By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – A movement of the Holy Spirit during the recent Royal Ambassador Congress prompted 10 young men to commit their lives to Jesus, said Mike Collie. The RA consultant added that the decisions resulted from seeds being intentionally planted, cultivated and harvested throughout the weekend. “Oh what a joy it is to see God working in the hearts and lives of these young boys … to know these 10 young men had the courage to step out and overcome all obstacles to surrender their hearts to Christ,” Collie shared. Held March 29-30 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth, RA Congress drew 202 students and adult leaders from 14 churches. The two-day conference featured American Ninja Warrior contestant Jared Greer, who used a portable obstacle course to present the Gospel. The event also included missionaries who shared about the dangers of substance abuse. Additionally, the young men had opportunities to make a gun out of pipes and participate in the Pinewood Derby and Soap Box car races as part of the “Mind and Body” theme, based on 1 Corinthians 9:24. In his presentation, Greer shared with the boys strategies to over-come obstacles. When he first … [Read more...]

By Message Staff WOODWORTH – Family and friends from around the nation paid tribute to outgoing Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins during a special retirement banquet, Thursday, April 11. GRATEFUL GOODBYES “Our hearts are full of gratitude, gratitude to God for the blessings of this life,” Hankins told the crowd gathered at the Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center in Woodworth. “I would be the most ungrateful person on the earth to have one complaint or one gripe about what has happened in my existence. God is so good - a great expression of that is you all. “From the first to the last, I know it’s been good for us, every bit of it,” he continued. “I’d do it all over again. I trust it’s been good for the people we work with, our staff and our friends.” Hankins, who officially retires June 30 from a post he has held since 2005, previously served a pair of Texas Baptist churches from 1971-85 before becoming pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles in 1985. Upon leaving Trinity in 1996, Hankins became vice president for convention policy with the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, and was named vice president for the Cooperative Program in 1998 to expand … [Read more...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have a Revival, Homecoming, a new pastor, a community outreach or a concert? The Baptist Message would love to share your church news with the rest of the state. It is very easy to do, just send in your information (who, what, where and when) to philip@baptistmes­sage.com or call 318.449.4345. To get your event in the paper, please submit your in­formation three weeks prior to the event. ON THE MOVE James H. Miller retired April 14 as pastor of the First Baptist Church, Spears­ville. John Elliott will retire April 28 from Emmanuel Baptist Church, Natchitoches. David Correira has resigned as pastor of Eastside Baptist Church, Ponchatoula. HOMECOMING Old Union Baptist Church, Benson: 160th Anniversary/Homecoming, May 5, 11 a.m. Evangelist: Lyndon Long­oria. A covered dish luncheon will follow with the Southern Plainsmen providing special music. Pastor: Alton Middleton. REVIVAL Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Ferriday: Associational Evangelism Rally, April 28, 5:30 p.m. Speaker: Philip Robert­son. Worship: Sanctuary Quartet. DOM: Mickey Hudnell. Bethel Baptist Church, Bastrop: Spring revival, April 28-May 1, Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 7 p.m. Evangelist: Rubin Weaver. Pastor: Tim … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The Department of Homeland Security has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity relating to the 2019 Nonprofit Secu­rity Grant Program which offers funds to upgrade the security of facilities as pro­tection against threats of violence due to “ideology, beliefs or mission. Churches and religious schools have about two weeks to submit grant requests to the Louisi­ana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness. If nonprofits are unable to meet the tight deadline for 2019, they should sub­mit requests this year in order to be considered for the 2020 program. The U.S. Congress pro­vided $60 million for the FY19 program, which also covers synagogues and mosques, and Louisiana is expected to receive about $200,000 to $300,000 of that allocation. Last year, the state approved four grant requests. IMPORTANT: The church is making the request to FEMA, but the state will submit the actual application based on the information the church provides (if the state ap­proves the request). Based on the process used in previous years: The first step is to apply for a Data Univer­sal Numbering System (DUNS) number. The church also must complete a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE (LBM) -- For more than an hour, clergy, community leaders and public officials prayed for Gov. John Bel Edwards, the military, law enforcement, first responders and the state, April 10, at the Raising Canes Center in Baton Rouge, unit­ing more than 1,000 legisla­tors, pastors, businessmen and others as the body of Christ just days after the start of the 2019 state legislative session. Ray Swift, administrative pastor at the First Baptist Church in Lafayette, delivered an invocation and Charles Harper, steering committee chairman, introduced the head table of program per­sonalities and other special guests. State Rep. Katrina Jackson, Assistant District Attorney Ken Fabre, state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, Ascension Parish Sheriff Deputy and Chap­lain Ken Spivey, state Rep. Thomas Carmody, Jr., and steering committee member Phillip Juban were among others offering prayers and reading scripture during the annual the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. Keynote speaker Ken Boa, president of Reflections Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia, reminded the crowd to live out God’s purpose for them. “His desire for you and me is that we will live a life that will so reflect a life of Christ in … [Read more...]

ALEXANDRIA (LBM) - Louisiana Baptists will gather at churches and other venues throughout the state, May 2, with the single purpose of calling out to God as part of the annual National Day of Prayer. Jay Johnston, coordinator for the Louisiana National Day of Prayer Task Force, believes prayer is near to the heart of God. “Prayer unifies our hearts and lives and is used by God to change us not change Him nor our circumstances,” said Jay Johnston, associate pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington. “I hope you will take time in your home or your church, neighborhood, school, city hall or at the state Capitol to pray on Thursday, May 2, 2019.” ­This year’s National Day of Prayer theme is “Love One Another,” based on John 13:34 – “Love one another, just as I have loved you.” Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd is national chairman of what the National Day of Prayer Task Force describes as a “grass roots movement” in which local churches or communities plan how, when and where they want to pray, and the specific content of those prayers. … [Read more...]

By Rhonda Harrington Kelley NEW ORLEANS (BP) - On a recent pilgrimage to Israel, our group made a brief stop in a small village that left a lasting impression. The town of Bethphage is located near the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. Today a church commemorates the place where Jesus began His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and where He met Martha of Bethany after the death of her brother Lazarus. I loved this special place because of the beautiful and quiet setting, and also because Martha has always been one of my favorite women of the Bible. I so relate to her focus on serving others. A colorful fresco painting behind the altar of the church in Bethphage depicts the joyous processional of Jesus, and other paintings around the church portray His followers. I love the painting of Martha with her sister Mary of Bethany. The artwork is a profound expression of how the early Christians celebrated the Promised King, and is a reminder to Christians today to focus on the fulfillment of those biblical promises, especially as we observe Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter Sunday. All four Gospels include an account of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John … [Read more...]