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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Revised YEC plans announced

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The 2020 Youth Evangelism Celebration is going on the road this year for three one-night events called “YEC: Limited Edition.” Originally, YEC was scheduled to convene at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Nov. 22-23, but novel coronavirus pandemic attendance restrictions caused the event to move to a regional format. First Baptist Church in Haughton will host the first of these smaller gatherings, Nov. 8, 6-8 p.m. Eddie Briery, pastor of The Church at Red River in Shreveport, will be the main speaker. Louisiana College will host the second in the series, Nov. 11, 6-8 p.m. Derek “Griff” Griffon, student pastor at The Bayou Church in Lafayette, will be the main speaker. This event also will be livestreamed on the Louisiana Baptist website for groups who can’t attend. First Baptist Church in Lafayette will close out YEC: Limited Edition, Nov. 15, 6-8 p.m. Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen Evangelism Director for the North American Mission Board, will be the guest speaker. Nick Parish, interim worship leader at Grawood Baptist Church in Keithville, will provide music at all three regional events. All participants will be required to wear a mask at the three … [Read more...]

‘Here for You’ impacts lost, encourages saved

By John Kyle Louisiana Baptist communications director ALEXANDRIA, La. – Without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, the multi-media outreach, “Here for You,” would not exist. That’s according to John Kyle, director of communications for Louisiana Baptists. “In a sense, Georgia Barnette and ‘Here for You’ are a marriage made in ‘missions heaven,’” Kyle noted. “Missions mean go – go to places and people who need to hear the Gospel. That’s exactly what “Here for You” is doing. Only we’re doing this inside the borders of Louisiana.” Launched in the summer of 2014 as part of the President’s 2020 Commission, “Here for You” is attempting to impact the estimated 2 million people in Louisiana who do not have relationships with Christ. “We talk a lot about those two million people and occasionally we’ll pray for them. ‘Here for You’ is an intentional effort to consistently go where they live and work, and creatively seed God’s truth in their hearts.” Georgia Barnette gifts supported pilot campaigns in three of Louisiana’s seven markets from 2014 – 2018. “Here for You” launched statewide in February 2019. Kyle says much was gleaned from the pilot campaigns. “‘Here for You’ started out as the tagline for the … [Read more...]

LBC seeks resolutions

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) -- Louisiana Baptists are invited to submit resolutions for possible consideration by messengers at the 2020 Louisiana Baptist Convention. Resolutions may be submitted for review and consideration not fewer than 15 days prior to the LBC annual meeting, Nov. 10, providing a window of opportunity through Oct. 26 Resolutions should be typewritten, titled and dated, and, accompanied by a letter --from a church qualified to send a messenger to the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention--certifying that the person submitting the resolution is a member in good standing. The letter should include complete contact information for both the person submitting it and his or her church. No person may submit more than three resolutions per year. Steve McAlister, Westside, Natchitoches, is the Committee on Resolutions chair. Proposed resolutions may be faxed, 318.449.4287, emailed, Policy@LouisianaBaptists.org, or mailed (ATTN: Resolutions Committee, LBC Office of Public Policy, P.O. Box 311, Alexandria, LA 71309). If you desire assistance with wording or formatting, please contact LBC Public Policy Director Will Hall by phone, 318.448.3402, or email, … [Read more...]

Credentials Committee: Messengers must register for annual meeting

By Baptist Message staff PINEVILLE, La. (LBM)—In order for a church to be represented during the business portions of the Louisiana Baptist Convention to be held Nov. 10 in the Guinn Auditorium on the campus of Louisiana College in Pineville, it will need to elect messenger(s), who then must register and be certified by the Committee on Credentials. Chairman Todd Free noted to the Baptist Message that there are five ways for messengers to register and be approved: — The first and simplest way is for messengers to pre-register using www.LaOne.org and printout the registration card to bring to the annual meeting. This way allows messengers to be certified within a matter of minutes, Free said. — Second, a messenger may bring a note on official letterhead signed by the pastor or church clerk, stating that the individual was elected by the congregation. — Third, a church officer can phone in the names of elected messengers. — Fourth, a person can be vouchsafed as a duly elected messenger by a fellow registered church member. — Finally, when there is no other means by which to validate a person, a meeting of the Committee on Credentials may be called to make a determination. Free emphasized that pastors are not … [Read more...]

