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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Ten words to the victims (and veterans!) of the hurricanes

By Joe McKeever Sunday, preaching in Biloxi, Mississippi, I asked the congregation, “How many of you were living here in 1969 when Hurricane Camille changed this coastline forever?”  A lot of hands went up. Then, “How many of you lived here in 2005 when Katrina destroyed so much of the area?”  Many more hands. I said, “So when you think of neighbors dealing with hurricanes, such as Harvey and Irma, you know.  You’ve been there.  You can pray for them with a genuine compassion and a deeper understanding.” Before they left the building, those people made generous contributions to their neighbors impacted by the hurricanes. Each hurricane is different. Each takes its own path and blows at its own speed. And each one is similar.  They destroy and uproot and flood.  Those who experience even one such storm forever identifies with the victims and veterans of all those which follow. With that in mind, it might be in order for those of us with scars from past hurricanes (for my family, it was Betsy in 1965 and Katrina 40 years later) to offer a word or two of encouragement to friends caught in the path of the latest of these monster storms. Ten words, actually… (We will try not to insult you with platitudes such … [Read more...]

Jamestown Baptist sets homecoming date

Jamestown Baptist Church will have its homecoming festivities Sept. 24 at 10:30 a.m., with Carl Griffith serving as the guest speaker. A pot luck dinner will follow the morning service. Everett Geis serves as pastor. … [Read more...]

North Eunice DR teams blessed they can be a help and a blessing

By Message Staff STARKS – North Eunice Baptist Church has a lofty goal. Once a week, they plan to send a disaster relief team to gut out homes damaged by flooding. And the church is not wasting any time as they’ve already sent a team to work on the home of an 82-year-old man in Starks, where more than 200 homes in the area flooded because of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey. North Eunice Baptist Pastor Travis Turner told the Baptist Message the homeowner, like many in Starks, had recently completed renovations on his home following flooding in March 2016. “It helped him knowing we were there to pray with him and assure him we were going to complete the job as we promised,” Turner said. “When we finished, I called him to share the news and he couldn’t believe it. He said thank you over and over.” While the team has responded to previous disasters, Turner said this was the first time they have ventured outside the Eunice area to do relief work. He expects the team will continue working on other homes in Calcasieu Parish. “Going to work on flooded homes like those in Starks makes us more grateful for what we have,” Turner said. “When we go, we go feeling we will bless others but in the end we … [Read more...]

GBO’s impact felt across Louisiana

By Janie Wise, Louisiana Baptists women's missions and ministry strategist What would Louisiana missions be like without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering? It's a scenario I would not want to imagine. It is like asking, “What if churches had no desire or conviction to share God's great love with the lost in our state?” It is like asking, “What if we didn't care that our neighbors and co-workers were dying without knowing Jesus?” -- Without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering providing assistance to church planting, the 2,908 persons baptized by our church plants since 2010 likely would not have heard the Gospel. -- The 200 congregations of the church plants established since 2010 would not have met for discipleship, for worship and fellowship, and, they would not have been reaching and teaching people who were not being reached by existing churches. -- Without the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering to provide an allocation for children's mission events, sixteen girls and boys would not have heard the Gospel at M-JAM in the spring of 2016 and responded in faith for salvation. Six girls at Girls' Mission at mission camp may have waited longer to accept Jesus as Savior. -- Without … [Read more...]