By Al Quartemont, Special to the Message PINEVILLE – As alumni of Louisiana College gathered on campus recently for the 103rd annual Homecoming, three stood out by being honored as “distinguished.” At the college’s homecoming chapel, Curt Iles, Ava Nell McWhorter and William Enete Sr. were recognized for the lives of faith they have lived since their graduations from LC. Iles, who graduated from LC in 1979, came to the school from Dry Creek, La., and returned to that community upon graduation, where he has served in education and mission work and has authored seven books. In speaking to the students gathered at the chapel service, Iles read from the journal he kept while at LC and listed four things for students to remember: where you came from, that you did not get here (to LC) by yourself, that your education does not end at LC and that you should seek God’s will in all things. Iles recounted a particular memory with the late Dr. Cavanaugh, when the then-freshman was struggling through his chemistry class and was prepared to drop it. “You know what God’s will is for you?” Iles said in relating that story. “It’s to buckle down and do the best you can ... where you are right now.” Ava McWhorter graduated from LC … [Read more...]

By AMY BRYANT, Special to the Baptist Message PINEVILLE – Former LC softball pitcher Emillie Collins along with long-time announcer Hymie Bradford and former running back Wayne Davis became the latest class inducted by the LC Wildcat Athletic Association at a ceremony that took place recently in LC’s Granberry Conference Center. Collins, a graduate of Grant High School in Dry Prong, was one of the cornerstones of LC’s nationally prominent softball team and a star on the Lady Wildcats squad that won the 2003 NCCAA National Championship. [img_assist|nid=6837|title=Emillie Collins, Wayne Davis and Hymie Bradford were inducted into LCs Sports Hall of Fame recently.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66]A two-time NCCAA All-American, Collins was the 2002 American Southwest Conference East Division Freshman of the Year. She was also chosen multiple times for the ASC All-Conference team. Collins also excelled academically, earning three ASC All-Academic honors and a spot on the CoSIDA All-district Academic team. Collins received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2005. Bradford graduated from Louisiana College in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor in Journalism. While a … [Read more...]

By PHILIP TIMOTHY, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY – For all he has accomplished, developer John Good Jr. readily admits he could never have accomplished any of it without God in his life. One of Louisiana’s premier developers, Good has developed such high-profile projects as Stonebridge, the Louisiana Boardwalk, and Villaggio. Founder and principal of the Good Companies, Good has been honored numerous times, including being recognized in February as “Entrepreneur of the Decade” by a prominent Bossier City civic organization. [img_assist|nid=6839|title=John Good, a long-time member of Trinity Heights Baptist Church in Shreveport, is a highly successful real estate developer.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]“God has seen fit to allow me do some extraordinary things,” Good said. “There is no way I could have accomplished the things I have accomplished without Him. Truthfully, all of the honors I have received belong to Him.” A long-time member of Trinity Heights Baptist Church, the 56-year-old Good has carved a niche in real estate development throughout the state of Louisiana, and especially in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. His company, headquartered in Texarkana, Texas, engages in … [Read more...]

By KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY, Managing Editor ALEXANDRIA – Baptisms are down in Southern Baptist churches across Louisiana. And, baptisms are up. Wayne Jenkins and Keith Manuel, director and associate, respectively, on the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Evangelism/Church Growth team, recently conducted a study on baptisms in the state’s nearly 1,600 churches over the last 10 years. “The difficulty in looking at these numbers is that in 2001, LifeWay [Christian Resources] changed their reporting method, which caused our numbers to drop by 1,000,” Jenkins said. “After [Hurricanes] Katrina and Rita, we were down by another thousand or so immediately, and we never have picked that completely back up. That’s the down side. “The good side is that the last two years we’ve been up over the previous year, so we’re moving in the right direction,” Jenkins continued. “We don’t know about this year yet; we’re still getting stats in, but we’ve heard some good reports from churches.” Baptisms increased overall by 1.5 percent in the 2008 church year, and by 6 percent in the 2009 church year. “I think we’ve turned the corner; our pastors are doing a good job,” the evangelism/church growth director said. “We’ve got to do a better job in … [Read more...]

It’s often said that statistics are often sterile, cold and boring. There’s an old adage that even draws the connection between statistics and lying. As true as these statements may be, sometimes data, charts, graphs and raw numbers give us the basis for a picture as nothing else can. The Louisiana Baptist Foundation uses numbers, statistics and dollar figures in our annual financial statement and the Book of Reports for the annual meeting. These figures are used to show how well the Foundation is managing the assets entrusted to it. The reports also show that the LBF continues to do the job of encouraging gifts made through trusts, bequests and other estate stewardship planning concepts.   All the numbers may give a snapshot of the Foundation and its purpose, but don’t show the finer details of how the assets are used to impact the lives of people. In the ten-year period from January 2000 through December 2009, the Louisiana Baptist Foundation paid out $42,404,877 to churches, entities, ministries and institutions associated with the Louisiana and Southern Baptist Conventions. The underlying reason that the Foundation is able to make these distributions is: Because someone gave! Much of this amount was paid to … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Foundation recently upgraded its website to better serve Louisiana Baptists. The upgraded site, the first major revision in three years, offers several tools to allow visitors the opportunity to begin the process of Estate Stewardship Planning. Estate stewardship involves the careful and responsible management of all assets entrusted to an individual by God, for His glory. The new website of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation provides specific information about the Foundation.  The website also allows visitors to use the same tools and resources offered by MyLegacyOfFaith.org, a website designed and produced in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Foundation and other Baptist entities. Through LBFinfo.org, guests of the site can access brochures regarding stewardship gift strategies. There are testimonies of couples and individuals who have moved beyond tithing and given God control over all of their assets. The desire of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation is that every Louisiana Baptist participate in quality estate planning as an act of stewardship. The website reinforces the principles of Biblical estate stewardship: God owns everything. We are called to be stewards of our time, talent and … [Read more...]