Green Oak blessed with revival since Laura

By Brian Blackwell, Message staff writer MERRYVILLE, La. (LBM) – Michael Burgess prayed for God to move when he accepted the call in July to pastor his first church, Green Oak Baptist Church in Merryville, but he never imagined the revival the Lord would bring among the congregation and a community of 1,100 in the weeks following Hurricane Laura. Since the August storm, the church has grown from 20 in Sunday morning worship to 75 in late September and has baptized five new converts, with additional baptisms scheduled in the coming weeks. Many days, whether from the pulpit or at a feeding line for those impacted by Laura, Burgess marvels at how God has breathed life into the church within a short time. “When I pull onto the church grounds I know this is where God is working,” Burgess told the Baptist Message. “I’ve seen Him multiply our congregation and have seen people who left come back. “One of my prayers to God when I took this church was ‘let me see you work. If I preach, let me be good at it for you. But let me see this through your lens.’ I thought it would be in baptisms but never knew it would occur out of a hurricane. Never did I think I would see it in lives turned upside down.” UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS … [Read more...]

Retired Pastor Larry Ramsour passes away at 84

By staff reports ATHENS, Texas – James Larry Ramsour, a former pastor of several Louisiana Baptist churches, died Saturday, Sept. 19. He was 84. He was born in Brownwood, Texas on July 6, 1936, to Lee and Audrey Mae Ramsour. His father was a Southern Baptist minister and the family lived in several places during his formative years. Larry graduated from Tahoka High School in 1953 and attended Baylor University, where he married Valetta Stripling. He received his Bachelor's degree from Baylor University and his Masters of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and Valetta moved to Navarro Mills in 1961, where he pastored his first church and she taught school. His daughters, Michelle and Marcelyn, were born in 1964 and 1968. From her Daddy, Michelle inherited his love of photography, plants, flowers and piano, his sense of creativity, attention to detail and prankster tendencies. Marcelyn inherited from her Daddy his sense of optimism, his patriotism, his spirit of determination, his love of music and animals, and his talent at Words with Friends. They both learned from him that in every situation, there is always something for which to be grateful. When their husbands, Jeff and Carl, became … [Read more...]

LARTL calls for stop to vandalism after signs advertising Love Life Amendment destroyed

By Louisiana Right to Life COVINGTON, La. (LRTL) – Twice in the past week, signs urging voters to support the Love Life Amendment have been vandalized in Covington. This is on top of other vandalism in Houma, Slidell, Metairie and New Orleans in previous weeks. On Oct. 15, a 4-foot by 4-foot sign in front of Holy Family Hybrid School, located at 227 N. Jefferson Ave. across the street from Covington City Hall, was found demolished. And this past weekend, signs located at Lakeshore Church (15261 Brewster Road) were vandalized with crude messages. One yard sign even had the words "Kill Babies" scrawled across the top it. "Vandals continue to trespass on private property across the region to demolish and vandalize our Love Life Amendment signs," said Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life . "The incident at Lakeshore Church was especially disturbing because of the hateful messaging used. "It is disgraceful that citizens are resorting to destructive behavior to express their feelings in support of abortion. We may disagree on issues such as abortion, but we must be able to respectfully disagree without damaging private property. I continue to call on Louisiana for Personal Freedoms, the New … [Read more...]

University Baptist open for food and supply distribution

By Carey Baptist Associaiton LAKE CHARLES, La. – Still need cleaning supplies or food? Have neighbors or friends who do? Send them to University Baptist Church at the corner of McNeese St. and Lake St. in Lake Charles. Their distribution center is still open and they want to help how they can. … [Read more...]

Information lunch meeting scheduled Oct. 27 in Lake Charles for hurricane-damaged churches

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been changed to indicate the meeting on Oct. 27 is not sponsored by FEMA but rather the Louisiana Baptists and a joint venture by GEC/Myer, Rostan Solutions, and Ratcliff Construction. By Sara Drott, Carey Baptist Association director of communications LAKE CHARLES, La. – Churches are invited to an informational meeting on Oct. 27 at East Ridge Baptist Church in Lake Charles. Alan Weishampel, pastor of East Ridge, and Louisiana Baptists staff members will be present. The meeting is sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Convention and is a joint venture of companies, made up of GEC/Myer, Rostan Solutions and Ratcliff Construction. These companies bring expertise in their areas of focus including navigating the FEMA application process along with professional engineering services and accurate construction cost estimates and services. Churches will benefit by having experienced professionals working with them to secure grants and move forward with recovery and building concerns. The meeting will begin at noon with lunch served and the information will proceed immediately thereafter. East Ridge Baptist is located at 5400 Hwy. 397 in Lake Charles. … [Read more...]