CEDAR GROVE, LECOMPTE For the people of Cedar Grove, the future is about family. Pastor Lee Taylor said the church, which typically hosts close to 40 people on Sunday mornings, is hoping to attract young families to the church through a somewhat unconventional tool for growth. “We’re fixing to start to have some type of family night,” Taylor said. “We’ll have a little food, maybe watch a movie. We’re going to try to get some of our Sunday morning folks to the evening service.” The congregation reaches out through other means as well. “We do some home visitation,” Taylor said. “We have a couple of ladies’ home Bible studies. Both are doing a Beth Moore study right now.” Additionally, Taylor said some of the ladies in the church have taken hold of an idea from the association WMU. “We make peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and take them up to the LSU charity hospital at the airbase,” Taylor said. “It does appear to be a very good ministry.” It’s with a smile in his voice that the pastor, thinking of his congregation’s outreach programs, describes the sign outside the church building which, he says, sums up the character of the church very well. “It says ‘The country church that is missions-minded,’” … [Read more...]

FIRST MANDEVILLE Ken Schroeder and the people of First Mandeville take Jesus’ command to “go into all nations” quite literally. The church started a partnership, through the International Mission Board, with Nigeria in 2006. Why Nigeria? “We have some folks in our church from Nigeria,” Schroeder said. “We’ve made three mission trips to Jos, Nigeria. We adopted a people group to reach.” But the church’s support is by no means limited to financial support and the occasional mission trip. “The one God motivated to send to us to get us involved in international missions was added to the staff in 2006,” Schroeder said. “In June we actually started paying a church planter from Nigeria to live among the people [in Nigeria] and do evangelism. As a result of that, we’ve actually seen two churches started in the last two months.” Schroeder is pleased to report that some 65 people have come to know Christ in recent months. “There aren’t many churches in the state that are doing this, adopting unreached people groups,” he said. Schroeder added that supporting a staff member on-site in Nigeria isn’t something that’s completely out of reach for many churches. Describing the church’s salary and support for their … [Read more...]

COMINGS, GOINGS n  Scott Munson, new as minister of music at Florida Boulevard Baptist, from First Baptist, Livingston. n  Frank Nihart, new as minister of music at First Baptist, DeRidder, from First Baptist, Troy, Alabama. NEEDED n  Part-time music minister needed at First Baptist, Oakdale. Send resume to  117 South 12th St., Oakdale LA 71463 or email slaughlinfbc@bellsouth.net or call 318.335.1930. Stephen Laughlin is pastor. n  Associate pastor of education/administration is needed at First Baptist,  Ruston. Send resume to First  Baptist Church, Attn: Chris Craig, 200 South Trenton Street, Ruston LA 71270. LOTTIE MOON CHRISTMAS OFFERINGS n  First Baptist, Franklinton, Goal: $7,500.00; Received: $15,106.50. Luther Stanford, pastor. REVIVALS n  JACKSON – Port Hudson Baptist revival services are set for 10:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, and 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 4-6. Joe Aulds, evangelist; Price Harris, music;  Joe Thibeau, pastor. n  SLAUGHTER – First Baptist revival services are set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, and 10:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10. Joe Aulds, evangelist; Basil Wicker, pastor. n  FERRIDAY – Lake St. John Community Baptist revival services are set for 10:45 a.m. and 7 … [Read more...]

A majority of unchurched Americans are turned off by the institutional church and don’t have a biblical understanding about God and Jesus, yet they believe Jesus makes a positive difference in a person’s life and would enjoy an honest discussion with a friend about spiritual matters.  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – A majority of unchurched Americans are turned off by the institutional church and don’t have a biblical understanding about God and Jesus, yet they believe Jesus makes a positive difference in a person’s life and would enjoy an honest discussion with a friend about spiritual matters. Those are just a few of the findings from a new study of unchurched Americans conducted by LifeWay Research in partnership with the North American Mission Board’s Center for Missional Research. LifeWay Research, the research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources, and the North American Mission Board are entities of the Southern Baptist Convention. The results of the study, which polled 1,402 adults who had not attended a religious service at a church, synagogue or mosque in the previous six months, are available at LifeWayResearch.com. The findings have important implications for Christian churches and individuals who want to reach … [Read more...]

Forced terminations in the Southern Baptist Convention were down during 2006, but those who issued the latest report say work remains to be done to reconcile conflicts between pastors and congregations.  ATLANTA (BP) – Forced terminations in the Southern Baptist Convention were down during 2006, but those who issued the latest report say work remains to be done to reconcile conflicts between pastors and congregations. The Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association found that 680 fulltime and bivocational pastors were forced out of their positions in 2006, plus 265 staff members. While the total of 945 is 27 percent lower than the 1,302 reported for 2005, a former LifeWay Christian Resources staff member who conducted the survey pointed out that the report lacked input from four state conventions. Barney Self, a former pastoral counselor with LifeWay, said the omissions mean the actual number of terminations may have been closer to 1,100. The Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association, encompassing state convention officials who work in the area of church-pastoral relations, compiles its annual survey with the help of nearly 1,100 SBC directors of missions from across the country. Their … [Read more...]

