By LC Communications PINEVILLE – Louisiana College has set aside March 23 as a special day of prayer. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, participants can take part in a self-guided prayer walk through seven reflective stations focusing on the passion week of Jesus, and prayer for the campus, community of Alexandria-Pineville, state and nation. “Please feel free to come and spend a few moments remembering what Christ did for us and to continue to pray for our campus,” said Thomas Worsham, Director of LC’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry. The LC Baptist Collegiate Ministry is sponsoring the prayer walk. … [Read more...]

By Message Staff Spared by God from the flooding which consumed more than 85 percent of the small rural community of Castor, First Baptist Church has been transformed into a “hub of relief” according to Pastor Preston Young. Floodwaters from Kepler Lake and Black Lake Bayou have consumed more than 85 percent of the homes in Castor, a small rural community of just 252 people in Bienville Parish. The majority of the flooding has taken place on the west side of town while 10 homes on the sparsely populated east side have been damaged by flood waters. “Some homes in our area had six to seven feet of water in them,” said Young. “Some homes that have been elevated for 30 to 40 years and never had water get into them were flooded. We share the same campus with Castor High School. The school was flooded and we had flood waters come up to the concrete slab of our church, but didn’t get inside. “God spared us from the flooding because he had a plan for this church,” Young said. Indeed He did. Beginning on that Thursday and throughout Friday when the rain was non-stop, Young saw how quickly the water was rising. Church members did what they could to help people in the community save what they could but their biggest … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Tuesday night, prayers for revival and for the recent flooding in the state took center stage at a three-hour prayer gathering in Many. Nearly 70 pastors and others in District 8 Baptist Associations assembled at Hope Chapel in Many for the ‘Prayer Summit,’ which began with a focus on the record flooding that has engulfed many parts of the state. Prayer Summit organizer Cyle Clayton said, throughout the gathering, different prayers were offered about the flooding and needs were shared related to those affected by this disaster. He said everyone who attended knew at least one person who has been impacted by the flooding. “Everyone is overwhelmed and recognizing the needs,” said Clayton, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Many, who has been praying with other pastors for six years for revival in the US. “Through prayer, the Lord connects our hearts to those situations like the flooding. When the Lord moves in our hearts, He moves our hands and feet. And many in the room by the end of the night were talking about ways they will become involved in helping out those in need.” Timothy Robertson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Logansport, said the ‘Summit’ helped those … [Read more...]

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA – Pastor Shane Terrebonne has announced the speakers for the 2nd Annual Gulf Coast Evangelism Conference scheduled for March 20-21 at South Lafourche Baptist Church in Cut Off. On March 20, Titus Terrebonne, associate pastor of South Lefourche, will speak at 10:45 a.m. and Ryan Melson, pastor of West Bank Baptist Church in Marrero, will preach at 6:30 p.m. The following evening, Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention,  will close out the conference by presenting a message at 6:30 p.m. “I’m excited to see how God will use this event to help us grow evangelistically,” Pastor Terrebonne told the Baptist Message. He invited Louisiana Baptists to be part of this special focus on winning the lost in our state.   … [Read more...]

In a video posted on Facebook, First West Senior Pastor Michael Wood said the church was canceling the First West NELA Egg Drop which had scheduled to take place on Saturday at West Monroe and Sterlington High Schools because of the flooding. Seventy thousand eggs were to be dropped from a hot air balloon at the two campuses. “I want to let you know that at First West we were scheduled to have our First West Egg Drop coming up this Saturday,” Wood said. “We believe we want to steer all our resources and all of our volunteers to continue to meet needs that are right here in around us because of the flood disaster that’s taken place. “We are going to cancel that for this weekend because we want to continue to meet the needs in our neighborhood. We hate we have to do that but we know this is the right thing to do,” Wood said. “This is the moment God has given us a chance to minister to those in our community. “So, I want to encourage you that if you have not gotten plugged in yet to somewhere to be serving, somewhere to be helping someone. The easiest way to do that is go to firstwest.cc/floodrelief,” Wood continued. “If you will go there, there is a place to sign up to volunteer or maybe you still have a need. If there is … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE - Louisiana College has entered into a one-year, dual enrollment with University Academy. The two schools announced the news during a press conference on March 15 at the LC campus in Pineville. The agreement allows qualified high school students from University Academy to enroll at LC. This will be University Academy's second location. University Academy also uses facilities at LSU-Alexandria. https://youtu.be/fDG4sf9PUmQ … [Read more...]

