By Message staff NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) – Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton and North American Mission Board Send Relief President Bryant Wright visited Louisiana Baptist churches, Sept. 6,  who are hosting disaster relief teams in areas hit hard by Hurricane Ida. Joining them on the tour were Litton’s wife, Kathy, other Send Relief staff, Louisiana Baptist Missions and Ministry Team Leader John Hebert and his wife, Kitty, and Louisiana Baptist Convention President David Cranford. They stopped at First Baptist Church, LaPlace, First Baptist Church, New Orleans, First Baptist Church, Ponchatoula, and Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond. “We are really here not only seeing what has occurred but hopefully helping others know how you can be of help to churches like this in LaPlace Louisiana,” Wright said during a visit to First Baptist LaPlace. Litton led prayers with Pastor Shane Newton and members at First Baptist Church, LaPlace. He also prayed with Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief team members who are working out of Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond. “You love people,” Litton told the Arkansas team. “You don’t ask people what their politics are before you feed them. You don’t ask their skin … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist state missions team members began distributing funds Friday, Sept. 3, to pastors whose homes were heavily damaged by Hurricane Ida. The emergency gifts were made possible through gifts to the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering and donations from churches and individuals. “We have worked with the associational missionaries in the most affected regions to identify pastors with great need,” Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn told the Baptist Message. “We are blessing them with a small gift to help them with daily essentials and asking God to use it mainly to be an encouragement to them. We do anticipate more needs in the coming weeks and are prepared to bless other pastors as well.” So far, 70 Louisiana Baptist churches, associational offices and ministry centers have been confirmed as having sustained damage or destruction from the Category 4 hurricane. However, Lafourche and Terrebone Parishes were hard hit and churches there have been out of reach by phone or internet. “It’s from minor to catastrophic,” Louisiana Baptist Missions and Ministry Team Director John Hebert said. “Pray for the churches well being physically and emotionally. They … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff WELSH, La. (LBM) – Shortly after Hurricane Delta made its way through Louisiana in September 2020, a team from First Baptist Church, Golden Meadow, arrived at First Baptist Church, Welsh, and fed hundreds of community members over a three-day period. Now, the church at Golden Meadow has suffered damage from Hurricane Ida, so the Welsh congregation plans to give back to the people who offered so much to their area. FBCW Pastor Pat Deshotel said members designated $3,000 to donate to the Golden Meadow church in memory of member Claude Fontenot, who served as pastor there from 1961-1982 and died in August. “They came to help us right after the hurricane last year and we wanted to return the favor by paying it forward,” Deshotel told the Baptist Message. “The Bible tells us to love one another and I can’t think of a better way of obeying that commandment than showing love to that church.” First Baptist Welsh is among the many churches that are giving back to those impacted by Ida. Others interested in donating money to disaster relief efforts can click here to donate online, or send such gifts by mail: Louisiana Baptist Convention, P.O. Box 311, Alexandria, Louisiana. Volunteers are needed to serve on … [Read more...]