By Staff, Baptist Message Numbers will fade, but the lives touched will always be remembered. Currently Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has served over 46,000 meals, provided 1,800 showers, washed 1,130 loads of laundry and completed 930 jobs with over 5,000 volunteer hours. These numbers are only what have been recorded. With the water receding very slowly in many areas, particularly in north Louisiana, SBDR is still planning and responding to needs across Louisiana. Called the ‘yellow-shirt’ Cavalry by former Louisiana Baptist Convention President and First Baptist Covington Pastor Waylon Bailey, everywhere teams have served they are being greeted warmly by Louisianans. Disasters have a way of changing lives by bringing people together and we are seeing this happen across Louisiana.   … [Read more...]

By Deanna Wallace, Louisiana Right to Life BATON ROUGE -  State Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Bossier), introduced HB 1081, The Louisiana Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Act, Tuesday April 5, which would protect unborn babies by ending the brutal practice of dismemberment abortion in Louisiana. A dismemberment abortion, also known as a D&E, is a second trimester abortion method where the abortionist uses large forceps to seize and tear body parts from a live, unborn child. Johnson, who is also a constitutional law attorney, said the following about his decision to introduce HB 1081: "Louisiana has a long history of protecting the most vulnerable members of our society - unborn children. HB 1081 will continue in that tradition by protecting these little ones from the barbaric practice of being torn apart in the womb by an abortionist's forceps." Louisiana Right to Life Legislative Director Deanna Wallace added: "Dismemberment abortion is a violent procedure, and there is ample Supreme Court precedent for banning such a procedure. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his discussion of the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban, bluntly stated that in a dismemberment abortion, the unborn child 'dies just as a human … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional reporter BATON ROUGE -- Newly elected Gov. John Bel Edwards told about 150 pastors and other church leaders gathered for the Louisiana Family Forum's Pastor’s Briefing, that he believes in the power of prayer and reiterated his pro-life position. Edwards, a Democrat and devout Roman Catholic, often asked voters to pray for him during last year’s campaign and repeated that request again on Wednesday morning, following the 52nd annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast at the Baton Rouge River Center. “I ask for prayer for me and for the leadership of the state of Louisiana and for our people,” Edwards said. “We have some very real challenges and they span across a wide spectrum of issues … but I am certain we are going to come together and meet those challenges head-on.” “I would ask you to join me and my administration, not just in prayer, but in action every day so we can do that together,” he said. He said he briefly reviewed the LFF’s list of upcoming ‘bills to watch’ in the legislature and told the pastors that while he agrees with most of them, “quite honestly we won’t always agree on some of them but I’m always willing to sit down and talk.” When Sen. Gerald Long, R., Dist. 31, asked … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message LEESVILLE – Don and Margie Fulkerson’s faithful service to Christ brought the couple great joy as they served side by side in disaster relief. The couple, who would have celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary next month, had served on 15 disaster relief trips together since their first assignment in 2012. Fulkerson died of a heart attack on March 29 while serving with his team from First Baptist Church in Galatia, Ill., along with other Illinois Baptist volunteers in Leesville. The visitation took place on April 1 at First Baptist Galatia, with the funeral occurring the following day at the church. Both the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the state of Louisiana not only paid their respects but also showed their appreciation for this faithful servant of God. The Louisiana Baptist Convention paid for the embalming and flying of Fulkerson’s body back to Illinois. Gibbie McMillan, state disaster relief director for Louisiana, added that when the LBC offered to pay for a plane ticket for Fulkerson’s widow, she declined because “she had never flown before and wasn’t going to start now.” She returned home with the Illinois team. “What the LBC did was to say ‘we appreciate the help we … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Mike, wife Dawn, Holloway is the new pastor at Ouachita Baptist Church, West Monroe. Terry, wife Rhonda, Horowitz is the new pastor at Carson Baptist Church, Zwolle. He recently resigned as pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, Ball. Matt Simmons is the new minister to students at Watson Baptist Church. HOMECOMING Emmanuel Baptist Church, Shreveport: 75th Anniversary Celebration, April 17, 10:45 a.m. Former members and staff are invited to the service at 10:45 and the luncheon to follow. Please RSVP by calling (318) 686-7548 by April 10. Pastor: Chad Hardbarger. First Baptist Church, Benton: Homecoming Celebration, April 17. A continental breakfast will be served beginning at 9 a.m., worship, 10:30 a.m. followed by lunch. Former members can contact the church at 318.965.2351 for more information. Pastor: Robert Beadle. REVIVAL Colfax Baptist Church, Colfax: Revival, April 7-10. Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria. Pastor: Gary Howard. Ft. Jesup Baptist Church, Many: Revival, April 10-13; Sunday, 11 a.m. Monday-Wednesday, 6 p.m. Evangelist: Michael Courtney. Pastor: George Treutlein. Richey Baptist Church, Deville: Revival, April 10 – 13; two services Sunday 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday 7 p.m. … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - There is a worldwide revival underway with an estimated million people each week becoming Christians, Jim Denison told more than 1,400 people gathered at the River Center for the 52nd Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. But in America the number of atheists and agnostics has quadrupled in recent years, he contrasted. “Our fastest-growing religious demographic is those who have no religion,” Denison said while showing a series of slides where Christianity is booming, like Nigeria, where 90 percent of the people attend church on Sunday. Denison is a longtime Baptist pastor who, since 2009, has been operating the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture. He writes a daily commentary on current events read by 113,000 subscribers worldwide, and, he refers to himself as a cultural apologist. “Why are we not seeing the spiritual awakening that is sweeping the nations?” he asked. “All across Scripture, our God is a King. Jesus taught us to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God’ (Matthew 6:33). He called us to ‘repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17). When he returns, his name will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). “Tragically, in our culture God is … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – The friendship between the atheist Chinese student and the Georgian-turned-Cajun Tulane University Baptist Collegiate Ministry intern was almost instantaneous. After meeting at a BCM dinner in the fall, Lucy (last name withheld for security reasons) had many questions about Christ and Laura Hamilton had the answers. Two to three times a week, the two met and Lucy seemed to grasp the concept of God. However, she was not convinced, wanting to fully investigate Christianity before making a final decision to follow Jesus. Lucy and Hamilton continued attending Bible studies together and went to Metairie Church regularly. But it was when she was alone with just her Bible at her residence a few hours after one of their Bible studies that Lucy asked Jesus to be her personal Lord and Savior and fully committed her life to Christ. “Throughout the whole study, God was amazing in how He gave her answers to deep questions, giving her understanding that amazed me each time,” Hamilton said. “God very clearly said to me through this, ‘I am the One who gives understanding. You just do your little part and I am the powerful One at work here.’ “I remember lesson four in … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, LBF communications Statistics. Webster says statistics is “a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of masses of numerical data.” In other words, statistics uses raw data to tell a story.  Sometimes the revelation from the data can be surprising, confusing, or even overwhelming, but there are times when we should give the numbers a little more attention. Take for instance the study released last fall by the Natural Marketing Institute which revealed a numerical picture of the heart and attitudes of regular givers. Their study called the 2015 Healthy Aging Database studied the giving patterns of adults over 40 in a wide range of situations.   The one element that stood out from the rest was this: Of those surveyed who were regular in their tithes and gifts to faith based organizations, 37% would likely include a gift to their church or other ministry as part of their estate plans.  Over one third of regular givers would likely leave a gift.    Of those surveyed, 19% were VERY likely to leave a gift in their will or in a trust.  That’s a pretty strong response. The sad news is that only 3% had already taken action to implement a plan to give to … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MORGAN CITY – For 20 years, Bobby Powell invited his neighbor to attend worship services at Bayou Vista Baptist Church, only for that neighbor to turn down his invitation year after year. Still, Powell never gave up hope and continued his prayers and invitations. Recently, those 20 years of faithful outreach produced a harvest when Powell’s neighbor walked into a revival service at Bayou Vista Baptist Church and after the message asked Jesus for forgiveness and committed his life to following Him. Two nights later, the neighbor’s son walked into the church, repented and gave his life to Christ as well. “I have experienced answered prayers many times in my life, but never one that spanned over 20 years. We just have to wait on the Lord for His timing,” he said. “That story is just one of many happening at Bayou Vista Baptist Church these days.” Pastor Steven Kelly believes this south Louisiana congregation he pastors is on the edge of something great about to happen. “I have seen a positive change in where we are headed as a church,” said Kelly, who also serves as director of missions for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had the … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - Just as dawn was breaking in the middle of Holy Week, more than 1,400 Louisianans filled a large River Center ballroom for the 52nd annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. For more than an hour, public officials, community leaders and clergy prayed for newly-elected Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state, Louisiana families suffering from the recent flooding, the legislature, the military, emergency responders -- all concluding “In the name of Jesus, amen.” In his closing remarks, Edwards quoted I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” “That is not the only reason they were praying, it is why we are praying as well,” Edwards said. “And while we face challenges in Louisiana, we don’t face anything that our God can’t handle if we will just ask him to help us.” We certainly have to do our part, he added, asking the audience to “continue to pray” for the people of Louisiana, for one another, for our military, those who risk their lives to protect us, and, “may we pray for guidance and for wisdom for all of our leaders in the nation, our state and certainly myself included.” Noting the prayer breakfast was held a … [Read more...]