By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)--Thanks to the generosity of alumnus Don Hill and Terry, his wife, Louisiana College in Pineville unveiled a newly equipped and remodeled Computer Science classroom, Oct. 18. “I am deeply grateful that Don and Terry recognize the importance of Louisiana College’s mission and vision and have demonstrated such loyalty to Don’s alma mater,” said Dr. Rick Brewer, president of Louisiana College, told about 50 members of Louisiana College’s Board of Visitors gathered for its annual fall meeting. Hill, a 1964 graduate from LC, is an entrepreneur and restaurateur from Dallas who co-founded Saltgrass Steak House and the more recent Texas-based Lupe Tortilla. He is a member of LC’s Board of Visitors, whose combined annual gifts of more than $200,000 solely and wholly support qualified student’s scholarships. “This gift provides a huge lift to our emerging Computer Science major and our commitment regarding STEM becoming STEAM,” said Dr. Rick Brewer, president of Louisiana College. “I want to say thank you to Louisiana College because the four years I spent here were the four most important years in my entire life,” Hill said. “LC was the spring board for me to go on and have … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) -- Baptist Friendship House celebrated 75 years of changing lives with a special celebration at the New Orleans Center, Sept. 28. Festivities included longtime friends, past memories, and a look to a future full of hope. “Baptist Friendship House is committed to continuing its legacy of meeting needs through love, action, and in truth,” said Kay Bennett, executive director. “Sharing Jesus with people in need will always be the top priority of our ministry for generations to come.” Baptist Friendship House supports women and children in transition by providing housing, job training, and education in computer skills and reading. More than 100 women are enrolled in the center’s weekly Bible study. Bennett praised all who had come before her and noted that while much has changed since the center’s earliest days, the mission remains the same. “We still let anybody walk through our doors,” Bennett said. “It does not matter where they’ve been, what they’ve done, or what’s going on in their lives, we love them.” Bennett introduced the event’s speakers as “three special ladies” who had impacted her life—Pat Shaffer, daughter of the center’s founders Henry and … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ANGOLA, La. (LBM)—Shoneray O’Haver has been serving a 75-year term at the Louisiana State Penitentiary since 2014. But on Sept. 19, at the prison known simply as Angola, formerly the bloodiest prison in America, the 36-year-old convicted armed robber gained a permanent reprieve from a spiritual death sentence by being set free in Christ. “Asking Him to be my Savior and Lord is the best decision I have made,” an emotional O’Haver told the Baptist Message. O’Haver responded to a Gospel invitation offered by Jamie Dew inside Tudy Chapel on the main prison campus. Dew, the newly inaugurated president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, led O’Haver in a prayer of repentance after sharing a message of hope based on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. SPIRIT-LED VISION Dew’s sermon at Angola was part of a one-day, multiple chapel, revival service organized by Keith Manuel, Louisiana Baptists’ director of evangelism, in part as a tribute to NOBTS as a follow-up event to the centennial anniversary the seminary celebrated last year. The school and the prison enjoy a strong bond from a four-year NOBTS degree program – established in 1995 at the request of then-warden, Burl Cain, a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer OBERLIN, La. (LBM)—Native American pastors began a multi-week tent camp meeting with nightly evangelistic messages on the grounds of Oberlin Baptist Church, and organizers are optimistic that God may use the event to bring about revival across America. The All Nations Camp Meeting kicked off Oct. 2 and is scheduled to continue through at least early November. Native Americans from 15 states already have committed to supply guest evangelists, and, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Henry Blackaby Ministries also are assisting. “Small numbers are coming right now but we are not discouraged,” Tony Robinson, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oakdale and a member of the camp meeting planning committee, told the Baptist Message. “We feel like it will gain momentum as the word gets out and we feel like God’s in it. I don’t know when the last time was someone planned a meeting that went six weeks or indefinitely. We are just going to keep doing it until we feel like it has run its course or God says shut it down.” The camp meetings have brought hope to a community that saw more than 50 homes flooded after Hurricane Barry dumped nearly 20 inches of rain in Oberlin in … [Read more...]