By Norm Miller, LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)—Anyone who claims the name of Christ is called to ministry and must settle who is in control. “We must confess, ‘God is God and I am not,’” said John Fream, pastor of Cypress Baptist Church in Benton. Continuing Louisiana College’s semester-long academic study of 1 Peter, Fream drew from 1 Peter 5:6-14 in the Feb. 26 chapel service and asked, “Who’s your boss? Who is in control and in charge of your life? It is important to be humble under the hand of God.” “My friend John Fream preached our campus revival last Spring,” said Louisiana College President Rick Brewer. “His rapport with our students remains effective, and his sermon content is both contemporary and convicting. John has become one of our students’ favorite chapel speakers.” In addition to submissive humility, Fream emphasized trust in “the God who spoke the galaxies into existence. That same God knows the number of hairs on your head.” Such divine power and intimacy fosters trust, as does knowing the rest of the story. “The fix is on. Christians win in the end,” he exclaimed. Believers are told to be “sober” in verse eight, which, in addition to the literal meaning, also means to be vigilant and watchful … [Read more...]

By Dennis Clark, First Baptist Lafayette First Baptist Lafayette voted Sunday, March 8, to call James Pritchard as their next senior pastor. The vote by church members concludes a nine-month long nationwide search. Pritchard has served as the teaching pastor at First Baptist Church of Forney, Texas, since 2015. Prior to that he pastored three churches in Texas and Oklahoma. He holds a B.A. from East Texas Baptist University with a major in Christian ministries and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a major in evangelism. Pritchard will begin his ministry in Lafayette on Easter Sunday. … [Read more...]

By Message Staff MANY, La. (LBM) – Evangelist Sammy Tippit urged hundreds of people attending the opening night of the Sabine 2020 revival services to find hope in a relationship with Christ. “Hope is here because Jesus is here,” Tippit told 1,000 people gathered inside Many High School’s gymnasium Sunday, March 8. “There is life in Jesus. “He gives abundant life,” he continued. “Do you have the son living in you?” At the invitation, three people came forward to declare Christ the Lord of their lives and 17 others made other decisions for Jesus. Crusade leaders will contact all those who came forward to connect them with the pastor of a local church. Tippit shared how Christ transformed his life when he was a freshman at LSU in 1965. While he was raised in church, Tippit had not surrendered to Jesus at that point in his life, and he eventually chose a life of partying. But during an evangelistic harvest event at Istrouma Baptist Church, Tippit turned to Christ and surrendered to preach two nights later. Since then, he has conducted evangelistic crusades and other events in more than 80 countries. Ron Thompson, associational mission strategist for District 8 Baptist Convention, said that pastors have prayed for … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BROUSSARD, La. (LBM) – Mike Thibodeaux struggled with alcohol addiction and nearly lost his marriage when his wife, Jessica, and children began attending First Baptist Church in Broussard in 2017. But, even though he refused to attend worship services while the rest of his family faithfully went every Sunday, they never stopped praying for the Holy Spirit to open his heart to hear the Gospel. Their prayers were answered Oct. 27. Although he rejected coming to Sunday worship, he did take his children to weekly worship rehearsals with Associate Pastor Adam Whitney. The Gospel seeds planted through this interaction produced a spiritual Harvest when he publicly professed his faith in Christ and subsequently was baptized Jan. 4. He has continued growing in his faith through a weekly discipleship meeting with Whitney and one of his co-workers. “As I began helping out at the rehearsals, Scripture verses that I had studied in the past started popping back into my head like it was yesterday. I realize now the Lord had been leading me to that moment for a very long time,” Thibodeaux told the Baptist Message. “I became more and more active with my kids with their ministry with the … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer FISHVILLE (LBM) – Lloyd Whitman remembers the day he preached a revival at Friendship Baptist Church and the pews were filled with a congregation passionate for spiritual renewal among them and hungering for a spiritual awakening within the community. The church eventually dwindled to just a handful of members and closed its doors in June 2019. However, Whitman did not forget how God moved during the revival service in 1982. Consequently, he began to pray, asking God to return the church to its former strength of service to the Kingdom -- and it appears his pleas have been heard. Whitman stood before a worship center filled with 143 people, Feb. 2, for the first service of the congregation as the New Friendship Baptist Church, a cooperative effort by the First Baptist Church in Dry Prong, the primary sponsor, and other churches in the Big Creek Baptist Association. “I had 100 bulletins printed up because I figured we would only need that many, but God showed up by bringing in even more than I could have imagined to the point where we ran out of bulletins,” Whitman told the Baptist Message. “When I looked across the church and remembered how I had stood there many years ago, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WASHINGTON, D.C. (LBM) – Ralph Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church who has represented Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District since 2014, has announced his intentions not to run for reelection. “One of the greatest honors has been serving my district and state the last six years,” Abraham, who made his decision public Feb. 26, told the Baptist Message. “You have to have the heart of service to do things the right way here in D.C. and serving is what Christians are commanded to do. As servants of Christ, we give back to others.” A native of Richland Parish, Abraham graduated from Mangham High School and Louisiana State University. From there, he served in multiple professional spheres, including: as a physician and a veterinarian, business owner, farmer, volunteer pilot with Pilots for Patients and as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army National Guard, a fixed wing and helicopter pilot with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a mission pilot for the Air Force’s Ralph Abraham will not run for reelection Civil Air Patrol Green Flag Program. Abraham was first elected to serve the 24-parish district in the northeastern, central and southeastern parts of the state in 2014. During his … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Parents must do a better job of preparing their children at a young age in order to help them function in a culture that is hostile to Christian principles of sexuality, Clint Davis, director of recovery services with The Hub: Urban Ministry in Shreveport, said at the annual Forum for Louisiana Baptist student leaders Feb. 21. “It’s a parent’s job to represent Christ in the Church,” Davis told more than 50 student leaders gathered for the event at the Louisiana Baptist Building in Alexandria. “Just showing up on Sunday or a Wednesday night and expecting a church to teach your kids the Gospel is not what God calls us to do.” As parents and leaders strive to equip their youth with tools necessary to have a fulfilled life, they must base their approach on love and trust, Davis said. “Without these two foundational beliefs, all the struggles of our lives will be difficult to manage,” he said. “They affect how you engage in relationships with your pastors, with your parents, with yourself and with these kids.” Davis said parents must discuss sexually-sensitive issues with their children before the world educates them. He said social media has expanded … [Read more...]