By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (LBM) – A celebration of 1,300 decisions for Christ at the Livingston Parish GO TELL AMERICA Crusade continued for First Baptist Church, Denham Springs, when it baptized 55 individuals on March 30 – the most ever on a single day for the congregation.
“It was beyond our expectations, that’s for sure,” FBCDS Pastor Leo Miller told the Baptist Message. “We were anticipating maybe 40-45 before the service began, but we ended up having many more, so it was pretty neat. People throughout the crusade have been excited to see God on the move and this was another way for our congregation to express their appreciation and gratitude to the Lord with more applause and worship.”
BACKGROUND
The baptisms came two weeks after the crusade, held March 16-19 in the Denham Springs High School football stadium. The four-day spiritual encounter, including all related outside events, yielded 1,316 persons decisions for Jesus, with 602 individuals stepping forward to accept Christ.
Miller and other Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association pastors and leaders shared that they prayed and prepared for more than a year with anticipation of a mighty harvest during the crusade in an area that associational leaders believe is 80-90 percent unchurched.
The crusade featured messages by Rick Gage, founder of GO TELL Ministries in Duluth, Georgia; Garrett Nussmeier, starting LSU quarterback; Adrian Despres, former University of South Carolina football team chaplain and current speaker with Forge Ministries in Denver, Colorado; Al Robertson, the oldest son of Duck Dynasty’s Phil and Kay Robertson; and Ken Freeman, founder of Ken Freeman Ministries in San Antonio, Texas, who brought Gospel messages. Meanwhile, award-winning Christian band Rush of Fools shared about Christ through music.
Additionally, Gage and Freeman presented a character development program, “On Track,” in 11 local schools to an estimated 8,000 students.
DISCIPLED
The church has a multi-tier approach for assimilating the new believers, including one-on-one discipleship, new believers classes, and larger classes to help them grow in their walk with the Lord. Miller estimates that more than 550 of the 1,000 who attend FBCDS Sunday worship services are involved in some form of discipleship.
“We don’t leave them where they are but reaffirm their decision to follow Christ beyond the baptistery,” Miller said. “We offer different opportunities for them to be assimilated into the body and try to find spiritually mature believers who are willing and ready to partner with them for a journey in discipleship.”
While the first three months of 2025 have proved fruitful, Miller is excited about what the Lord has in store for the rest of the year. The church has five more baptisms scheduled for April 6 and the church is anticipating a continued harvest for the foreseeable future.
“God is so good and He’s blessing us,” Miller said. “We’re certainly not worthy of any of His blessings and the grace that He pours out in our lives. We are thankful to be able to be on the receiving end of that grace in such a powerful way. He has given our people the courage and the faith to say yes to what He asks and when we step forward in obedience, we see what He does, whether it’s the decisions at the crusade or in believers baptism this past Sunday. It’s a really, really great time to be part of God’s family.”
