Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Georgia church’s GA group is small but powerful for Mission: Dignity

By Joe Westbury, Georgia Christian Index BLACKSHEAR, Georgia – When the South Gate Baptist Church Girls in Action (GA) group in Blackshear, Georgia, decided to focus on Mission:Dignity for their Christmas in August project, most of the members had never heard of the ministry that helps retired SBC ministers, workers, and their wives or widows. South Gate is located in rural southeast Georgia where small churches dot the landscape. Congregations were historically held together with part-time or even quarter-time pastors who worked for little to nothing to fulfill their sacred calling. Now in their sunset years, these pastors struggle to pay the bills while maintaining that calling, even as their health fades. “I remember pastors from my younger days who struggled to get by and feed their family, but they never complained. They always believed the Lord would supply their needs, and He did,” Carol Colley, South Gate’s pastor’s wife, remembers. “But that [Mission:Dignity] DVD told their story in stark yet caring terms that pulled at our heartstrings. It brought back so many memories to many of us, and it educated our GAs of the struggles of faithful servants.” That’s how the small church — which averages only about … [Read more...]

Abraham bill would bring I-14 through central Louisiana

By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON - Congressman Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, has cosponsored legislation to expand Interstate 14 from Texas through central Louisiana and into Mississippi. HR 6111, the I-14 Expansion and Improvement Act of 2018, was introduced by U.S. Reps. Brian Babin, R-Texas, Dr. Abraham and other members of the Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi delegations last week. The bill would bring existing roads into the congressionally designated I-14 corridor and connect communities from Midland, Texas to Laurel, Mississippi. The expansion would provide bases like Fort Polk and Camp Beauregard with quicker and easier access to the deployment port in Beaumont, Texas, and interstate travel in general, which is consistent with President Trump’s call improve readiness and efficiency within the military. An expanded I-14 would grant communities across central Louisiana direct access to an interstate, which will lead to more economic development and jobs. “Expanding I-14 will create numerous opportunities for central Louisiana to grow," said Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. "Interstate access means commerce, development and jobs. It means Fort Polk can deploy troops faster and more … [Read more...]