BATON ROUGE –The successful passage of a diverse package of life-protective laws this legislative session is being heralded as ‘major accomplishments’ by the Louisiana Right to Life. Those bills include: HB 449, the first in the nation "Adoption Option Act," will require abortion clinics to give women concrete information to make an adoption plan so that the mother is empowered to avoid the trauma of abortion and choose life for her child with a loving family; HB 891 enhances existing state policy preventing taxpayer funds from being used directly or indirectly by abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood; SB 181 provides an additional provision to Louisiana’s current trigger law by prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks gestation in the event the same Mississippi law is upheld in the U.S. Fifth Circuit. This provision is in addition to a 2006 trigger that will ban all abortion once the Supreme Court returns the issue to the states. HB 273 authorizes the Department of Heath to promulgate regulations that the bodies of aborted unborn children are given dignified burial in accord with the treatment of unclaimed human corpses. HB 297 addresses the creation of materials giving resources for children prenatally … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE (LCNews) -- Louisiana Baptists have much to celebrate regarding how the Lord is blessing Louisiana College.  Increases in enrollment and the donor base, as well as more degree offerings in undergraduate and graduate programs are but a few examples. “Our leadership team and the support of our Louisiana Baptist family have facilitated these blessings,” said Louisiana College President Rick Brewer. Another contributing factor is the intentionality of regularly visiting LBC churches with Brewer, the Voices of LC, and other leaders from the Office of Admissions, who bring a display booth and promotional materials for parents and prospective students to learn more about LC.  This comprises an “LC Day” in the local church. “Never before has our culture needed more of a Christian influence in the marketplace,” Brewer said.  “This is our primary motivation with LC Day, and that is for all to see why high school students and their parents should give serious attention to Louisiana College.” “There is no other college or university in this state more capable of helping young students discover what Colossians 2:3 proclaims: that in Christ Jesus are ‘hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,’” Brewer said. “Any … [Read more...]

By Roy Hayhurst DALLAS -- Churches and pastors looking for budget-minded health care coverage as well as protection for themselves, their employees and their families have another option to consider coming this summer. GuideStone®, which is celebrating 100 years of serving Southern Baptist and evangelical churches, will roll out the new GuideStone Secure Health plan during the Southern Baptist Convention and enrollment will begin on July 1. “We hear daily from pastors and other church leaders who feel the tension between wanting to do right by their employees while also being responsible to their budget,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “With Secure Health we wanted an option that provided lower-cost coverage and protection for church employees, as well as their families.” Under the new Secure Health plan, eligible participants still have access to the nationwide Blue Cross Blue Shield network. Primary care visits and Teladoc consultations are available at no out-of-pocket charge. Some care — such as out-of-network service — is not covered. Before enrolling in the plan, GuideStone encourages participants to review their health coverage needs to see if GuideStone’s Secure Health is the appropriate coverage … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE/WOODWORTH (LBM) – More than 700 children and adult leaders met separately at two locations for the recently completed M-JAM conference, but both groups experienced a transforming day of learning how to live “Life On The Edge” for Christ. The day-long event featured the Real Encounter Outreach team from Branson, Missouri, and Louisiana and international missionaries, with all the speakers centering their messages around the conference theme, based on Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Participants also enjoyed music by worship leaders from central Louisiana and breakout sessions about the plan of salvation, compassion ministry, BMX stunt tricks, church planting, and IMB missions. Attendance was 178 at First Baptist Church in Lafayette March 10 and 519 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center May 5, with the dual locales allowing participating first-through-sixth graders and their leaders to attend M-JAM closest to where they live. “M-JAM at Tall Timbers went wonderfully well,” said Jess Archer, children/youth mission strategist for Louisiana Baptists. “We had an exciting day of meeting missionaries, hearing the Gospel message, … [Read more...]

By Holly Jo Linzay PINEVILLE (LBM) - It is all about the Word for the youth who took part in the State Bible Drill competition, April 28, at the First Baptist Church in Pineville. “I didn’t take reading the Bible very seriously until I started competing in Bible Drill. But being in the Bible Drill has helped me to hide the Word of God in my heart,” Hannah James said. She is a ninth-grade homeschool student from Fellowship Baptist Church who attended the State Tournament for Youth and High School Bible Drill & Speakers’ Tournament for the sixth time. “But learning the Scripture has made a huge impact in my life. Bible Drill is not just about memorizing Scripture or the competition. It’s about life. Learning Scripture has helped me to witness and to live for God,” James, the first-place winner in the 9th grade Drill-off, added. Participants in the Bible Drills and Speakers’ Tournaments have gone through two other levels of competition, church and district, before reaching the state events. Bible Drill is part of a discipleship program designed to assist youth in developing useful skills and knowledge of the Bible. They must know the books of the Bible; find common Scripture references; know different approaches to … [Read more...]

