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...]

By Staff, Baptist Message After a week of rain, the sunshine was a welcome sight for many in Louisiana Sunday. The same could not be said for the rapidly rising floodwaters that has overtaken nearly 5,000 homes, businesses and churches throughout the state. According to initial figures released Sunday (March 13) by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, 4,958 homes have been damaged due to historic river flooding caused by more than two feet of rain. But during the reprieve many people affected by the flooding went to church to pray for the victims, seek God’s Divine intervention or to just give thanks. Such was the case as the community of Sterlington, unified by the historic flooding, attended services at First Baptist Church Sterlington. The congregations of First West-Fairbanks Campus, First Sterlington, St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church and Foundry attended services at First Sterlington praying for unity in the middle of the present disaster. Pastor Ben Hackler of FBC Sterlington shared from Matthew 8 about how Jesus would carry us through the storms we face Other Southern Baptist churches raised money to assist Louisiana Disaster Relief teams in recovery efforts … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message As if the rain wasn’t enough, now comes the flooding and it could be historic. More than 24 inches of rain has fallen in Louisiana over the last five days and residents are now bracing for major flooding. According to the National Weather Service, record flooding is already occurring along a stretch of the Sabine River, the Bogue Falaya River in Covington and Bayou Dorcheat at Lake Bistineau and Little River in Winn and LaSalle Parishes. The flooding of the Sabine River is being accelerated by the release of 207,644 cubic feet per second or about 1.5 million gallons per second at the Toledo Bend Spillway, which was constructed in 1966. In the next several days along the Louisiana/Texas border the river will rise to historic levels. Residents down river are under mandatory evacuation orders as the river is expected to crest by almost two feet over the unofficial record set in 1884 in the town of Deweyville, Texas. The crest will flood numerous homes and leave roads impassable and towns isolated. Thousands of homeowners in north and central Louisiana have already encountered severe flooding from the heavy rain – 24 inches in some areas. In response, Samaritan’s Purse has deployed two … [Read more...]