By Message Staff Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams are expected to begin work on homes impacted by flooding in the Shreveport/Bossier area later today. Larry Cupper, a Disaster Relief Regional Coordinator as well as the SB Louisiana Incident Commander for the Red River flood who is handling operations in the area, said 65 volunteers are meeting at Eastwood Baptist Church, in Haughton, LA., on this morning, before departing later in the day to begin mudouts of homes that were affected by floodwaters of the Red River. Cupper said in the next three weeks, teams will work on between 125 and 150 homes. "None of this could happen without the volunteers from our Southern Baptist Church members," Cupper said. The mudout, feeding, assessors, chaplains, shower and laundry units will work Monday to Saturday. A childcare unit under the direction of Stanley Staham, director of missions at Baptist Associations of Southeast Louisiana, also will help while the flood affected families are trying to get assistance. "Our childcare volunteers and unit will be ministering to their children and helping keep their minds off of the devastation of a flooded home so the parents can seek assistance this Saturday at the Bossier … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer VIVIAN – The bivocational pastorate was an idea unknown to the search committee of Trees Baptist Church when they first interviewed Mark Crook in June 2010. But once they and the congregation discovered how the position would benefit both Crook and Trees Baptist, they knew this was God’s direction for revival in the church and future tremendous growth. “I think that many do not understand the term or at least define it in different ways,” Crook said. “I explained to [the search committee] that I would still be on call 24 hours, 7 days a week, however the bulk of my salary would be paid by my full-time employer which would free up some funds to add additional staff in the future. They issued the call and 42 people were present to vote for me as their pastor.” Since that day he was called to serve as pastor, Crook has seen God move in mighty ways at the Northwest Louisiana church. When he first arrived, attendance on a Sunday averaged between 30 and 40, a far cry from the 110 who once attended every week for worship services. Six of the 12 deacons felt led to leave the church and those remaining members were heartbroken over the loss of family and friends who felt God leading … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer OPELOUSAS – When it comes to serving as a bi-vocational pastor, Gregory Gaspard knows the dos and don’ts of ministry. A bi-vocational pastor for all but the past six years of his 23 years at Unity Baptist Church in Opelousas, Gaspard has enjoyed seeing nearly a quarter-century of planted seeds grow into a harvest of mission-minded members. “In my 23 years here, I have never looked for something bigger and better,” he said. “I have embraced this church, taking it as a serious calling. We’ve enjoyed the great fellowship of people here and seeing them reach out to our community through outreach.” Gaspard’s path to ministry began in 1973 at Emmanuel Baptist Church in his native Eunice, two years after marrying his wife Elizabeth. While at Emmanuel Baptist as a layperson, Gaspard taught Sunday school and Royal Ambassadors, in addition to serving as a deacon. His involvement there prepared him for his eventual call to the pastorate. He made that decision public in 1989 and became interim pastor at Prairie Home Baptist Church in Eunice. “Serving with the different ministries stirred up in my heart that desire to pastor a church,” said Gaspard, who became pastor of Unity Baptist … [Read more...]