Edgewater Baptist Church has done an excellent job embracing their post-Katrina neighborhood. By Tobey Pittman Special to the Message NEW ORLEANS – Edgewater Baptist Church has done an excellent job embracing their post-Katrina neighborhood. Pastors Kevin Lee and Jason Sampler have inserted themselves very effectively as anchor-points for members and neighbors who want to return. Even though they are meeting in a tent or in cramped quarters inside the partially renewed facility, Sunday attendance is now greater than it was before the storm! Samaritans Purse has installed a wonderful new playground for the children. Bear Creek Baptist in Katy, Texas, recently installed a new fence around the playground. Pastor Ben needed a deep layer of pea gravel along one side of the playground. He did not know how to order a dump truck of pea gravel in New Orleans. Next door a local construction company was rebuilding a house. Who better to ask? Marvin asked how much gravel was needed. He came over to measure the area, called his office and ordered the gravel. Ben asked what the price would be. Marvin said that he was donating the gravel. This is how God’s new economy works in … [Read more...]
NAMB appoints missionary to New Orleans Baptist Center
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The North American Mission Board has appointed Vanessa Lynn Kulpa as a Baptist Center missionary, serving in New Orleans, La. Prior to her new post, Vanessa was a sign language interpreter for the First United Methodist Church in St. Augustine, Fla. A Florida native, she earned an A.A.S. degree in sign language at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Fla., and a B.S. degree in nutrition at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Fla. She also attended Saint Johns River Community College, Palatka, Fla. … [Read more...]
7 states pass marriage amendments
A majority of states in America now have adopted constitutional marriage amendments. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A majority of states in America now have adopted constitutional marriage amendments. Seven states passed amendments Nov. 7 protecting the natural definition of marriage, bringing to 27 the number of states nationwide that have adopted amendments aimed at prohibiting “gay marriage.” An eighth state, Arizona, seemed to be on the verge of becoming the first one to defeat an amendment, although conservatives there still hoped to see the final count yield a victory. The seven states passed the amendments with an average of 63.6 percent of the vote, ranging from 52 percent in South Dakota to 80 percent in Tennessee. In Colorado, conservatives celebrated a double victory, watching the amendment win easily while also helping defeat Referendum I, which would have granted same-sex couples many of the legal benefits of marriage. It was a somewhat stunning loss for Referendum I after it led in pre-election polls. “This shows that, nationwide, Americans still support marriage,” Glen Lavy, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told Baptist Press. “They know that marriage … [Read more...]
NOBTS students hear missions call
Throughout Global Missions Week at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, all the activities and sermons were leading to one moment – a chance for the next generation of missionaries to respond to God’s call. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Throughout Global Missions Week at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, all the activities and sermons were leading to one moment – a chance for the next generation of missionaries to respond to God’s call. When International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin offered that opportunity, a number of students responded by committing their lives to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Rankin did not mince words in his message: He assured the audience that a call to global missions is no easy task. “God is not primarily concerned about your safety and your comfort and your security,” Rankin said. “God’s primary concern is His glory among the nations.” Rankin noted the paradox facing missionaries today: In a world of increasing turmoil, God is bringing about a great harvest. “We are living in a time of probably the greatest mission advance in history, but our news is just filled with chaos, disaster, warfare, violence [and] political upheaval,” he said. … [Read more...]
NAMB researches Americans’ views of Southern Baptists
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Southern Baptists were viewed favorably by 57 percent of adults interviewed as part of recent research conducted by the North American Mission Board’s Center for Missional Research through Zogby International. The positive outlook toward Southern Baptists, United Methodists and the Catholic Church was about the same in the survey, while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Muslims received less favorable ratings, 32 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Southern Baptists received unfavorable impressions from 17 percent of the respondents, while another 24 percent said they were not familiar with Southern Baptists. The NAMB research polled 1,210 American adults across the country. Southern Baptists made the best impression where they are most prevalent, in southern ‘Bible Belt’ states. Two out of three respondents in the South expressed a favorable opinion of Southern Baptists, compared to only half of respondents in the West and East, where Southern Baptists have a smaller presence. Catholics were rated more favorably in the East and West, regions where their presence among survey respondents is proportionally greater, according to the … [Read more...]
