By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer NEW ORLEANS (LBM) – Fred Luter was in his 35th year of pastoring Franklin Avenue Baptist Church when he called his son to talk about the future of both men and the church. “Chip was pastoring in Florida, and he said ‘Dad, you know, you’re 65 next year. You think about re­tirement?’,” Luter recalled of the March 2021 con­versation. “I said, ‘Well, my retirement plan is in Florida. Are you thinking of coming home?’” Soon after, his son resigned as campus pas­tor with Idlewild Baptist Church’s Sulphur Spring campus in Tampa, Florida, and returned to the church where he was raised, and where he previously served as the pastor of students. On Oct. 18, Fred Luter will retire and the follow­ing Sunday, his son will succeed him. The church will host a celebration musical, Oct. 16, 6 p.m., featuring the FABC choir, who will sing Luter’s favorite Gospel songs. “Just looking back on from when it started to up until now, it’s been a joy pastoring Franklin Ave­nue,” Luter told the Baptist Message. “To see what God has done in this church, with a guy who never pastored before, and then being a part of a church that grew to be one of the largest churches in the state has been a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – A youth pastor known as the ‘celebrity evangelist’ is on a mission to share the Gospel with some of Hollywood’s most famous men and women, and during the upcoming Youth Evangelism Celebra­tion, Nov. 21-23, LaBorde Earles Coliseum, Alexan­dria, he wants to recruit Louisiana Baptist youth to join him in making Christ known across the state. “My heart is really to see this next generation be bold in the Gospel and be bold in their mission field,” Dylan Novak told the Baptist Message. “At YEC, there’s going to be celebrity ministry stories from what we do but most importantly we are going to challenge people to share the Gospel in their mission field with their platform. I feel like a lot of times we’ll get up and say this, ‘You need to go out, and you need to evange­lize,’ but we don’t properly explain ‘Here’s how you evangelize.’” Novak, founder of Celebrity Evangelist Minis­tries, a non-profit outreach dedicated to sharing the Gospel with the world’s most famous figures, has shared Jesus with more than 2,000 individuals in the entertainment indus­try. During his time with YEC students and their adult leaders, Novak will share how they too can use a … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Vinh Nguyen be­lieved he had found happi­ness when he was granted refuge in the United States near the end of the Viet­nam War. But six years later, he learned that true happi­ness required something more — a relationship with Jesus. His life was so trans­formed by the Truth of the Person of Christ that he formed the congregation of Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church, Baton Rouge. “God has been using us to connect with Viet­namese and other Asians,” Nguyen told the Baptist Message. “The nations have come here, and some have heard the message of Christ, believed in Him, and become part of our church. We get to be a friend to them and let them know we are here to love them.” GUIDED BY GOD Nguyen arrived in Ha­waii in 1975 as the Vietnam War was ending. Two years later, he began studying with the University of Florida and upon graduation he accept­ed a position with Exxon in Baton Rouge. While living in Louisi­ana’s capital city, he ac­cepted a friend’s invitation to attend a Bible study with Riverdale Baptist Church. The kindness and welcoming spirit of the church touched his heart and soon afterward he accepted Christ. Three years … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer MONROE, La. (LBM) – A weekend of block par­ties, door-to-door witness­ing, compassion projects and other evangelistic efforts produced a spiri­tual harvest of at least 81 known decisions for Christ during the Serve Tour in Morehouse, Ouachita and Richland parishes, Aug. 21-22. The SEND Relief Serve Tour in partnership with the Northeast Louisiana Baptist Association and Louisiana Baptist Con­vention was an effort that involved 1,070 volunteers who participated in 48 ser­vice projects throughout northeast Louisiana as the foundation for evangelism. Projects included 10 block parties, eight grill walks, several church building upgrades, numerous school improvement projects and paying for others’ laundry at four laundromats. Steven Kelly, associa­tional mission strategist with Northeast Louisiana Baptist Association, said he was thankful for those who helped during Serve Tour, which resulted in 1,350 Gospel conversations. “Serve Tour defines what we have said for years about the impor­tance of cooperation,” Kelly told the Baptist Message. “What we have spoken of theoretically, we saw practically. Coopera­tive dollars from around the country poured into northeast Louisiana … [Read more...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Baptist Message provides churches an opportunity to share with other Louisiana Baptists an upcoming revival, homecoming, new pastor, new staff member, a community outreach, or a concert in Louisiana Notables. To place your event in the paper, send your information (who, what, where, when, time) to philip@baptistmes­sage.com or call 318.449.4345. Please submit your information four weeks prior to the event to insure placement in the Message. ON THE MOVE Jeff Harper is the new pastor at Bellaire Baptist Church, Bossier City. Brett, wife Erin, are the new Youth, Children and Family Ministers at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe. Matthew, wife Andrea, Cormier is the new pastor at Hessmer Baptist Church. Darren Guess is the new pastor at Ridge Avenue Baptist Church, West Monroe. HOMECOMING/ANNIVERSARY Olivet Baptist Church, Sulphur: 70th anniversary, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m. Dinner on the grounds to follow worship. Pastor: Charles Burke. Bethel Baptist Church, Bastrop: 80th an­niversary, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m. Praise in the Park will follow later at 4 p.m. at Chemin-a-Haut State Park. Pastor: Tim Post. Lone Pine Baptist Church, Lone Pine: 100th Homecoming, Sept. 27, 10:15am Worship: … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The Baptist Mes­sage, Louisiana Baptists’ news service, is working on a memorandum of understanding with The Baptist Paper to jointly provide a monthly print edition for Louisiana Bap­tist subscribers in 2027. BACKGROUND During a September 2025 meeting, the Baptist Message board of trustees approved a move to a digi­tal-only format, beginning in 2027. Finances were the major factor in the decision because the news service will lose $100,000 in funding after 2026. But with the trustees’ vote in the most recent meeting, the Baptist Mes­sage will continue to offer a print product through a partnership with The Bap­tist Paper, launched in 2021 as a ministry of The Ala­bama Baptist newspaper which has been in print since 1843. The Baptist Paper will print a monthly Baptist Message special edition with Louisiana Baptist content populating the front and back pages as well as four center pages. The Baptist Paper will in­voice Baptist Message sub scribers and Baptist Mes­sage advertisers will have access in this edition. Rates will be announced soon but are expected to remain close to what they are now. The board approved an addition of $30,000 to the 2027 budget to offset … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer BENTON, La. (LBM) – Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel “Michael” Leiter dispelled myths about Israel’s conflict in Gaza while thanking America for its support during a leader forum hosted by Cypress Baptist Church, Benton, Sept. 2. WORD OF SUPPORT CBC Pastor John Fream recounted during opening remarks how his most recent visit to Israel took place in the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led attacks killed about 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in 251 hostages being imprisoned in Gaza. He said the ambassador’s visit to the church was motivated by a biblical mandate and a desire to provide theological reasoning for standing with Israel. Leiter also shared his message during a service that evening. “A big portion of this is to really offset the lies (about the conflict),” Fream told the crowd. “If we’re not going to speak up, then who will for our friends in Israel? “And then obviously we believe there’s a biblical mandate,” he said. “I believe that God is the same yesterday, today, forever. He says what He means. He means what He says. And He says, I’ll bless you if you bless Israel. I'll curse you if you don’t. And so, I believe we are to stand with God’s … [Read more...]