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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Skills of a church planter: Resilience

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptist missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA, LA. (LBM)--Do you know what Winston Churchill, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, and Colonel Sanders have in common? It has nothing to do with their fame or notoriety, I would suggest. Instead, it is the trait that I contend was the cause of their renown -- resilience. I have observed that resilience is a characteristic most successful people possess, and I know firsthand that this is certainly true of successful church planters and church leaders. -- Winston Churchill was defeated in every election for public office until he became prime minister at age 62; -- Henry Ford went broke five different times before founding Ford Motor Company and becoming one of the wealthiest men in history; -- Bill Gates was a Harvard drop-out who founded a failed business (Traf-O-Data) before launching Microsoft; -- Colonel Sanders hawked his secret recipe hundreds of times before he found a restaurant that would accept it; and, -- Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” These men were resilient when they failed and church planters and leaders must be resilient to succeed. There is a rather … [Read more...]

Mineral Springs Baptist celebrates the church that was not destroyed by fire

By Message Staff DUBACH, La. (LBM) – Standing a few feet from the rubble left behind from an early morning fire on Saturday, Pastor Greg Tipton said Sunday afternoon that God has a bright future planned for Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Dubach. “This is what’s left of it,” Tipton told his congregation assembled on the church parking lot. “But I’m here to tell you today the church is good because the church is not the building. "The church is the people," he emphasized, "and the people of God are good today." “This is going to be the first part of our rebuilding starting today,” he continued. “Right now, the church is rebuilding our campus.” During his brief message based off 1 Corinthians 13:13, Tipton shared about how faith, hope and love are crucial to moving ahead. “Those three things are things that are necessary for this church, not just to rebuild a building, but for us to build the Kingdom in a good way,” he said. A fire that was discovered around 9:30 a.m. Saturday destroyed the congregation’s worship center, sound room, office space and nursery; and, the fellowship hall received smoke damage. Tipton said Mineral Springs Baptist has received offers from other churches to allow them to meet … [Read more...]

Lightning starts church fire that consumes Dubach facilities

By Message Staff DUBACH, La. (LBM) - A lightning strike that struck Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Dubach Saturday morning may have caused a fire that destroyed most of the congregation’s facilities, Pastor Greg Tipton said. Tipton told the Baptist Message the fire was discovered around 9:30 a.m. The Jackson Parish, Choudrant and Farmerville fire departments responded. No one was inside the buildings at the time. The church, which averaged between 60 and 80 for Sunday morning worship services before they met for online services, lost its worship center, sound room, office space and nursery. The fellowship hall received smoke damage. Tipton said members plan to meet at 10:45 a.m. Sunday on the church parking lot for prayer. “We are trying to regroup, and we need God’s direction on how to meet and rebuild. We will be okay with the Lord’s help. He will help us through this.” said Regina Prewitt-Aguilar, Mineral Springs Baptist's missions director, echoing Tipton's thoughts. “It’s a sad day us,” she said. “Though we lost our building we are still a church. The members our the church. Nothing will stop us from worshiping God.” … [Read more...]