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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

VERNON PARISH: Helping Hands announces June 3 reopening

By Message Staff LEESVILLE, La. (LBM) – Helping Hands Storefront Ministries has announced plans to resume all operations June 3. While food distribution to families has continued throughout the duration of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Helping Hands temporarily discontinued its other ministries once Gov. John Bel Edwards' stay-at-home order went into effect March 23. Director Modie Phillips said after much prayer, she felt enough time will have passed by early June to resume services. "I called many of our volunteers asking if they were willing to return to work on June 3rd and I rejoiced as they all said yes," Phillips told the Baptist Message. Phillips added that the storefront will take such precautions as volunteers wearing masks and gloves, and offering customers use of a mask while inside their facility. Helping Hands, a compassion ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has ministered in Vernon Parish since 1992. Since the coronavirus, the ministry's food pantry has served around 470 families each month, compared to nearly 330 monthly in early March. Helping Hands also operates a clothes closet, chapel, English as a Second Language classes, home supply center, school supply distribution to area students every … [Read more...]

Summerfield using food pantry to feed souls

By Message Staff COLFAX, La. (LBM) – Kennedy Walls recently visited the food pantry at Summerfield Baptist Church in Colfax to pick up a few items, but left with much more -- a renewed passion for the Lord. "Coming to the food pantry was the only way I was going to hear about my need to get right with Christ," Walls told the Baptist Message. "After everything is open, I'm going to start coming to church and grow more with others in my faith." Since Summerfield Baptist opened its food pantry to the community in mid-March, they have had five Gospel conversations, with two participants making decisions to restore fellowship with the Lord. The ministry has given away non-perishable food, toilet paper, Bibles and Gospel tracts. Pastor Jeremy Brister said that before the novel coronavirus pandemic, the congregation recognized the need to help those living in poverty. As a result of conversations about setting up a feeding ministry someone donated a custom-made food pantry, about the size of an armoire, which has been refilled multiple times each week. The congregation, which had been averaging 30 participants in its Sunday morning worship services in mid-March, has used the food pantry as a way to reach out to the community. Now … [Read more...]

LBC provides information for resuming children, youth ministries

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)--The Louisiana Baptist Convention has issued guidance for a three-phased approach to resuming child and youth ministries on campus. These recommendations provide practical steps as well as topics to consider in re-gathering age-graded groups The complete set of suggested standards for operating can be found by clicking here. … [Read more...]

Abraham reaches out to relocate Tesla to Louisiana

By Message Staff MONROE, La. (LBM) - Congressman Ralph Abraham has invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to relocate the electric vehicle manufacturer's operations from Palo Alto, California, to northeast Louisiana. Abraham, who is a member of Alto Baptist Church, sent a letter to Musk Tuesday and said the area has the qualified workforce to produce the company's electric cars and solar panels. He cited employees who previously worked for the General Motors plant in Monroe that closed in 2007, and the area's Interstate 20 Tech Corridor that includes CenturyLink as assets for a possible relocation. Additionally, Abraham said northeast Louisiana provides affordable, high quality living and access to Interstate 20, an airport, rail service and ports that are situated along the Mississippi River. "We've got some positives too that nobody else has," Abraham told the Baptist Message. "We've got plenty of open spaces that have rail, fiber and water. We have people in Louisiana that are just chomping at the bits to go to work. "The wonderful thing about Louisianans is that they are not afraid to do hard work and work that they can make a decent living at," he continued. "Here in north Louisiana we are open for business and we will … [Read more...]

State provides new guidelines for re-opening of churches

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) - Chief H. “Butch” Browning, the state fire marshal, has issued specific guidance for churches regarding how to conduct indoor, in-person worship services in accordance with state safety directives intended to protect against transmission of the novel coronavirus. The complete set of "Open Safely" instructions can be found by clicking here.   … [Read more...]