When a pastor’s phone rings at midnight, it often signals an emergency or tragedy – and early morning ministry. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – When a pastor’s phone rings at midnight, it often signals an emergency or tragedy – and early morning ministry. John Sharp, pastor of North Point Community Church in Columbia, S.C., rolled over to answer his phone around midnight last summer. Bob Hataway – a chaplain for the North American Mission Board who heads up TransAlive, a ministry to professional truckers – was on the line, telling Sharp that a driver from Columbia had been killed in an accident. Hataway asked Sharp if he’d minister to the family in crisis. “My first thought was, ‘Is this real or could this be a dangerous prank or scam?’ After confirming its validity, my thought shifted to, ‘Can’t you find someone else?’ I just couldn’t seem to hang up the phone or give a good enough reason not to accept the opportunity,” Sharp recounted. “God wanted me to answer the phone that night and play a small part in ministering to a family in need.” And Sharp did. Hataway, a member of First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, said Sharp is one of many pastors grateful for the opportunity to be used by God in crisis ministry. Of … [Read more...]

Less than 18 months ago, Harbor Lights Baptist Church in northwest Georgia had a for sale sign on the outside and eight discouraged members on the inside.  LAFAYETTE, Ga., (BP) – Less than 18 months ago, Harbor Lights Baptist Church in northwest Georgia had a for sale sign on the outside and eight discouraged members on the inside. Today, the 68 people attending the church are anything but discouraged, after a revival meeting – initially scheduled for four days – extended to a total of 12 days, with 29 people making professions of faith in Christ. “I’ve never experienced anything quite like this,” said vocational evangelist Mark Yoho, the revival preacher. “It was a God-sent revival, definitely.” “It wasn’t a normal revival, that’s for sure,” said Jim Powell, bivocational pastor of the church, located on the outskirts of LaFayette, a town of 6,700 people. “It was an amazing thing,” Yoho recalled. “The presence of God was so strong. People were lying flat on the floor just weeping all over the house when the revival broke.” “I watched during the invitation as deacons laid their Bibles down on the altar and led people to Jesus,” Powell said. Another deacon whose job is 40 miles from the church repeatedly asked … [Read more...]

In a first-ever event, the Louisiana Baptist Convention hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon to begin the state’s annual evangelism conference. About 100 people – blacks and whites in roughly equal numbers – participated. PINEVILLE – In a first-ever event, the Louisiana Baptist Convention hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon to begin the state’s annual evangelism conference. About 100 people – blacks and whites in roughly equal numbers – participated. At the same time, in Jena, La., less than 40 miles away, the news media reported that two dozen white supremacists, perhaps a dozen purported Black Panthers and respective supporters of both groups marched in the small town that was in the national spotlight last summer as the site of a media-driven civil rights march, that march drew perhaps 20,000 people. Despite vitriolic speech and even loaded shotguns – as reported by the secular media – only one person was arrested in Jena and, in Pineville, no mention was made at the MLK luncheon of the Jena events. E. Edwards Jones Sr., pastor of Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport for 49 years, was the luncheon’s guest speaker. Jones was a civil rights activist who in 1966 led a seven-year battle to desegregate the … [Read more...]

Back in August, Newsweek magazine assessed the presidential prospects of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and concluded his primary problem is that he seems “too nice” to turn aside a whole field of hard-knuckle Republicans and then Hillary Clinton on the way to the White House. Back in August, Newsweek magazine assessed the presidential prospects of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and concluded his primary problem is that he seems “too nice” to turn aside a whole field of hard-knuckle Republicans and then Hillary Clinton on the way to the White House. Whether one supports Huckabee or someone else, Newsweek’s question was a good one, and one as old as Christianity. Take Huckabee off the table, along with the question of whether his perceived “niceness” is the fruit of the Spirit or small-town southern manners or his own niche political strategy. I know what Newsweek means: personal character isn’t enough to swim through the piranha waters of American politics. “Niceness” is just shorthand for Newsweek that Huckabee doesn’t seem to have the consuming ambition needed to go all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue. That’s why, in the article, some wise voices turned the question away from niceness to fundraising benchmarks … [Read more...]

When Jonathan Forester MD of Pineville took time away from his busy medical practice to attend the 2008 Evangelism Conference, he heard the precariousness of Tuesday afternoon speaker Sammy Gilbreath’s life. PINEVILLE – When Jonathan Forester MD of Pineville took time away from his busy medical practice to attend the 2008 Evangelism Conference, he heard the precariousness of Tuesday afternoon speaker Sammy Gilbreath’s life. “It’s a very serious condition,” Forester said after the session about Gilbreath’s heart ailment. “He could have died any moment, even when he was speaking up there.” Because he is living proof, Gilbreath had his audience’s attention, but it took awhile before they caught his passion. Living with passion begins by learning the value of the promise of life, Gilbreath said. He spoke of the joy of a child with a new puppy or kitten, of the father of a newborn child, and in the same sentence, continued with “I don’t see many people getting excited about new life in the Kingdom of God. “There is no greater joy than taking the word of God and sharing it with someone, and seeing them come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord,” Gilbreath said, and the after-lunch audience responded with silence. … [Read more...]