By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer RUSTON, La. (LBM) – Temple Baptist Church in Ruston helped to clear $3.2 million in medical bills for more than 1,400 residents in a five-parish region during 2020. The church worked with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit organization that works with debt collectors to resolve medical debt that sits in collections, for people in Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln and Union parishes. Members gave $40,000 and RIP Medical Debt used the collected money to work with creditors to resolve the outstanding amounts. Founded in 2014 by two former debt collection executives, RIP Medical Debt began as a response to the overwhelming impact of debt on the lives of poor Americans. According to ripmedicaldebt.org, since 2014, the group has helped more than 1.8 million individuals and families eradicate more than $2.7 billion in medical liabilities. The company contends that for every $1 raised, it can abolish $100 in medical debt, on average. Minister of Education and Administration Jason Walsworth said this was an opportunity for Temple Baptist to bless others who otherwise might struggle to pay these obligations. “We believe we have been blessed, even during these challenging times, … [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 Chad (wife Cole) Gilbert is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, New Orleans. Greg Oden is the new worship leader at New Chapel Hill, West Monroe. Jay George is the new associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Swartz. Bodie Spicer has resigned as pastor of Clark Springs Baptist Church, Eros. Cody (wife Francie) Tabor is the new family pastor at First Baptist Church, Blanchard. Eric Zimmer is the interim pastor at Ida Baptist Church, Ida. Lance Rolland resigns as pastor of Westwood Baptist Church, Keithville and David Venable is the interim pastor. REVIVAL Temple Baptist Church, DeQuincy: Harvest Day, January 10. Evangelist: Sam Moore. Pastor: Bruce Austin. Koran Baptist Church, Haughton: Revival, January 10-13. Evangelist: Bill Britt. Pastor Mike Reichard First Baptist … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Ken Fryer, minister of music at Riverside Baptist Church, Watson, died Saturday, Dec. 12. He was 56. A native of Delhi, Fryer served at several Louisiana Baptist churches, including as pastor of First Baptist Church, Greenwood, and College Place Baptist Church, Monroe. He also served as an associate pastor at Heritage Baptist Church, Shreveport; Milldale Baptist Church, Zachary; Willow Point Baptist Church, Shreveport; and Broussard Grove Baptist Church, Prairieville. In addition to being on the staff of six churches, Fryer served Louisiana Baptists as a LBC Executive Board member (2007-2011), moral and social concerns committee member (2012-2014), and President’s 2020 Commission member (2012-present), according to the Annual Church Profile. According to his obituary, Fryer taught at Sequitur Classical Academy, University View Academy and Christ Presbyterian Church, as well as teaching voice to numerous private students. He co-authored the book “Virtues of the Great Composers for Children,” and was a contributor to the book “Covenant Theology: A Baptist Distinctive” by Earl Blackburn. He was a graduate of Ouachita Parish High School, Monroe; East Texas Baptist … [Read more...]

BENTON, La. (LBM) – When Pastor John Fream made a 2020 dare to members of the Cypress Baptist Church in Benton in January, urging them to embrace the “Who’s Your One” evangelistic challenge to share the Gospel with someone close to them, little did he know that two months later a pandemic would test the church’s commitment to the task. But instead of backing down, members embraced the circumstances as an open door to present the Gospel to their neighbors, he said. In the ensuing months, the congregation shared the Good News that can sustain during the uncertainty of a COVID-19 health emergency; and, by the end of November, 238 new converts had been baptized, up from 214 baptisms in 2019. “Our folks have been intentional to reach people and offer the hope in Christ,” Fream said. “We’ve been very aggressive about challenging them to do it. People need hope and we want to give them the Hope.” Even when the church was unable to meet, baptisms continued. Fream said during a six-week period, when the congregation was unable to meet in their facilities because of COVID-19 attendance restrictions, 20 people were baptized in pre-recorded videos that were broadcast during the livestream of services on Facebook Live, YouTube … [Read more...]

By LCNews staff PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews) – Louisiana College President Rick Brewer has released a Christmas album that not only can fill a loved one’s stocking but also will support student scholarships. The CD includes Brewer’s own arrangement of many beloved holiday favorites including “O Holy Night,” “Jingle Bells,” “White Christmas” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” “Christmas is a wonderful time to celebrate and rejoice,” Brewer said. “What would the holidays be without music?” Brewer recorded the album in his living room with assistance from LC Director of Technical Production Jeff Young. Brewer’s son, Jason, a Nashville, Tennessee-based musical artist, handled the post-production of the CD. “We recorded it in my living room on my piano with the acoustics in my house,” Brewer said. “Jeff recorded it with an Apple computer and microphones, and we emailed it to Jason.” This is the second album Brewer has released. In 2015, he recorded “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” alongside his son whose album, “The Explorers Club,” was released this summer and reached No. 5 on the United Kingdom Top 100 albums. Brewer said he is grateful to the Lord for his musical talents and for the support of both his family and … [Read more...]