First Baptist Church Sicily Island Ouachita Baptist Association SICILY ISLAND – First Baptist had been in a time of declining attendance and participation when the men of the church decided to pray at the altar each Sunday and ask God to bless with a pastor and spiritual growth. For 17 months they prayed, and within six months of the arrival of James Gass as pastor, the congregation began to grow. During a revival, 15 professions of faith were made, as well as other decisions. Attendance has increased as well as church membership.  Members are now actively involved in the choir, Bible study, and mission outreach. The men continue to meet at the altar each Sunday during the morning worship service to seek God’s guidance and blessings. The church began to seek ways to get involved in the community, reported Jackie Myers of the church. “Bro. Gass, through God’s leadership, has helped the church to have a vision for growth and outreach,” Myers wrote in an email to the Message. “The people are truly seeking revival for the community.  They have a zeal and desire to share Christ and His abundant life with all.” Ideas have coalesced into a community tent revival April 24-25 and May 1-2, with Evangelist Casey Johnson as … [Read more...]

COMINGS AND GOINGS -Adam Whitney new as youth minister, First Baptist, Broussard. -Andy Partington resigns as minister to children, Amite Baptist, Denham Springs. -Craig James resigns as pastor, Don Avenue Baptist, Denham Springs. NEEDED -Robert Tanner available for pulpit supply; call 318.939.2218 or email robvi@bellsouth.net. -James Pitts available for pulpit supply and interim pastor; call 225.664.0437. -Piano needed; Esther Baptist, Esther; contact Reverend Wallace Primeaux at 337.837.1627. -Volunteers needed for cabin construction; Acadian Baptist Center; contact James Newsom at 337.457.9047. -Part-time Music Minister at First Baptist Bernice; call 318.285.9336 for more information. -Bi-vocational Music Minister at Vienna First Baptist; contact Frank Manning at 318.255.8050. -Bi-vocational Music Minister at Mineral Springs Baptist; send resume to Doyce Britt, 4566 Highway 822, Dubach, LA 71235. -Pianist at Paron Baptist, Sterlington; send resume to Tom Nix, Paron Baptist Church, P.O. Box 221, Sterlington LA 71280; send email to paronbc@centurytel.net. -Youth Director at Pine Grove Baptist; send resume to Mike Smith, Pine Grove Baptist, 1167 Pine Grove Church Road, Bernice LA … [Read more...]

Pistol Pete Maravich is remembered by most sports fans for his floppy socks, shaggy hair, showmanship and unprecedented scoring records. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Pistol Pete Maravich is remembered by most sports fans for his floppy socks, shaggy hair, showmanship and unprecedented scoring records. But Maravich, who died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 40, no doubt would want to be remembered more for something else – his Christian faith. By his own admission, the Pistol spent most of his life idolizing basketball, but in his final years, he accepted Christ and wasn’t shy about telling everyone. Maravich’s faith is back in the spotlight with the release of an inspirational edition of the popular 1991 movie “The Pistol” (rated G), which tells the story of Maravich’s exploits as a boy. Among the bonus footage on the inspirational edition – which is available at LifeWay and other Christian stores – is a 50-minute personal testimony that Maravich gave to a group of inner-city kids about two years before he died. The DVD testimony serves as sort of a mini-autobiography of his life: how he slept with a basketball until he was 13 years old, how he ran from God as a collegian and pro and how his life turned around when … [Read more...]

Sagemont Church in Houston is the first church in the Southern Baptist Convention to reach the $1 million mark in contributions to the Mission:Dignity ministry of GuideStone Financial Resources that assists retired pastors and their widows who have financial needs. HOUSTON (BP) – Sagemont Church in Houston is the first church in the Southern Baptist Convention to reach the $1 million mark in contributions to the Mission:Dignity ministry of GuideStone Financial Resources that assists retired pastors and their widows who have financial needs. GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins received a check for nearly almost $42,000 at a church-wide celebration on Sunday, March 29, reaching the $1 million mark. “We are on a mission at GuideStone to bring dignity to these precious servants of the Lord in their declining years,” Hawkins said. “We are especially grateful for individuals and churches like Sagemont that support this vital ministry.” John Morgan, Sagemont’s senior pastor for more than 40 years, has always had a heart for preachers and their families across the Southern Baptist Convention. And what touches his heart most is the plight of retired ministers and widows who live near the poverty line. “My father was pastor … [Read more...]

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary honored Tommy French, retired pastor of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La., April 7. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary honored Tommy French, retired pastor of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La., April 7. Last year, French and his family proposed a scholarship in honor of his wife Mary, who died from cancer on Jan. 16, 2008. SWBTS President Paige Patterson, who has known French and his family for many years, testified to the “tremendous contribution” Mary French had made “as a wife of a pastor and as a mother of precious children.” The unique scholarship in her honor “is the only one like it,” Patterson added. Named the Mary French Priscilla Scholarship, it will go to the wife of a student preparing for ministry who also desires to further her own education. The French family established an endowment of $100,000 to cover the costs of tuition, fees, books and opportunities to participate in selected conferences, including the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The award recipient also will receive mentoring, most of which will come from Patterson’s wife Dorothy, professor of theology in women’s … [Read more...]

