By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (LBM) – Deanne Denton recently took a mission trip to Brazil that took her “full circle” to the church where she spent a week as a summer missionary 35 years earlier. Denton, previously part of a six-member collegiate team to Brazil in the summer of 1989, worked alongside Igreja Batista Barreiros (Barreiros Baptist Church) in Florianopolis during Beyond the Walls’ (a ministry that equips and enables groups to share the Gospel overseas) 2024 trip. During the recent trip she was reunited with Elizandra, who learned about Christ through the collegiate team’s ministry at the same church more than three decades earlier. “To see Elizandra, who was eight at the time I first served in Florianopolis, stand during our final worship service this summer and share that God used our collegiate team years ago to draw her to the church and tell her about Jesus gave us all such encouragement,” she told the Baptist Message. “To know she is now married to Dario, one of Barreiros’s pastors who served alongside our team this year, further reminded us of what God can do. “Dario will begin leading his church in ongoing ministry with one of the tribes of Guarani … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff LAFAYETTE, La. (LBM) – A weekend aimed at helping Louisiana Baptist churches experience renewal will take place Sept. 9-10 at Open Door Community Church, Lafayette. Revive Summit will feature in-depth Bible study, practical instructions for improvement of biblical preaching and proven steps to renewal. Speakers planned for the event include Mark Clifton, director, North American Mission Board replant team; Jimbo Stewart, associate director, NAMB replant team; Frank Lewis, former pastor, First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn.; Joe Crider, worship pastor, First Baptist Church, Benbrook, Texas; Richard Blackaby, president, Blackaby Ministries International; and Rick Fisher, vice president, Blackaby Ministries International. “On average, 25 churches per year close their doors in Louisiana,” Send Network Louisiana Director Lane Corley told the Baptist Message. “The replant rate is about seven per year. The Revive Summit will be a great conference to encourage and equip those serving in a culture where church decline is the norm.” Cost is $15. For more information: https://louisianabaptists.org/event/revive-summit-lafayette/ … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – More than 1,000 individuals will gather Sept. 17 inside Alexandria’s Randolph Riverfront Center for the sixth annual ‘Gift of Life’ banquet to hear inspirational testimonies of two women who experienced radical redemption through the ministry of pregnancy centers and pro-life advocates. The largest fundraiser for the CENLA Pregnancy Center’s locations in Alexandria, Marksville and Vidalia will feature keynote speaker and pro-life activist Toni McFadden, who will share how the love of Christ helped her experience redemption from an abortion she underwent as a scared teenager. Additionally, a client of CPC will talk about how the ministry helped save her baby girl through reversal of her chemically induced abortion. “The theme for this year’s event is ‘You Are Not Alone,’ a message known by our team and the many women who have received services from one of our centers,” CPC Executive Director Kim Lyons told the Baptist Message. “This year’s theme focuses on how we all have experienced a season of wandering in the desert. “These pregnant women who come to us may feel as though they are in a desert, with no support, with no one by their side,” she … [Read more...]