By Will Hall, Message Executive Eidtor PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) — A Louisiana College bachelor’s degree is one of the best investments of tuition paid in the state, according to research conducted by Georgetown University. Comparing earnings at the 10-year point to the debt held for the degree earned, this collegiate ministry of Louisiana Baptists ranked second in the state among the 22 four-year colleges and universities that offer more than an associate’s degree or certificates. Among the eight private nonprofit schools against which it competes, Louisiana College ranked first on this metric. Meanwhile, the Town Talk, a public newspaper in Alexandria, citing christianuniversitiesonline.org, reported that Louisiana College “is the fourth most affordable Christian college in the South, North and Midwest.” In comments about the Georgetown University study rankings, Louisiana College President Rick Brewer told the Town Talk he is committed to doing even more to make Louisiana College “affordable and accessible, especially for those who value a liberal arts education built upon a biblical worldview.” “The more affordable and accessible our undergraduate programs are,” he continued, “the more likely the opportunities our … [Read more...]

By LCNews PINEVILLE, (LCNews) -- Louisiana College’s inaugural Spring chapel on Jan. 16 featured Kevin Flattmann, student pastor at Cypress Baptist Church, Benton. In a sermon drawn from Mark 14:3-9 and titled “Sorry, I’m Devoted,” Flattmann challenged the LC family to avoid “cruise control” because “God did not call us to be a chump, but to be a champ.” Flattmann explained that a Christian becomes a champ “when you begin to truly live your life more devoted to God.  You’ll find more victory coming in your life.” He said devotion starts in your heart and radiates through your home, love, sacrifice, worship, and love for the Gospel. “Before I met Jesus my name was Loser, but Jesus Christ wrote his name on my life and made me a winner,” Flattmann said. “And no matter what is going on in your life, there is always victory in Christ, but that begins and ends with devotion to Jesus.” … [Read more...]

By Message Staff HAUGHTON, La. (LBM) – Gevan Spinney woke up early Saturday, Jan. 11, to a howling wind from a  powerful storm system making its way through Haughton. A short time later he walked outside to find 60 downed trees across his lawn but miraculously with no damage to his house. Spinney, pastor of First Baptist Church in Haughton, credits God for sparing his life and home. “Once the sun came up I found my wife, Andrea, in the front yard weeping,” Spinney told the Baptist Message. “It became real obvious the Lord had His hand on our house and protected us. We had this overwhelming feeling come over us. Our family was so very grateful for the Lord’s protection.” While Spinney’s home escaped destruction, others in his area were not as fortunate. His house was located along the path of a storm that produced an EF2 tornado, whose winds reached 135 mph and caused widespread damage and three fatalities in the state. The tornado touched down before 1:30 a.m. south of Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish and ended around 2:05 a.m. five miles north of Arcadia. According to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jerry W. Franks, 79, and Mary Sue Franks, 65, of Haughton died when the tornado destroyed their … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE, La. (LBM) -- One week after a shooter gunned down 26 people attending a worship service Nov. 5, 2017, at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose daughter, Annabelle, was killed, too, stood before the remaining congregants and other guests and presented a message of hope found in Christ. “We have the freedom to choose, and rather than choose darkness like the young man did that day we choose the light,” Pomeroy said in his message under a tent on the church grounds. Two years later, Pomeroy told the Baptist Message that a day does not pass when he fails to remember that fateful morning. But instead of focusing on the tragedy, which took the life of his 14-yearold daughter (there are five surviving Pomeroy children) and killed close friends in his congregation, Pomeroy stressed how the faith community around the world comforted and strengthened his family, the church and the small Texas town they serve. Prayers of support and donations poured in following the shooting, and the North American Mission Board funded construction, through the Cooperative Program and other gifts, of the church’s new multi-purpose facility. … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA (LBM) -- Pastor Jeff Ginn stood before Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge in March and challenged every member to pray for and share Christ with one person in 2019. His congregation wholeheartedly responded to and embraced the “Who’s Your One?” evangelistic strategy and, by the end of the year, saw many come to a relationship with Christ, including more than 90 who were baptized, an all-time single-year high for the 100-year-old congregation that averages around 2,000 in Sunday morning worship attendance. Ginn hopes to equip others with resources to carry out the initiative when Istrouma Baptist hosts the Who’s Your One Tour and evangelism training, Jan. 26-27. The training precedes the annual Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference (ECON), Jan. 27-28, which will be held at the First Baptist Church in Lafayette. “We are so excited about hosting this event,” Ginn told the Baptist Message. “I know that God will challenge us all to be more intentional in praying for others and sharing the Good News with them. We implemented the ‘Who’s Your One’ strategy at Istrouma and, to my knowledge, we baptized more people in 2019 than in any other year of our … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer TERRYTOWN (LBM) – A sense of anxiety overcame Pastor Dennis Watson as he stepped into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on June 19, 2019, to offer words of forgiveness to Todd Williams, who three days earlier had driven his vehicle into an embankment of the Westbank Expressway and subsequently caused the death of Claude Williams, a beloved pastor of the Celebration Church Westbank campus. The two Williamses are not related. Miraculously, Todd Williams received forgiveness during the meeting with Watson, lead pastor of Celebration Church with 10 campuses in the New Orleans area and the Northshore, on behalf of the congregation and Claude Williams’s wife, Twila; and, he also gave his life to Christ. “He wept as I prayed for him and then told me that he needed God in his life,” Watson told the Baptist Message. “That’s when I led him to pray for salvation. “In the months that followed, I kept up with what was happening with Todd Williams in prison, and visited with him again,” he continued. “He shared with me that he feels as though his life has really changed, and now he’s telling others in prison about how the Lord can forgive people and free them from their struggles … [Read more...]