By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter ZWOLLE -- Mary Gore fishes at the Toledo Bend Reservoir in Zwolle everyday, but she is not your typical angler. “I would starve to death if I had to fish for my supper, even here on this great reservoir,” said Gore, lake missionary and director of the Toledo Bend Baptist Resort Ministry. Instead of trying to land a trophy largemouth bass for which the 185,000 acre body of water is famous, she casts for souls among the thousands of outdoor enthusiasts who visit each year. For 26 years, Gore and her staff, augmented by hundreds of volunteers have been “fishers of men” while sharing the Gospel at the numerous campgrounds, pavilions, boat landings and bait and tackle shops along the Louisiana shoreline. “My gift is I can talk to people, and I can tell them about the greatest fisherman who ever lived, Jesus Christ. I can tell them how Jesus loves them, and how he changed the world with a handful of fishermen and that He still cares about fishermen today.” Memorial Day weekend, Gore and her volunteers were hard at work passing out hundreds of fliers to invite campers and fishermen to a Sunday morning worship service at four different campsites. “Three people professed faith in Jesus … [Read more...]

By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter RINGGOLD (LBM) – Marvin Leleux has a passion -- to pedal with purpose. Leleux, the pastor of Springhill Baptist Church in the Ringgold community, most recently rode his custom-designed bike in the June 15 St. Jude Big River Ride in downtown Memphis to help raise funds for the children’s research hospital. “So far, I have raised about $5,000 for this race,” Leleux said about the pledges and donations he has collected to date for the upcoming 60-mile bicycle course. He rides his composite carbon fiber Trek Domane SL6 Pro bicycle for philanthropic reasons, but Leleux believes he is a disciple, too, actively looking for “God moments” with others along his cycling route. As a cyclist, Leleux has an opportunity to make a connection with people who “normally would not talk to a pastor.” “God rides along with me. He puts me in touch with people who do not go to church and who do not know Him. I get a chance to share the Lord with people from all walks of life and even from all different types of faith and denominations,” Leleux noted. “I get asked questions all the time. I cross paths with these people, and they don’t feel badgered or judged. This is what I call intentional … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA  – Louisiana Baptist camps throughout the state are experiencing spiritual and numerical growth and making major facility improvements. “We have new decisions every week during the summer, and we have so many churches calling that many times our rooms fill up to capacity,” Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center Director Josh Bumgardner told the Baptist Message. The spiritual growth is causing numerical growth which in turn is driving facility growth, he said. Bumgardner said renovations on his 123 acre Woodworth campus include: new signage throughout the property; repurposing a conference facility into a new dorm; giving a facelift to showers, floors and décor in one cabin; and, plans to repurpose at least one more building into a dorm while giving updates to other living spaces. “Growth is happening in every direction, not just at my camp but all across the state. It is exciting because churches are bringing their students to hear the Gospel,” he said. ACADIAN BAPTIST CENTER “ABC is hosting 11 weeks of camp this summer with more than 4,000 expected to be in attendance,” Director James Newsom said. “Campers and counselors are excited about seeing construction on … [Read more...]

By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists communication director ALEXANDRIA --To say, “Checkerz Williams did not grow up in the church,” is at best an understatement. According to Williams, his father left when he was born and he was raised by his teenage mother. Growing up in Las Vegas he became addicted to alcohol and had a propensity to get in fights, which eventually led to him being evicted from his home at the age of 19. “I didn’t know what else to do so I reached out to my biological father, whom I’d only seen a few times in my life,” Williams shared. “By this time he had remarried, had two other children and was getting ready to move back to North Carolina. So I moved there and began to work in construction. “While working, my boss, who resembled the TV character Grizzly Adams, would share the Gospel with me,” he continued. “I rejected it at first, thinking ‘Where was God when I was going through all this pain in my life?’ But eventually the Lord softened my heart and I surrendered to my life to Him in November of 1992.” Prior to becoming a Christian, Williams enjoyed rap music. He first thought he might have to give up rap, but his boss encouraged him just to change the message of his music and, as examples, … [Read more...]