By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer PINEVILLE, La. (LCU) – Louisiana Christian University’s football team had just beaten a NCAA Division I program that awards scholarships when Head Coach Ben McLaughlin assembled his players for what he called a “proud dad moment.” Looking at them from inside Turpin Stadium, Aug. 27, McLaughlin was overcome with joy thinking about the hard work his players had put in while preparing for the 42-37 win over Northwestern State University, located just 60 miles away from LCU’s Pineville campus. “The guys that we put in pads the other night were on a knee looking at you, smiling, and you’re just proud because they bought into what you are trying to preach to them,” McLaughlin told the Baptist Message. “These guys literally put their bodies on the line for the program, for the university, for us coaches. When you look at them, it’s just this outpouring of gratitude of ‘Thank you, players. Thank you for believing in the vision.’ “There are a lot of really good coaches out there that have great vision and do everything right, and then they lose,” he continued. “And then the opposite is true for us. We tell them all the time, ‘don’t look at the scoreboard, don’t look at the … [Read more...]

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By Baptist Message staff LBM) – Organizers have announced the lineup for the Nov. 22-23 Youth Evan­gelism Celebration in the Laborde Earles Coliseum, Alexandria. This largest annual gathering of Louisiana Baptists will feature Lo­gan Grantham, youth evangelist and student pastor with Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta, Georgia, who will chal­lenge students from God’s Word, and Dylan Novak, a Tennessee evangelist who is known for sharing the Gospel with celebrities and cultural influencers, who will help students think practically about how they can boldly share Jesus in their own circles of family and friends. The event will include Sunday evening music by Cliff Preston, a Christian artist from Arkansas who was featured on this year’s WinterJam tour. During Monday morning and afternoon sessions, Firm Foundation (a Christian worship band from the Shreveport area) will lead worship by song. Meanwhile, Christian recording artist Micah Tyler will help bring YEC to a powerful close Mon­day evening. Jay Barbier, a Ponchatoula native, speaker and Tennessee youth pastor, will serve as host and emcee, bringing his trademark energy to the coliseum stage “This is the event you want to get your teenag­ers to,” Louisiana … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NATCHITOCHES, La. (LBM) – Westside Baptist Church has embraced a cross-cultural approach to the Gospel and has reaped a spiritual harvest this year as a result. Since January, 22 in­dividuals have expressed their faith in Christ to and been baptized by the Natchitoches congregation. Ten of those – half were Hispanic – were baptized in a joint service, Aug. 2, of its Anglo and Hispanic congregations. The average Sunday worship atten­dance is 407, including 35 for the Hispanic service. Most of the decisions took place during M-Fuge camp at Mississippi Chris­tian University, Clinton, Mississippi, June 22-26. During the camp, 10 out of 45 students made decisions for salvation. “One night during our church group sharing time, I was prompted to ask, ‘Are we stuck in the follow through?’” Student Minis­ter Peyton Spears told the Baptist Message. “’Why are we not taking that next step?’ “When I asked who wanted to talk about sal­vation or be baptized, 10 hands went up out of 45 students in the room,” he continued. “It was a great night that set the stage for a powerful moment when we celebrated the students’ baptisms. This was cool and really powerful to see 10 students take … [Read more...]