Volunteeers help families
Gail Ladner is an ambassador of hope. A president or other political person did not appoint her to a prestigious post in a foreign county. Instead, she was commissioned by God to go into Rayburn Correctional Center in November to serve as a mentor to a child who would spend the day with her incarcerated father. ANGIE – Gail Ladner is an ambassador of hope. A president or other political person did not appoint her to a prestigious post in a foreign county. Instead, she was commissioned by God to go into Rayburn Correctional Center in November to serve as a mentor to a child who would spend the day with her incarcerated father. This was Ladner’s third assignment as an ambassador of hope. “I think God’s hand is in this ministry,” Ladner said. “God has a purpose for reaching out to dads in prison and getting them to accept their responsibility.” The ministry is called One Day With God; it is a daylong children’s camp inside the chainlink fence. Forgiven Ministry sponsors camps like these in several states, under the leadership of Scottie Barnes, a woman who knows firsthand what it means to feel abandoned and unloved by an incarcerated father. “Seventy percent of the children of inmates end … [Read more...]
Messengers experience unity
The need for physical rebuilding remained evident in Lake Charles when the Louisiana Baptist Convention held its Nov. 13-14 annual meeting. LAKE CHARLES, La. (BP)--The need for physical rebuilding remained evident in Lake Charles when the Louisiana Baptist Convention held its Nov. 13-14 annual meeting. Numerous blue tarp roofs continue to flap in autumn winds across the city. Located just 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Charles first was inundated with Katrina evacuees and less than three weeks later with Rita’s 120 mph winds. Randy Roach, mayor of Lake Charles, was added to the annual meeting’s program so he could express appreciation for the thousands of Southern Baptist disaster relief and recovery workers who helped in southwest Louisiana. “I wanted to thank you, to thank Southern Baptists for what you have collectively done,” Roach said during the opening session of the annual meeting. “From my perspective you have made a difference and continue to make a difference. You’re carrying out God’s work and that’s making a difference.... America is who she is and will continue to be who she is as long as we have people like you.” Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist … [Read more...]
Pastors event gets back to basics
From instruction on the gospel itself, to direction on what a man of God is to do, the 2006 Louisiana Baptist State Pastors’ Conference got back to the basics before it looked toward the “A Time to Rebuild” theme of the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. LAKE CHARLES – From instruction on the gospel itself, to direction on what a man of God is to do, the 2006 Louisiana Baptist State Pastors’ Conference got back to the basics before it looked toward the “A Time to Rebuild” theme of the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Organized by Pastors’ Conference President Sonny Simpson, pastor of Willow Point Shreveport; Vice President Larry Thompson, pastor of First Westlake; and Secretary/Treasurer Frank Breithaupt, retired pastor, the Nov. 13 event drew about 450 people to First Lake Charles. Promise Ministries of Asheville, N.C., provided the music. Messages were brought by five men: Jimmy Millikin, professor of theology and chairman of theology at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Roger Haney, pastor of First Stilwell, Okla.; Danny Lovett, president of Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Jeff LaBorg, pastor of College Heights Gallatin, Tenn.; … [Read more...]
Baptist block party builds relationships
With the help of 21 other churches and at least 92 volunteers, East Ridge Baptist Church conducted a day-long block party Saturday, Nov. 11, at Crying Eagle FEMA Park, bringing smiles to hundreds of residents displaced from their homes by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. LAKE CHARLES — With the help of 21 other churches and at least 92 volunteers, East Ridge Baptist Church conducted a day-long block party Saturday, Nov. 11, at Crying Eagle FEMA Park, bringing smiles to hundreds of residents displaced from their homes by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “You couldn’t escape the gospel out there yesterday,” Weishampel told his congregation Sunday morning, including eight from Crying Eagle who’d caught the East Ridge van to church that morning. “You’re the reason we did what we did,” Weishampel told Amanda Marshal, a park resident who became a member at East Ridge on Sunday morning by profession of faith. “God has many wonderful things in store for you but this is the best: all of your sins are forgiven.” Later, Weishampel addressed Southern Baptists at their annual meeting on Monday, Nov. 13. “Our church could not afford it,” said Alan Weishampel of the block party. “You paid the … [Read more...]
Pilgrims pause to give thanks to God
Thankfully, the founders of the United States were literate. Thankfully, the founders of the United States were literate. If they had been unable to commit their thoughts to writing, the rabid secularists that now infest our nation would have already succeeded in erasing the significant role Christianity played in America’s founding. There is no more poignant reminder of our religious heritage than the national holiday of Thanksgiving. Some historians try to deny the religious motivation for the Pilgrims’ voyage to the New World. However, upon reading the thoughts of these brave adventurers there is no doubt as to why they left family and friends to undertake such a difficult and dangerous journey. As they prepared to leave their ships and set foot on dry land, the Pilgrims drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact. In part, it reads: “In the name of God, Amen, We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God ... Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony....” Given the context in which the Mayflower … [Read more...]
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