By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Send Network Louisiana has launched an effort that invites Louisiana Baptists to pray for at least 1 percent of those in the state who do not know Jesus to be reached with the Gospel over the next decade. Based on Luke 10:2 which asks the Lord to send out workers into the harvest, the emphasis encourages Louisiana Baptists to set their alarm for 10:02 a.m. or p.m. and pray during that time for workers to be sent into the harvest and for those who do not know Christ to be reached. “This is a God-sized goal,” Louisiana Baptist Church Planting Strategist Jacob Crawford told the Baptist Message. “And the truth is, ‘unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain.’ “I think one of the things that God has really been dealing with us about is, or convicting, at least, me personally, about, is that we can strategize all day long,” he said. “We can have all these plans that look amazing on paper, but if God’s not in it, it will mean nothing.” GOSPEL VISION The Send Network Louisiana partnership between Louisiana Baptists and the North American Mission Board, which went into e­ffect Aug. 1, 2023, has helped the state further its God-sized … [Read more...]

Courtesy of the North American Mission Board MARRERO, La. (NAMB) - Church business meetings are not normally fertile ground for happy accidents. But Ames Boulevard Baptist Church’s tiny remnant of elderly members unintentionally set a miracle in motion when they voted to hire Troy Gause to mow their grass. Every year, 700-800 Southern Baptist Convention churches cease to exist. “That’s how I got to know the church,” Gause said. “I started taking care of their property and learned how they’d dwindled down to just a few faithful members. They were probably just a couple months away from closing their doors.” When longtime Ames’s members like Linda Morrow realized “Troy Gause, landscaper” was also “Troy Gause, church planting missionary,” they began to pray. “He’d just started a church but needed a place to meet,” she said. “When we met, it was so clear God was putting us together to replant something new.” Now, the sign out front says Cross Community Church, and the name is not the only thing that’s changed. “There’s life back in this building,” Gause said. “Baptisms are happening, salvations are happening, and this church has been raised from the dead.” Prayers on multiple fronts are requested for Gause … [Read more...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Baptist Message provides churches an opportunity to share with other Louisiana Baptists an upcoming revival, homecoming, new pastor, new staff member, a community outreach, or a concert in Louisiana Notables. To place your event in the paper, send your information (who, what, where, when, time) to philip@baptistmessage.com or call 318.449.4345. Please submit your information four weeks prior to the event to insure placement in the Message. ON THE MOVE Matt, wife Whitney, Cate, discipleship pastor with Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, is the new Louisiana Baptist Sunday school/discipleship strategist. He began on April 20. Gene Gibson is the new pastor at Beech Springs Baptist Church, Minden. Mickey Christy is the pastor at Gardiner Baptist Church, Gardner. Mike Schultz is the new senior pastor at Woodland Park Baptist Church, Hammond. Chuck Foy is the new pastor at Aimwell Baptist Church, Aimwell. Clayton, wife Gracie, Bryan is the new pastor at Cheniere Baptist Church, West Monroe. Britney Allen is new minister to children and families at First Baptist, Ponchatoula. HOMECOMING Centerville Baptist Church, St. Landry: 100th Anniversary Celebration, July 26, Sunday School, 9:30 a.m., … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Matt Cate, discipleship pastor with Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, has been tasked with a new mission: to champion discipleship on a state-wide level. Cate, whose first day as Louisiana Baptist Sunday school/discipleship strategist was April 20, said he is excited to work with churches toward the goal of helping others become disciples and then in turn make disciples. “My philosophy of discipleship is pretty much Matthew 5 to 10, where Jesus reached large groups with the Sermon on the Mount, and then also smaller groups with His disciples,” Cate told the Baptist Message. “One of the parts we often look over in discipleship is that Jesus eventually sends them out. And I am going to help Louisiana Baptists accomplish that.” The son of an Air Force master sergeant, Cate moved with his family around the country as a youngster. During a youth Bible study taught by his parents, Ed and Linda Cate, at Cannon Air Force Base chapel in Clovis, New Mexico, Cate trusted in Christ at age 10. He sensed a call to ministry nine years later while at a discipleship group at First Baptist Church, Bossier City. Six other young men in that group, too, … [Read more...]