PINEVILLE – In 1970 much of the country was being torn apart by violent protests against the divisive Vietnam War, but in Monroe, Louisiana, revival was unifying the area with faith, hope and love. Only 25 people attended the first night of that February revival which was being led by Baton Rouge native Sammy Tippit at Calvary Baptist Church, Monroe. But an area-wide movement quickly broke out. The scheduled five-day campaign had to be expanded into a three-week crusade, and, attendance exploded, necessitating a move to the Monroe Civic Center to accommodate the crowds. Importantly, thousands of lost souls were subsequently saved. “Pastor L.L. Morris was the only one praying at first and believed God was going to move mightily,” Tippit told the Baptist Message. “More of us joined him and a great prayer movement emerged, followed by many decisions by young people.” Tippit, who founded Sammy Tippitt Ministries based in San Antonio, Texas, will share more about how God has moved through mass evangelism events as part of his message at the 2018 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference, Jan. 22-23, at First Baptist Church, Pineville. He will be joined in the program by Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Churches throughout the state are encouraged to pray for a great harvest of souls of youth expected to attend the upcoming Student Night Jan. 22 at the Louisiana Baptist Convention Evangelism Conference. One of the first events for 2018 associated with the statewide Harvest initiative to “pray for every home and share with every  person” in Louisiana, Student Night will feature a pre-session pizza party, a demonstration by the Real Encounter stunt team and music by Elevate, a travel band from Louisiana College. The main session, which will be live streamed, will feature Ray Jones and the Community Bible Church Praise Team of San Antonio, and, a message by Brent Crowe of Orlando, Fla. Jones is the brother-in-law of Wayne Jenkins, who is retiring as Louisiana Baptists’ director of evangelism and church growth, and Crowe is a vice president with Student Leadership University, which was founded by Southern Baptist evangelist Jack Strack. The pre-session will begin at 5 p.m. inside the Family Life Center of First Baptist Church, Pineville. Steve Maltempi, youth strategist for Louisiana Baptists, said Student Night is a continuation of a challenge to share Christ … [Read more...]