Delta Baptist Association
RIDGECREST – Ruby Holder, wife to Ridgecrest Baptist Church’s Pastor, Preston Holder, said things are happening at Ridgecrest.
“We are real thrilled,” Ruby Holder said. “We have several things going on.”
For the upcoming Christmas season, the children of the church will put on a Christmas Musical. They will perform the musical twice, once at Wednesday night AWANAS, and once during Sunday morning worship.
The adults won’t be outdone though. They too will put on a Christmas Musical for the congregation during December.
Ridgecrest members will also give out food baskets during December to people in the community.
Ministry at Ridgecrest Baptist Church doesn’t just deal with Christmas.
“We have a Children’s Church that’s really moving,” Holder said. “We usually run between 50 and 75 kids (each Sunday morning).”
And teenagers are being touched by God too.
“We have at least 50 youth coming,” she said.
During the Sunday evening service on November 23rd, Pastor Holder baptized six people, three adults and three teenagers.
Mrs. Holder also is the director of the Delta Baptist Store Front Mission.
“We give out food [or] whatever the need might be,” she said. “We’re reaching out all over.”
The Holders have been ministering at Ridgecrest Baptist Church for five years, but Pastor Holden has been in the ministry all over the world for decades.
“The church just celebrated [with us] 50 years of preaching,” she said. “He’s tried to retire four times.”
Part of that celebration included a love offering for the Holders.
With that gift, the Holders have special plans for Christmas week.
“We’re going on a two-week cruise,” she said.
Norwood Baptist Church
William Wallace Baptist Association
NORWOOD – Pastor Kevin J. Sartin has been at Norwood Baptist Church for about three years. During that time, he and his congregation have seen God make new relationships with members of the community that bring together young and old.
During the week of Thanksgiving, church members held an outreach to a small elderly community in a local apartment complex.
The members cooked a Thanksgiving meal and delivered it to all the people there.
At press time, the meals hadn’t yet been delivered, but Sartin said that last year, “about 60 to 65 meals, along with food baskets, were delivered.”
Church members have plans for Christmas too.
“On Dec. 7 we’ll sponsor a Christmas party for the apartment complex (residents),” Sartin said. “There are about 20 of them.”
Children from the church will sing a couple of songs. The members who take part in the party will eat in the common area with the residents.
Some of the residents won’t leave their rooms, so meals will be given to them in their rooms.
One church member lives near the apartment complex and visits the residents a few times a week. This helps too.
Some of the residents will attend church on special occasions, but most don’t. Sartin feels that race is a factor in this. His church is predominately white. The residents are mostly African American. But, God still works within the confines of human comfort.
“We’ve been able to build some good relationships with them,” he said.
Another thing happening at Norwood Baptist Church is babies, lots of them!
Sartin said they’ve had their own little baby boom at the church.
“We have about 20 children 2 years old and under, plus two expectant mothers,” he said. “We’re working on expanding our nursery.”
The church is running out of room.
“It’s a good problem to have,” the pastor added.
On a typical Sunday morning worship, about 100 people participate. This year the pastor was able to baptize two people, and soon will baptize a third.
Pam Lockwood is the church’s children’s minister, and, Sartin said, is doing a great job. They have an evening Bible Drill program that is quite successful. And she and other adults make sure that the kids are involved in reaching out to the folks in the community.
Natchitoches Baptist Association
ASHLAND – Several special events have been happening at Ashland Baptist Church.
“God is really blessing us,” said David Moore, Ashland’s pastor.
Moore was quick to share about the patriotic service his church family held for the church’s veterans in November. About a dozen men from the church brought or wore their uniforms to the service.
“It was so moving, so emotional,” Moore said. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”
He and others in the church were honored to honor their veterans, men who not only love God, but also their country so much that they chose to fight for it.
Moore and wife Jan have been serving the Ashland congregation full-time for the last six years. In that time, they have seen so much.
“Our little church has almost doubled in attendance,” Moore said.
He knows it’s God, but other than that, Moore only had a couple of things to say about the increase in members.
“We’re loving the people, we’re trying to be one with the people” the pastor said.
He’s seen the community respond well to ministry from Ashland, and he thinks it’s because people in the community sense honesty and a down-to-earth approach from him and the other Ashland members.
“(Ashland)’s not a booming area,” Moore said. “We have to be creative” to get people interested in attending church.
For Christmas, members of the church will put on a live nativity scene called “Live from Bethlehem.” They will dress up as the people who were part of Jesus’ birth. This will take place during the Dec. 14 evening service.
Musical things are happening at Ashland Baptist Church too. Moore’s wife has started a children’s handbell choir recently. And Moore said that the church now has a full-fledged praise band, with drums and all.
“I kind of introduced it slowly,” the pastor said. “I do things slowly and tactfully. I don’t try to force things.”
Some of the members weren’t sure at first when these new things were introduced, Moore said, but they are sure now.
“We do things upbeat and lively,” he said. “The people love it.”
Washington Baptist Association
BOGALUSA – The people of Memorial Baptist Church presently are involved in some powerful Bible studies and in some creative outreaches during the holiday season, said the church’s pastor, Brian Kershaw.
“We had a Thanksgiving Service for women without partners,” he said. This took place the week before Thanksgiving.
The ladies of the church just finished the first part of Beth Moore’s Daniel study.
“They will do the second half in January,” the pastor said, adding that the ladies seem to be really enjoying the study.
“I’m teaching Concentric Circles of Concern every Sunday Night,” Kershaw said. He’s getting a good response from those who are attending, the pastor added.
Right now Memorial Bogaluse is preparing to put on a “Living Christmas” display.
“We’ll have a manger [scene] set up and music playing right across the street [from the church],” Kershaw said. It’s to take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 5 and 6.
“We have sheep, and we’ll have a donkey,” the pastor added. But, he added, there will be no camels.
Throughout the year Kershaw has been able to baptize several people. At the time of the interview he didn’t have the exact figures, but each one was an answer to prayer, he said.
Presently, on a typical Sunday, about 200 people attend Sunday morning worship.
The Youth are reaching out to people in the community too. Kershaw said they recently put on a scavenger hunt. They went door-to-door collecting food for food baskets that church members will hand out to community members who need them.