By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer HAUGHTON (LBM) - Members of First Baptist Church in Haughton humbled themselves individually and corporately leading up to the Haughton Harvest, and consequently saw the Holy Spirit convict 160 people of their need for Christ, May 6-9. “We have never prayed as much for a revival as we have for this,” said Pastor Gevan Spinney. “Everyone got involved and when we showed up during the revival, we were expecting God to move. We asked Him to save our friends during that week, and it was really awesome to see God answer those prayers. The biggest thing is we prayed and asked God to show up, and He did.” The Haughton Harvest is one of hundreds of events held or scheduled this year as part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. Nearly 900 of 1,650 Louisiana Baptist churches have signed up to participate in concentrated prayer and soul-winning activities such as multi-church crusades, door-to-door outreach, one-on-one evangelism, single-church revivals and other activities which leverage compassion ministries to share about the love of Christ. FREEDOM IN CHRIST Almost 2,000 people showed up over the course of the four … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NORTHEAST LOUISIANA - Extended prayer preceded revival at a pair of recent Harvest crusades in Louisiana. Twenty-six people committed their lives to Christ during the Red River Crusade, and the Morehouse Youth Revival saw 16 individuals submit to live for Him. “Prayer was absolutely essential to having the effective crusade we experienced,” said Red River Crusade Director Richard Kaufman, pastor of Martin Baptist Church in Coushatta. “We prayed where vehicles would be parked, where people would sit in the stands and even where people would be standing to get their food and drinks in the concessions area. The great evangelist Billy Graham said three keys to revival are prayer, prayer and prayer. The same thing goes for a crusade. I was overwhelmed at just how the Lord blessed our efforts.” Both crusades were among a number held so far this year as part of the statewide Harvest campaign to “pray for every home and share with every person” in Louisiana. Nearly 900 of 1,650 Louisiana Baptist churches have signed up to participate in concentrated prayer and soul-winning activities such as multi-church crusades, door-to-door outreach, one-on-one evangelism, single-church revivals and other … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (LBM) – Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was one of three evangelical Christians to be appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) May 15. Perkins, FRC founder and a former Louisiana legislator and interim pastor at the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, American Values President Gary Bauer, and best-selling author and Kairos Company President Johnnie Moore were among five individuals named to the commission charged with protecting religious freedoms globally. Nadine Maenza, executive director of the family advocacy group Patriot Voices, and California State University Associate Professor Tenzin Dorjee also were among appointees joining the three evangelical appointees. Dorjee was named to a second term and former West Virginia First Lady Gayle Conelly Manchin was appointed in April. President Donald Trump named Bauer and Moore to the commission. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tagged Perkins. Perkins vowed as a USCIRF member to help fully implement the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Frank Wolf Act), passed in 2016 to strengthen the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). He also said he would address religious … [Read more...]

By Louisiana Right to Life BATON ROUGE – In a preliminary ruling issued May 23, U.S. District Court Judge John DeGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana sided with the nation’s largest abortion provider by allowing it to proceed with its case attempting to force the Louisiana Department of Health to issue a license to perform abortions in the same New Orleans facility where taxpayer funded Medicaid family planning services are provided. However, by the afternoon, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and its abortion-providing affiliate, Planned Parenthood Center for Choice, were dealt a setback when Governor John Bel Edwards signed HB 891 (Hoffmann, R-W. Monroe).  That legislation creates a firewall between public funding and abortion by requiring that entities who provide Medicaid family planning services and entities that perform abortion must be “physically and financially separate.” The new law may moot Planned Parenthood’s challenge by its requirement that the State obtain guidance from the Trump administration’s Center for Medicaid Services before the law goes into effect.  Louisiana is hopeful for favorable guidance from the federal government on Medicaid funds in light of the administration’s recent announcement of … [Read more...]

By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON - Congressman Ralph Abraham is applauding the Trump Administration for proposing a rule change that will help prevent any federal tax dollars from supporting abortions. President Trump’s administration announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services will seek to change a rule regarding Title X family planning funding. The new rule would bar a clinic from receiving these funds if family planning services and abortions are offered under the same roof. Title X funds account for about $260 million. The largest single recipient is Planned Parenthood, which receives between $50-$60 million per year. No funding would be cut if the rule change is implemented, and savings from non-compliant facilities would be reinvested in other clinics, such as rural and community health centers. Abraham is staunchly pro-life and joined 153 members of the US House of Representatives in writing to HHS Sec. Alex Azar in April requesting the rule change. “Places like Planned Parenthood have no business receiving any taxpayer money to help them perform abortions. This rule change will ensure that family planning funding is actually going toward family planning services, not … [Read more...]

By Office of Congressman Ralph Abraham WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-Alto) issued the following statement in response a vote May 18 on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the farm bill, failed on a 213-198 vote. "Today a small group of Republicans joined Democrats to block the best chance we had to institute work requirements for food stamps so that people can lift themselves out of poverty and enter the workforce,” said Abraham, a member of Alto Baptist Church. “I know that Democrats have vowed to block bills like this that President Trump supports, but Republicans should be working together instead of holding each other hostage over unrelated issues. This was a good Farm Bill that implemented work requirements for SNAP and provided the policies our farmers rely on for planning so that they can keep feeding this country. Those who voted "no" turned their backs on President Trump and the American farmer. They need to get on board so we can pass this bill that is critical to the success of American agriculture.” … [Read more...]

By Office of Congressman Mike Johnson WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) applauded the Louisiana Legislature on its amended “school prayer bill” (La. Senate Bill 512), which was passed late Friday evening, May 18, in the final moments of the legislature’s 2018 regular session. Earlier this month, Johnson, who previously served as senior legal counsel for America’s largest religious liberty defense organization, joined with many of the nation’s other leading religious liberty attorneys and constitutional law experts to offer suggestions on how to amend the controversial legislation. “We applaud the hard work of the legislature, and especially those principled leaders in the Louisiana House, who stepped forward to correct and pass the revised version of SB 512," Johnson said in a statement. "What began as a very flawed piece of legislation that would have jeopardized the rights to religious expression in public schools was properly amended in the House. The new law will now provide much-needed clarity for students, teachers and coaches throughout Louisiana. “In the complex and widely misunderstood area of the law pertaining to school prayer, legislation is sometimes proposed on a state and local level that … [Read more...]

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...]