Benson Baptist Church, Benson: Revival, September 2-5, 6:30 p.m. nightly. Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria. Special Music: Kerry Longoria. Everyone is invited to attend. The church is located at 3213 Highway 512. Converse, LA. Pastor: Delmon Rogers. … [Read more...]

Calvary Baptist Church, Forest Hill: Revival, September 2-5; Sunday 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday, 7 p.m. Evangelist: Wayne Jones and Freedom Mission. There will be the Word of God, testimonies, praise and worship. For more information, call 318.733-0248. Pastor: Wayne Dunn. … [Read more...]

By Message Staff NEW ORLEANS - Elijah Kelly, the baby who thousands have prayed for as he journeyed through difficulties with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, has died. According to a post on the Elijah's Miracles Facebook page, he died at 4:17 pm Tuesday at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. Kelly, who was the grandson of Gulf Coast Baptist Association Director of Missions Steven Kelly, was born June 6 and weighed four pounds, 13 ounces. Two days later, the doctors diagnosed him with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare condition that left the newborn with only three of four chambers of his heart working properly. In the ensuing months, Kelly endured three open heart surgeries, a brain bleed, kidney dialysis and countless injections. Up until the end, family and friends from across the world offered prayers of support. Tammillee Kelly, wife of Steven Kelly, expressed appreciation for all who supported the family. "He was surrounded by his family and closest friends," she wrote on the Elijah's Miracles Facebook page Tuesday night. "He was cared for, prayed over, loved on, and sang to as he left our presence and into the loving arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Visitation will take place … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer POUSO ALEGRE, Brazil – A Louisiana Baptist-led mission team took the 2018 statewide Harvest emphasis international, resulting in 3,212 Brazilians repenting for salvation in July. “Numbers matter because they mean people,” said Deanne Denton, a trip coordinator and member of Highland Baptist Church in New Iberia. “Numbers mean changed lives. Numbers on this trip mean churches in that area can take those contacts of people who accepted Christ and follow up with the new believers through the year. That is always amazing to see because the people are very responsive.” Denton was among 130 men and women who were on mission in Pouso Alegre, Brazil, as a part of an evangelism outreach in the country July 6-17. Some remained in Brazil two additional days to see the country. While there, the teams participated in street evangelism, Vacation Bible Schools, drama performances, sports clinics, cooking demonstrations, construction of churches and a school, and conducted medical, dental and eye clinics. The mission group included other volunteers from Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. Denton said there were some ups and downs during the mission trip, but God was in … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HOUMA – Not long after Clifton Arnold started Kingdom Life Fellowship in September 2016, Sade Harris presented a simple request – a chance to participate in baptism with her three sons. After hearing the complete story, Arnold wholeheartedly granted the request. “Her oldest son shared her birthday, and now she wanted to celebrate her own spiritual birthday with him and the other two siblings,” Arnold said. “Once I heard her request, I thought ‘that is really nice.’” The family was introduced to Jesus within a two-week period in 2016. Harris was attending a baptism class with son, Quentin, when she realized she needed to repent of her sins. She then introduced the other two sons, Ma Khi and Que, to Christ. The baptisms were the first for Kingdom Life Fellowship, which was birthed out of a home-based Bible study with only three people. The Fellowship now has grown to 40 strong, seven of whom have been baptized. Since the service, Harris has become involved in such ministries as the hospitality team. “You just let God take over, and everything falls into place,” Harris said. “It may not be when you want it, but it happens.” … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HOUMA – NASA’s Clifton Arnold is a rocket scientist with a successful formula for church planting. “You get them in the door with music, you keep them in the house with teaching,” Arnold, who planted Kingdom Life Fellowship in Houma in 2016, told the Baptist Message. “People go to churches where they like their worship style and their teaching is solid.” When he is not preaching at Kingdom Life Fellowship, Arnold manages four NASA rocket propulsion test sites – at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. While working on projects to reach the planets and the stars, he uses opportunities to discuss creation and Heaven with those he meets in the space industry. “It’s really amazing that they parallel and feed into one another,” Arnold said. “People are interested in what God has to say about the rest of the universe, and, sometimes you don’t have an answer and you say, ‘Well when I see Him, I’ll ask Him. But right now, the Bible tells me this,’ and that’s the way I approach it.” GBO FOCUS Arnold is thankful for God’s … [Read more...]