The more First Baptist Church in Chipley, Fla., gives, the more it grows. CHIPLEY, Fla. (BP) – The more First Baptist Church in Chipley, Fla., gives, the more it grows. This is not a recent phenomenon. When the 19 charter members of the church founded in 1887 outgrew the two-room schoolhouse they were meeting in twice a month, they pooled their money until they gathered the $150 needed to purchase land on which to build a church of their own. Even before the building was dedicated in 1902, five women from the church had organized a woman’s missionary society and responded to pleas written them from a Miss Annie Armstrong of Baltimore, Md., for support of a missionary in China, Miss Lottie Moon. And, in the 1950s, First Baptist gave – for several years in a row – a greater percentage to missions through the Cooperative Program than any other church in the state. This despite the fact that the small town in the center of the Florida panhandle – the population of Chipley today is fewer than 4,000 – has a per-person annual income that’s less than half the national average of about $41,000. That being said, many of Chipley’s professionals now call First Baptist their church home. “I’ve been able to see for the last … [Read more...]

Perhaps 200 people – mostly women – gathered in late March for the annual two-day WMU Missions Celebration/Annual Meeting, which took place at McClendon Baptist Church, where Rick Crandall is pastor. WEST MONROE – Perhaps 200 people – mostly women – gathered in late March for the annual two-day WMU Missions Celebration/Annual Meeting, which took place at McClendon Baptist Church, where Rick Crandall is pastor. Under the theme of “Worthy to Love,” participants tackled ministry projects at four sites in Ruston, Monroe, and West Monroe Friday afternoon. Worship sessions Friday evening and late Saturday morning were linked early Saturday morning with a business session that included revision of WMU guidelines to bring them in line with current practices. “WMU is a missions organization for women,” said Kathryn Carpenter in a video tribute to her. Carpenter, executive director of the Louisiana WMU from 1955-86, died last year. It is not a women’s organization that promotes missions, Carpenter continued. That was an important distinction to her. A native of Dubach, La., and now a missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board – unnamed in print or on the internet for security reasons – brought … [Read more...]

An informal “partnering” has developed in recent days between Southern Baptists in Louisiana and in New Mexico. STATEWIDE – An informal “partnering” has developed in recent days between Southern Baptists in Louisiana and in New Mexico. Short-term missionaries from Louisiana are joining Oct. 13-15 in simultaneous revivals in the 33 Southern Baptist churches that are on the Navajo and Pueblo Indian lands in New Mexico, and those SBC-affiliated Apache church. “From the beginning we connected with the vision of the revival meetings and are facilitating the strategy to help accomplish the vision,” said Wayne Sheppard, Louisiana Baptist Convention partnership missions mobilization strategist. “We are meeting with the leadership team. We are aiding communication between New Mexico … and all the Louisiana partners.” LBC partnership missions mobilization also plans to aid in bringing the New Mexico leadership team to Louisiana for cross-cultural training, and in helping Louisiana teams take vision tours this summer to Native American towns in New Mexico. “Ventures like this are all for the Kingdom,” the partnerships strategist said. “They are possible because of the Cooperative Program and the cooperative partnership of … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – When it was explained, it made sense. This was the sentiment from Southern Baptist seminary students across the nation who recently chimed in with their observations about the Cooperative Program. “I have increased my personal giving to missions since I was introduced to the Cooperative Program,” said Issa Haddad, a Jordanian student at Southern California Seminary, which is affiliated with Shadow Mountain Community Church, a San Diego-area Southern Baptist congregation. “I had no background on the Cooperative Program whatsoever, but when it was explained to me, it made sense. “At first I thought the SBC received all of this money from churches [and] probably the money is being used in administrative costs,” Haddad said. “But learning that only a small amount goes to administrative work, and the rest goes to the different ministries that the SBC supports – missionaries, seminaries, planting churches.... – I see the impact of the CP. And the extent of the CP reach is far more than we can imagine, or than one or a group of churches can do or can imagine to do.” The rolling conversation started with a group of students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southern California Seminary … [Read more...]

Crockett Point Baptist Church, located nine miles northeast of Winnsboro, near Crowville, plans a three-day, non-Sunday, Evangelism Extravaganza evening June 1-3 specifically for pastors and those they invite, as well as for people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. DEER CREEK BAPTIST ASSOCIATION – Crockett Point Baptist Church, located nine miles northeast of Winnsboro, near Crowville, plans a three-day, non-Sunday, Evangelism Extravaganza evening June 1-3 specifically for pastors and those they invite, as well as for people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. Guest speakers will be members of the Louisiana chapter of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists – COSBE. “We’re doing this to give pastors an opportunity to meet these guys one-on-one,” said Joe Senn, pastor of Crockett Point and a pastoral adviser to Louisiana’s COSBE. “I think there are a lot of pastors who are afraid they cannot afford a full-time evangelist,” Senn continued. “They don’t know most all of them will come for a love offering. I think sometimes we pastors fail to remember that there is a gift of evangelism and we need to use these guys.” In addition to services that are to start at 6:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at … [Read more...]