By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer PARCHMAN, Miss. (LBM) – Robert Hyde, the immediate past pastor of Grace Baptist Church in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, who was granted parole in March 2022, has begun discipling inmates at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. In his role as a program supervisor, Hyde oversees more than 300 men who are taking classes in vocational school, adult basic education, Mississippi Delta Community College courses, careers services, book clubs via Zoom from Mississippi Library Commission and Jackson State University, and the extension center of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary classes. He also is an adjunct professor with the NOBTS extension center. Hyde, who began working at the prison in July 2022, said his new role is a way for him to give back to those who helped turn his life around while as an inmate. “It feels right to be here doing this,” Hyde, who shared his testimony at the 2023 Louisiana Baptist state Evangelism Conference, told the Baptist Message. “This is exactly where I am supposed to be, which is helping guys. I finally get to be for these guys what other men were for me at Angola. It’s the ultimate way to give back.” ROAD TO REDEMPTION Hyde grew … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists have a golden opportunity to reap a harvest of souls during a pair of evangelistic efforts preceding the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, which is scheduled for June 13-14 in New Orleans. The “Send Relief Serve Tour,” an effort that seeks to involve participants in service projects in Houma and New Orleans as the foundation for evangelism, will take place June 9-10. A celebration service will be held June 10 at First Bap[1]ist Church, New Orleans, with a meal at 5 p.m. and service at 6 p.m. Additionally, “Crossover,” a large-scale evangelistic effort, will take place in the New Orleans Baptist Association and North Shore Baptist Association, June 10. The “Serve Tour” and “Crossover” weekend will wrap up with a Harvest Sunday, June 11. Churches in these areas will be encouraged to utilize evangelists to fill the pulpit that day. Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn has set a combined goal for soul-winning through these two evangelistic efforts. In his report to the Executive Board in September and then again at the LBC Annual Meeting in November, he shared that he is praying for 2,023 people to be … [Read more...]