By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana Baptists remain committed to planting 300 churches by 2020, despite recent news that the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, which helps fund new churches in the state, fell $291,000 short of the $1.7 million goal set for 2018. The $1,409,000 in GBO gifts will provide money for church planting, but also for disaster relief, resort ministries, Mission Church Builders’ projects, training conferences and leadership training/missions education events, as well as partially fund the missions and ministry team budget. John Hebert, state missions and ministry director for Louisiana Baptists, said there some resources in place to handle the shortfall and continue the planned church planting pace. “We will have to be cautious with the way we spend our money this year,” Hebert said. “Our state executive board, missions committee of the executive board and the state missions offering committee will make sure we can tap into reserve funds if necessary. They won’t let our church planting efforts suffer because they understand the importance of them in reaching our state for Christ.” The other ministries funded by the offering will not be impacted. Hebert … [Read more...]

By Message Staff HOUSTON, Texas (LBM) – Four men who previously served as Louisiana Baptist pastors, youth ministers and volunteers are listed in a database of  Southern Baptist individuals who were convicted of or pled guilty to sexual abuse crimes, published Feb. 10 in a Houston Chronicle  investigative article. The news report identified about 380 sexual abusers and 700 victims in SBC congregations nationwide from 1998 — 2017. The former Louisiana Baptists listed in the Houston Chronicle database are: Holland Farrell McMorris, former pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, Ball. He was convicted in 2010 in a Rapides Parish court and is serving a 25-year sentence in a Louisiana state prison for sex crimes. Angelo “Doogie” Golatt, former youth volunteer at Donahue Family Church, Pineville (which later became Journey Church). He was arrested in 2006 in Jerome County, Idaho, where he was charged with two counts of sexual abuse/exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and later pleaded guilty to a reduced battery charge, and was sentenced to four counts of forcible rape in 2012 in a Rapides Parish court. He is serving a 40-year sentence in Louisiana. James Robert Griffin, former volunteer associate pastor at Immanuel … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer DRY PRONG – Jackson Cooper was devastated after his mother, Laura, died in an automobile crash last October. However, instead of dwelling in grief and anger about the sudden loss, Cooper, 32, went on a spiritual journey that led him to find hope in Christ. TRUST IN HIM “Even though my mom and I were very close, her death didn’t make me angry at God or anyone else, but just got me to thinking about God’s plan for my life,” Cooper said. “When the pastor at New Prospect Baptist Church asked me, during a visit to our home, if I was a Christian, I told him I had my doubts. “Once I understood that I needed to move from knowing Him in my head to accepting Him in my heart, my life was reborn.” LED BY HIM Cooper asked his wife, children, sisters and father to witness his November baptism at his childhood church. Since then, Cooper’s faith has grown to new heights as he daily testifies how Christ forever changed his life. “It felt great to show my faith and show that I do believe in Christ,” Cooper said. “I’ve learned to embrace the Lord more often and keep Him close to me. Also, I’ve learned to let God handle everyday problems. My stress and everyday life have improved and I … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – Dozens came forward to pray at the altar during the final moments Student Night at the Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference, Jan. 28. “Could we somehow tune our ear tonight to God wanting to do something significant in the state of Louisiana, all across this state from every border, every edge, that God would usher in an awakening, that the bells of heaven would ring because men and women and young people in this room would say yes to the call of making Jesus famous,” Ed Newton told the crowd moments earlier inside the worship center at the First Baptist Church, Covington. Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church, San Antonio, Texas, issued a challenge for Christ-followers to help others see their need for Jesus. Citing Luke 19:1-10, he used the example of Zacchaeus sitting in a tree as an allegory of how Christians can help others come to Christ. “God’s called us to be sycamore trees, that we would be able through the platform of our lives be that branch for that person who may feel as if they are insignificant enough that Jesus would never see them,” he said. “Could we be that step for somebody to all of a sudden look up and see Jesus?” Newton said bringing … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor WASHINGTON (LBM)—President Trump made a bold pro-life statement during his annual State of the Union address declaring, “All children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God,” in apparent response to a bill passed in New York and a similar one rejected in Virginia, both containing provisions that allow abortion up to the moment of birth and also threaten the life of a baby who survives an abortion. A CALL TO PROTECT LIFE Trump’s proclamation was one of several addressing key life issues during his Feb. 5 presentation to Congress. In his annual report he called for legislators and policy makers to “work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life,” and he outlined how his proposed budget for the coming year would reflect that value. Trump said his budget request would include a line item for “$500 million over the next 10 years” to fund “the fight against childhood cancer.” Likewise, without specifying an amount, he said his plan asks for money to support “nationwide paid family leave – so that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child.” Moreover, with regard to protecting the unborn, he said he would offer legislation “to prohibit … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – Eric Hankins believes next generation evangelism flows through the home. “We have been given an incredible calling and responsibility, certainly, to all sinners and lost people everywhere,” declared Hankins during the 2019 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference at the First Baptist Church, Covington, held Jan. 28-29. “But we must not neglect our own children and grandchildren in the critical commissioning we have in our homes.” Pulling his message from Deuteronomy 6, Hankins, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Fairhope, Alabama, encouraged parents to model for their children a life anchored in the faith. “Children are wired to soak up a faith that you live,” he said. “Culture is no match for a home where parents take seriously this mandate for next generation evangelism.” Hankins urged parents to teach their children to seek and stand for truth. “The next generation of children needs consistency in the message,” he said. “They need to hear it time after time after time. And the word needs to match the consistency of your actions. “If you want your children and grandchildren to look like everybody else, to be popular, to be invited to all the things, then … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA (LBM) –Even as the legislatures in New York and Virginia announced bills to legalize the killing of babies up to the moment of birth and even those who had survived abortion, Louisianans gathered on multiple weekends around the Pelican state to declare that the lives of the unborn and the  just born matter here. “Across Louisiana over the past few weeks, 20,000 citizens marched to show their love for life at our Louisiana Life March events,” said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. “It was an amazing showing of the dedication our citizens feel towards protecting unborn babies and supporting their moms. We encourage these citizens to take the inspiration from these events and put their convictions into action every day to advance a culture of life. We look forward to the day when every baby is protected by law and welcomed with love in our nation.” According to information provided by Louisiana Right to Life, a crowd of 500 gathered in Lake Charles, Jan. 22; 3,000 assembled in Baton Rouge and 6,000 marched in Shreveport/Bossier, Jan. 26; 3,500 participated in Monroe/West Monroe, Jan. 27; and, another 7,000 rallied in Alexandria/Pineville, Feb. … [Read more...]

By Norm Miller, LC News PINEVILLE - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; and Lord of the Rings are classic literary works that have captured the imagination and spurred the intellects of millions. Louisiana College is pleased to bring the best-selling authors of those works, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, to Pineville on February 24 as portrayed by British actors David Payne and Gordon Tett. “David Payne represented the heart and mind of C.S. Lewis with more than theatrical realism,” said Louisiana College President Dr. Rick Brewer. “His emotive portrayal of Lewis held the audience’s attention. Many of them expressed their appreciation to us for offering such a top-flight event.” Brewer expects the addition of Tolkien “will not only double the entertainment and instructional value, I think these will increase exponentially.” At 2 p.m., the doors to LC’s Martin Performing Arts Center open, where $10 general admission tickets go on sale.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.lacollege.edu/give. Tickets for high school students are half-price: one $10 ticket admits two high school students, or pay $5 each at the door. The play “Of Wardrobes and Rings” starts at 3 p.m. Payne presented a dramatic monologue at LC a year ago … [Read more...]