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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Georgia Barnette equips Toledo Bend ministry to be fishers of men

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ZWOLLE, La. (LBM) – Mary Gore has seen many souls added to the Kingdom during 32 years of “fishing for men” as director of the Toledo Bend Resort Ministry. With the help of staff and hundreds of volunteers, the Gospel has been shared at more than 30 parks, marinas and low-income housing projects through worship services, block parties, fishing tournaments and area fairs. HARVESTS REAPED This year, the ministry has reaped Gospel fruit because of multiple outreach events: -- During Easter weekend, volunteers from 15 churches shared Christ’s love during a block party attended by 250 people at Wildwood Resort in Zwolle and 128 at a worship service held during the block party that Saturday morning. There were also 30 people who attended the ministry’s first Easter Sunrise service the next morning on the pier at Wildwood Resort. -- In May, eight people made decisions to follow Jesus through a children’s fishing tournament at San Miguel State Park in Zwolle. -- In July, a team from First Baptist Church, Cotton Valley, Texas, saw three people indicate a need to come to Christ during a Backyard Bible Club held at several apartment buildings in Zwolle. -- Also in … [Read more...]

EVANGELISM 101 (Part 8): A trauma-informed church will win souls

By Ryan Johnson, special to the Baptist Message EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a pair of articles about how to share the Gospel with people who have experienced trauma. NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- Obedience to the Great Commission requires churches to be ready for the complex realities of ministry, including the kinds of situations where trauma has fractured trust, distorted identity, and left people wary of both God and others. Preparation for these situations is the focus of a new field known as trauma-informed evangelism, which equips believers with strategies to respond with grace, truth, and intentional relationships, as they invite those who have experienced trauma to find healing in Christ through spiritual formation, conversion, and discipleship.  COMMON SCENARIOS It's Wednesday night, and a 9-year-old first-time guest hits another child in line for snacks. You’re told he has “anger issues.” Will you let him return next Wednesday? A new visitor to your women’s group won’t make eye contact during the Bible lesson on forgiveness. Will anyone notice her detachment, or will they dismiss her as being introverted? A teenage boy in the youth group constantly jokes, derails conversations, and never opens up. … [Read more...]

2025 Q2: Send Network La. yields 190 decisions,115 baptisms

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Send Network Louisiana churches celebrated a Gospel harvest to start the new year, producing 190 decisions for Christ and 115 baptisms by 44 church plants from April to June. Additionally, the Louisiana Baptist church plants reported 6,959 Gospel conversations and an average of 72 in weekly worship attendance, according to a recent second quarter report by Send Network Louisiana. Since January, these newly formed congregations have seen 341 come to Christ and baptized 183 new converts. Send Network Louisiana Director Lane Corley said the work would not be possible without Louisiana Baptist churches who contribute to the Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and Georgia Barnette Louisiana Missions O­ffering. “Baptisms doubled in church plants this quarter from quarter one,” he said. “Church planting is evangelism that leads to a new congregation. It’s great to see churches starting through healthy evangelistic growth.” GOSPEL VISION The Send Network Louisiana partnership 1 between Louisiana Baptists and the North American Mission Board, which went into e­ffect Aug. 1, 2023, has helped the state further its God-sized vision to … [Read more...]

SCOTUS rulings, other court cases impact Louisiana Baptists

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor WASHINGTON (LBM) – The U.S. Supreme Court recessed from its 2024- 2025 term on June 26, having voted on 58 cases, decided another nine without ballots, and moved two to the 2025-26 term (which begins October 6) with a number addressing public policies that touch the homes, workplaces and ministries of Louisiana Baptists. VULNERABLE CHILDREN In United States v. Skrmetti, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 2023 Tennessee ban against “performing on a minor or administering to a minor a medical procedure if the performance or administration of the procedure is for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” The Court’s ruling will impact 25 other states with similar statutes, including Louisiana whose lawmakers overrode a veto, by then-Governor John Bel Edwards, to make HB648 a law (Act 466). This 2023 legislation, authored by Rep. Gabe Firment, a deacon with the First Baptist Church, Pollock, prohibits “procedures to alter the sex of a minor child” and was largely influenced by the 2022 Louisiana Baptist Convention RESOLUTION 2: ON PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM THE PERMANENT PHYSICAL HARM OF SEX CHANGE … [Read more...]

GBO helps Goodwood Community Church reach young families

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Casey Williamson was at a spiritual crossroads in early 2023. A former professional baseball player, Williamson had hung up his glove and spikes to serve with Campus Outreach, which hosts student ministries on more than 100 campuses in 10 countries. As the years passed, Williamson and his wife, Jill, saw fruit at Louisiana State University, Southeastern Louisiana and University of Louisiana at Lafayette but had gotten to a point where their passion had grown more to minister to students who had graduated and now had families of their own. Williamson knew he had been called to be a pastor and that God had him there to prepare for this next step. After a season of prayer, Williamson and the other leaders of the sending church, Christ Covenant Church in Baton Rouge, were approached by Trinity Baptist Church in the city with another to donate their facility while its congregation remained in the building for weekly worship. The aging congregation had dwindled in worship attendance (from 60 in 2019 to 20 in 2023) and sought the Lord to use another church to reach the community for Christ. After a series of conversations with the leadership of Trinity, … [Read more...]