovery. "There are so many neighborhoods, homes and businesses affected by this flood, including East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populated," Corley said. "We've got a lot of work and a great opportunity to let our 'light shine before men' … [Read more...]

By Message Staff LIVINGSTON – Near tragedy turned into jubilation over the weekend at Satsuma Baptist Church. Separated after flash flooding caused some in Livingston to be trapped, family members living near the church were reunited with one another on Sunday. Two different boats transported people to throughout the day to the church, dropping each rescued person off and into the arms of anxious but grateful members of displaced families. Pastor Brad Delaughter said he is grateful for how his congregation and the entire community rose to the occasion. “It was just a blessing to witness that, to see our church was used as a part of that,” Delaughter said. “We are the hands and feet of Jesus. To come together as an Acts 2 church and see the tangible effects are amazing. “And to see all the Southern Baptist churches in our area doing more than they ever have and helping each other minister and supplying each other’s needs where short is truly a humbling experience,” he said. Since Saturday afternoon, Satsuma Baptist has sheltered 110 people. Many people in his congregation have left their own houses – some which were damaged by high floodwaters – to serve meals, pass out supplies and just provide a listening ear … [Read more...]