CENLA – Trained volunteers are needed to help counsel individuals who make spiritual decisions Friday evening, Nov. 12, at Louisiana College’s Wildcat Stadium, announced Cenla DOM Robert Daniel. A pre-event session for volunteers who are already trained to share their faith is to take place at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 in Bolton Chapel on the bottom floor of Guinn Auditorium on LC’s campus. CrossOver is the evangelistic outreach to the local area in conjunction with the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s annual meeting. This year Big Creek, Central and North Rapides associations are participating in CrossOver. The associations are partnering with MegaForce Ministries, who use feats of strength to draw a crowd to hear the Gospel, Daniel announced. The MegaForce team will be in local schools and churches throughout the week, culminating in the Friday night harvest event at Wildcat Stadium. That is where they need your help. Only volunteers who already are trained to share the Gospel are needed. Specific training for the use of follow-up materials will be provided on the evening of the November 12 at 6 p.m. before for the event. Call the Associational Office to volunteer or for more info: 318.445.5772. … [Read more...]

COMINGS AND GOINGS Charles Reynolds, executive pastor, resigned from Summer Grove, Shreveport, going to Connor, Ga. Steven Wade, new as student minister at Westside Emmanuel Baptist, Bogalusa. B. K. Miller, new as interim pastor at College Place Baptist, Monroe. Andrew Voss, new as pastor at Hillcrest Baptist, Franklinton from Satsuma Baptist, Livingston. Daniel Brimer, new as youth pastor at Emmanuel Baptist, Denham Springs. Steven (wife Stephanie) Smithson, new as pastor at North Acres Baptist, Minden. David (wife Jennifer) Eastland, new as pastor at First Baptist, Harahan. RETIREMENTS Ronnie Mills, associate/education pastor, retired from Grawood Baptist, Shreveport. DEATHS BATON ROUGE – D. Ray “Bo” Watts, age 70, died Sunday, Oct. 31; he pastored a number of churches in Louisiana and Mississippi. NEEDED Full-time senior pastor needed at Little Pass Baptist, Charenton; send resume to Pastor Search Committee, PO Box 326, Charenton LA 70523. Bi-vocational music minister needed at First Baptist, Sterlington; send resume to Search Committee, PO Box 725, Sterlington LA 71280. ANNIVERSARIES AND HOMECOMINGS ATHENS – New Hope Baptist: Homecoming Sunday, Nov. 14; Joe Aulds, speaker; Eddie Balance, … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana College is to be the site of the Jan. 8 “Preteen Invasion,” the first-ever time for an event like this targeting students in grades 4 through 6. “Invading the darkness with the light of truth” is the theme of the event that starts with registration at 8 a.m. and is set to close about 4:30 p.m. on that second Saturday in January. Ephesians 5:8 – You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. – is the theme verse. “We wanted to offer a ‘Youth Evangelism Conference’-like experience for preteens, where they can be inspired to live out their faith, and emboldened to share their faith in Christ with other preteens,” said Kevin Roberts, childhood ministry strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “Preteen Invasion” is to take place in Guinn Auditorium on the LC campus, where seating is to be first come, first served. “The earlier you register, the closer to the stage you can sit,” according to a promotional flyer about the event produced for  LBC Childhood Education by the LBC Communications Department. The event, funded in part by the Cooperative Program giving of Louisiana Baptist churches, basically is an evangelism conference for fourth-, fifth- and … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE  – The MegaForce evangelistic power teams are to be in Rapides and Grant Parishes the week of Nov. 8-14 to share positive messages about issues children and teens are dealing with during the day, and to share the Gospel at night, announces Robert Daniel, director of missions for three central Louisiana Baptist Associations: Big Creek, Central Louisiana and North Rapides. They will be part of the three associations’ CrossOver efforts that are to precede the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, set for Nov. 15-16 at the Riverfront Center in Alexandria. Alpine Baptist in Pineville hosted an “Old-Fashioned Tent Revival” Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 8-10. Gateway Baptist and Kingsville Baptist sponsored a contemporary Christian concert Wednesday evening. Hebron Baptist in Dry Prong plans to host a tent revival at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, through Saturday, Nov. 13, and at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. Georgetown Baptist plans to host the Craig Franklin Family in Concert at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. MegaForce is headed by Steve Carrier, world record holder for breaking 30 Louisville Slugger bats over his knee in 44 seconds. While in 20 schools across Cenla, Carrier and his teams plan to present … [Read more...]