Louisiana College’s TEACH goes 100 percent online

By Norm Miller, LC executive assistant to the president for communications and marketing PINEVILLE, La. (LCNews)—Louisiana College’s nationally accredited TEACH certification program goes 100 percent online this summer in response to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Students usually travel from all corners of Louisiana to the Pineville campus to earn teaching credentials, but now the trip will be via computer, not car. The digital move of Louisiana College’s fast track TEACH program should appeal to those who seek certification but are apprehensive about travel bans and social distancing, said Dr. Amy Craig, Dean of the School of Education at LC. “The online approach helps answer these concerns and adds to the advantages we offer.” Louisiana’s 2020 Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Borlund said, “Through LC’s TEACH/MAT program, I fulfilled my dream of becoming a teacher, enhanced my educational skills, and built upon my knowledge of classroom strategies.” Borlund described LC’s atmosphere as “caring and intentional. The professors were always available to guide and encourage me as I needed it.” Exclusive to Louisiana College is that successful TEACH completers may apply all 21 hours of the practitioner … [Read more...]

Governor announces Phase One for churches, businesses

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday that churches and many other businesses in the state can reopen, with certain restrictions, when a new order is issued Friday. The order will move the state into Phase One of reopening the economy by lifting restrictions that previously limited public gatherings to 10 people or fewer. Louisianans will be under the new order through June 5. “The bottom line is the people of Louisiana have worked really hard since this public health emergency was first announced in order to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Edwards said during his Monday news conference. “And I am proud and I want to thank the people of Louisiana for doing that. They committed to and complied with the stay at home order. And had they not, we would not have seen the progress we have been able to see.” Under the new guidance from the state fire marshal, Department of Health and Governor’s Office, attendance will be limited to 25 percent of a worship center’s seating capacity. Pastors and other church staff will be required to wear face masks or cloth covering, and enforce social distancing. Other businesses that now can open, with the same maximum occupancy requirements, … [Read more...]

Retired missionary Glad Martin, Thailand prison ministry pioneer, dies

By Erich Bridges RICHMOND, Va. - Retired Southern Baptist missionary Gladys (“Glad”) Martin, a farmer’s daughter from Louisiana bayou country who helped lead thousands of prison inmates and students to Christ during more than 30 years in Thailand, died May 8 following a stroke. She was 81. Alongside her husband and missionary partner, Jack, she pioneered ministry to Thai prisoners, perhaps the most hated and rejected members of society in the overwhelmingly Buddhist nation. The Martins’ determination to give inmates hope -- and the message of a God of second chances -- eventually won the respect and cooperation of national prison authorities and the admiration of Thailand’s royal family. Jack, an outgoing visionary and passionate soul winner, was the face of the prison ministry and the bustling Baptist Student Center in Bangkok, which trains more than 10,000 Thai professionals and college students each year in English and the Gospel. But as he cheerfully acknowledged in later years, the better-organized Glad often was the brains. They made an ideal team. “Dad gets a lot of the credit for what Mom actually did,” recalled their youngest son, Craig, who watched them in action before going on to his own media ministry … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist entities share how God is providing during crisis

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)–Via Dropbox and video messages Louisiana Baptist Convention entity heads delivered their respective reports to the Executive Board, May 5. LOUISIANA COLLEGE Louisiana College President Rick Brewer told board members that God is working despite challenges presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic. He shared that the school has received more than $15,000 toward production of a 3D printer to make frames for the protective face shields that are in demand by hospitals and clinics. Natalie Maxey, an assistant professor of engineering at Louisiana College, has used an on-campus lab to make the shields since March 25. “Almost every minute of almost every hour she is making essential items that we are sending to places like Lafayette, places here in central Louisiana, places around our state who need this protective equipment and who will continue to need it,” Brewer said. Another innovation has been to shift all instruction online, March 30, to facilitate remote learning – a move made possible by a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Brewer said the school received the grant in 2019, and saved Louisiana College more than $100,000 in … [Read more...]