By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor The enormous scope of the damage that flooding has inflicted on Louisianans has left many in the state shaken but yet resolved to overcome. Still, people are going to need a lot of help in order to recover, according to disaster relief experts in the state. Floodwaters have damaged more than 7,000 homes in Louisiana, affecting 28 parishes, but that number likely will rise because many of the state’s biggest rivers have yet to crest. Louisiana Baptists’ disaster relief units, joined by Southern Baptist crews from 10 other states, already are fanning out to minister and help where they can, even as they wait for the waters to recede. “Nobody fully understands how big this thing is yet and it is still going on,” said John Hebert, director of missions and ministry for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “All of our state assets have been deployed and we are barely scratching the surface. The magnitude of this flooding is just unbelievable as there are very few places in the state that have not been affected by it,” Hebert said.   https://youtu.be/XLsq1qMCVJs David Abernathy, Louisiana Baptists’ northern region disaster relief coordinator, told Hebert, “We need all the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Jason Womack has issued a challenge to area churches – instead of holding normally scheduled activities on Wednesday, join him and his congregation at Goldonna Baptist Church as they become the church to those affected by recent record flooding. Like so many other churches in the state, Goldonna has altered business as usual for a little while to minister to its members and others from the community affected by flooding throughout Louisiana. Instead of holding its usual Sunday night service, Goldonna members traveled to flooded areas and passed out food items, bottled water and other essential items. “Our plan for Wednesday is to team up with any area churches and individuals who desire to be the Church and deliver more food, water and other items,” Womack said. “The office of Homeland Security delivered two pallets of M.R.E.s and bottled water for this area. Anyone wanting to be the Church with us is welcome.” More than two feet of rain has fallen in some areas of the state, leading to flooded homes, impassable roadways and even four deaths. Various organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief both in Louisiana and outside the state have come to … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Since its first Bible study last August, The Bridge Church in Covington had planned having several big outreach events this spring as a lead up to its launch of worship services this fall. Now, like so many other Louisiana Baptist churches, those planned outreaches for Bridge Church have turned into flood relief opportunities – even as its pastor Kirk Strawbridge and his family lost most of their furniture as their home took on 10 inches of water on Thursday. Now living in a parsonage belonging to First Baptist Church in Mandeville’s Barker’s Corner campus, Strawbridge is optimistic about the future. “It has been awesome to seen the flood of love from God’s people trump the damage of an earthly flood of water,” Strawbridge said. “He has a plan through it all.” Strawbridge’s church did not sustain any water damage and plans to hand out food boxes to those in need. Lane Corley, pastor of the sponsor church, said Strawbridge and his wife Susie lost nearly everything they owned during Hurricane Gustav in 2008. He expects the couple to come out strong once again. “This hardship is not new to them,” said Corley, pastor of the Bridge Church in Madisonville. “They’ll bounce … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer   The congregation of Zenoria Baptist Church in Trout knows the difference 12 hours can make. Last Friday morning, members of the Zenoria’s congregation, members from First Baptist Church in Jena and others from the community were cleaning up a small amount of standing water off the floor inside the church building. By that evening, the floodwaters had risen almost 9 feet and had nearly reached the rooftop of the church, which is located less than a half-mile from the overflowing Little River. Now, the church is waiting for the water to recede. Pastor Joel Johnson said the church that averages 40 on a Sunday morning is determined to renovate the facility and continue being a shining light in the community, something it has done since its founding in 1922. “The congregation is disheartened about not being able to meet together at the church, but they are determined the flooding is not going to stop us from meeting as the body of Christ,” Johnson said. “They are ready to see what that next step is and how do we go about doing it. They are very encouraged about keeping the church going and keeping the church as a part of the community.” As they look toward the future, … [Read more...]