By Eddie Wren, LBC President RAYVILLE (LBM) – I was recently in Alexandria for a meeting and began to think about evangelistic outreach. At First Baptist Rayville we use various approaches to sharing the Gospel. But I began to take a hard look at my personal evangelism strategy and what more I could do to spread the Gospel and teach others to do the same. I felt the Lord impressing upon me a specific plan that seemed easy enough: plain old-fashioned door-to-door “soul winning.” My plan was to enlist one of the guys at my church who was my age and younger – perhaps who had never experienced door-to-door witnessing, or witnessing at all – to join me in this effort. I was thinking that if I could get someone to go with me and he witnessed someone trust in the Lord that not only would the person be saved but the guy with me would get fired up about sharing the Gospel. I prayed about the plan; the Lord confirmed it in my heart; and, I was moved to begin the next Wednesday night right after Bible study. I figured I would call one of the regular attenders to go with me, but the first person I called said he wouldn’t be there; and, the second man said he had something going on. In the end, I said to myself, “No … [Read more...]

By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter LAFAYETTE (LBM) – A group of Louisiana attorneys believe the time has come to band together in order to actively preserve, protect and promote Christian values as the fundamental basis for the laws in the country. “It is time to take a stand and be a voice,” said Kent Aguillard, a lawyer from Eunice. Aguillard, along with 60 other lawyers, have formed the Louisiana Association of Christian Lawyers, Inc., the first of its kind in the state, according to a statement provided to the Baptist Message. These lawyers are organizing to answer to a higher power and a greater authority than the political whims of a society brimming with moral decay, he said. The Louisiana Association of Christian Lawyers, Inc. was created, according to Aguillard, for the purpose of providing a forum and opportunity for group participation by individual attorneys who are dedicated and biblically inspired to uphold and promote those laws which are based on Christian values and principals, and which confirm the country’s “trust in God.” “There’s an erosion of the strong, moral code we had in this country. There used to be standards that just weren’t crossed. Now the lines are getting blurred,” Aguillard … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – Typically, six-year-old Cayden Windom is a shy little boy who goes out of his way to avoid drawing attention to himself. But on an early March Sunday morning the youngster came out of his shell to proclaim his faith in Jesus through baptism. DEDICATED TO CHRIST As Windom stood before family and friends, the youngster made history as he became one of the first people to stir the baptistery waters in the new worship center at First Baptist Church in Covington. Brimming with excitement, Windom was elated to show nearly 2,300 people gathered March 18 the reason for his hope in Christ. “It was exciting because of a couple of reasons,” he said. “I got to do the same thing Jesus did first and I felt like the president standing in front of all those people.” Windom’s baptism is only the beginning of his family’s special connection with First Baptist Covington: Windom was the final person to walk down the aisle in the church’s former worship center; and, his mom and dad, Julie and Jeremy, were the first couple to be married after Hurricane Katrina in the old facility, where his sister, Kensly, also was baptized. Julie Windom said her son has illustrated a true example … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH (LBM) – Despite baptisms dropping below 10,000 in the state for the first time in several decades, Keith Manuel told Executive Board members he is optimistic the trend can turn around because of the cooperation by Louisiana Baptist churches through the Harvest evangelism initiative. “There’s good news in the bad news,” said Manuel, Louisiana Baptists Evangelism and Church Growth director. “We have a great opportunity. We’ve been there before; we can do it again. We know what we need to do. We just need to get our eyes back on the fields that are white unto harvest. “We’ve got to make what’s important ‘important,’ and those souls are important,” he said. In his report to the Executive Board May 1 at Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth, Manuel updated board members on the Harvest, the largest joint effort for evangelism ever undertaken in the state. The end goal of this initiative was to involve at least 700 churches to pray for every home and share Christ with every person in Louisiana. By early May, 876 churches had signed up to participate. Manuel said his office has partnered with 16 different Harvest events involving many associations and … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor REVISED 5:55 p.m. May 11. BOSSIER CITY (LBM) – Brad Jurkovich, the 44-year-old pastor of the First Baptist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, has announced he will nominate Ken Hemphill for president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the denomination’s 2018 Annual Meeting, June 12-13, in Dallas, Texas. In a social media message shared with the Baptist Message, Jurkovich described both candidates as “godly men” but that “after much prayer” he said he was “convinced that Dr. Ken Hemphill is the man who is capable, ready, resourced, and has the capacity and wisdom to lead us at this critical time.” Jurkovich, who attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., was a classmate with J.D. Greear and calls him a longtime friend. He told the Baptist Message he had known Hemphill only by reputation until he personally interviewed him in March, but he said he had known of him since the 1990s, especially for his work in “growing churches.” He hosted livestreamed interviews of both candidates:  J.D. Greear, Feb. 27, and Hemphill, March 28. Jurkovich closed his endorsement of Hemphill by mentioning his wife Paula and their three children, describing them as “a … [Read more...]