By Baptist Message staff CALCASIEU PARISH, La. (LBM) -- Louisiana Baptist churches damaged by Hurricane Laura may not have been able to gather in their worship centers on Sunday, but the powerful storm did not prevent them from meeting in other ways. In an emotional Facebook Live message, from inside French Corner Baptist Church in Ponchatoula, Pastor Bobby Daniels told his members of the First Baptist Church, Vinton, that God is in control. The church's facilities sustained significant roof damage and took in some water as Laura passed through Vinton Thursday. Citing 1 Kings 19, Daniels said the prophet Elijah was afraid and ran, only to find that God was with him in a still, small voice. He encouraged his congregation to listen to God and act upon His leading in the weeks and months ahead. “As a church we are going to be better,” he said. “As a community we are going to be better. As a people of faith we are going to be better. “Our faith is going to be pushed to the edge,” he continued. “But we are going to get through this.” Around 40 members of the East Leesville Baptist Church gathered for an outdoor worship service on the front lawn. The congregation was unable to meet indoors because of some water damage. The … [Read more...]

By LCNews PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) - Louisiana College remains closed for classes through Wednesday, Sept. 2. Essential employees will report to the campus Monday as assigned. College officials are monitoring the situation and will provide an update regarding the status and continuation of classes beyond Sept. 2. Due to widespread power outages remote coursework will be suspended until further notice. Deadlines for work will also be extended, and classes will be made up virtually; however, students will not have to livestream any make-up lectures as they be can viewed on one’s own time. The college’s residence halls remain open only for students who could not evacuate. Residential students will be advised when the campus will be fully operational to allow all residential students to return to campus. All members of the LC “family” are encouraged to check emails, texts, Wildcat Alerts, LC website, and LC social media for frequent updates and information. The college is grateful for the prayer support of our extended college “family” during the challenging days. We ask for prayers for faculty, staff, and students who are dealing with significant damage to personal property. … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief leaders want the state to know help is on the way. Initial assessments are being completed Friday in areas hit hardest by Thursday’s powerful storm. Then teams will be deployed over the weekend to begin the task of helping to clear out fallen trees and other debris from damaged homes. Gibbie McMillan, state disaster relief coordinator for Louisiana Baptists, said four locations have been established for feeding and housing volunteers: Trinity Baptist Church, Lake Charles (manned by Arkansas teams), First Baptist Church, Moss Bluff (manned by Louisiana teams), First Baptist Church, DeRidder (manned by Louisiana teams) and East Leesville Baptist Church (manned by South Carolina teams). McMillan encouraged Louisiana Baptists to volunteer or donate at louisianabaptists.org/disasterreliefdonate or e-mail Kelly.Tam@louisianabaptists.org. Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 1 a.m. Thursday near Cameron and had maximum sustained winds as it made landfall. The storm was responsible for four deaths in the state, damaged many structures and knocked out power to more than 579,000 homes and businesses at one … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – H.B. Charles, the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, is the keynote speaker for the 2020 E4 Preaching Conference. Charles, who is pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., will bring messages during three sessions of the annual conference Sept. 8 at First Baptist Church Pineville. In addition to serving as the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference president, Charles has been a speaker at several previous LBC Pastors’ Conferences. The conference will feature music by the First Baptist Pineville praise team, and, present breakout sessions on such topics as preaching from John’s Epistles, I Corinthians, and the prophets; planning an effective invitation; spiritual warfare; and more (led by professors from Louisiana College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and pastors from other states). “We are looking forward to an exciting E4 this year,” First Baptist Pineville Pastor Stewart Holloway told the Baptist Message. “We will follow social distancing protocols in order to provide you with an engaging and safe conference opportunity.” The E4 Conference began in … [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 Jason (wife Lori) McNaughten is the new pastor of Walker Baptist Church, Walker from First Baptist Church, New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish. Jeff May is the new pastor at Cypress Baptist Church, West Monroe. John (wife Adrianne) McCatherty is the new pastor at Rodessa Baptist Church, Rodessa. Scott Teutsch is the new pastor at Trinity Heights Baptist Church, Shreveport from Plain Dealing Baptist Church, Plain Dealing. Ron Nation resigns as pastor of Unity Baptist Church, Deville to plant NOW Church in Creola. James (wife Toni) Brown is the new pastor at Unity Baptist Church, Deville. Darryl Hoychick retires as pastor at Trinity Baptist Church, Pineville. Kevin (wife Bobbye) Roberts is the new pastor at Trinity Baptist Church, Pineville. Bob Colquette is the new pastor Bethany Baptist … [Read more...]

By John Kyle, Louisiana Baptists communication director ALEXANDRIA, La. – Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Louisiana Baptists are convinced this is “The Right Time” to reach the state. “When the Lord led us to the theme ‘The Right Time’ for our 2020 Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering emphasis, little did we know what 2020 would bring,” said John Kyle, director of communications for Louisiana Baptists. “Obviously, God knew the fear and uncertainty that would accompany COVID-19 thus making this ‘The Right Time’ to share the assurance and hope found in a relationship with Christ.” Kyle noted the theme for this year’s state missions offering was taken from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth in which he challenged the early believers to realize “Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor.6:2, NLT). “These words speak to the current condition of our culture,” said Louisiana Baptists Executive Director Steve Horn. “We’ve been reminded how quickly things can change. How quickly our health can turn. How quickly our finances can evaporate. People are looking for what Jesus has to offer and Louisiana Baptists have the opportunity to share His promise of peace and provision to the … [Read more...]