By Staff, Baptist Message   ARRIVALS/DEPARTURES   Shawn Fargerson, new as minister of music at Airline Bossier City from First Oil City. Pastor: Chad Mills.   David (wife Lea Anne) Lane, new as pastor of Judson Walker as of May 13, with installation service at 10:30 a.m. May 20.   Nancy Ratcliff Harper, wife of Pastor Tom Harper of First Melville, died April 16.   James “Jay” Avance, new as pastor of Forest (La.) Baptist, from First Baker.   Preston Allen, new as music minister at Emmanuel Monroe.   Gabe Krell resigns as education minister at Parkview Monroe for Florida pastorate.   Needed/Available   Gospel Group retiring; For sale: CRATE 6 mike mixing board w/stand. 2 speakers/w stand, 8 mikes, 10 misc. cords. Price: $600. Call 318.687.8799.   Homecomings, Anniversaries, Revivals   Calvary Ville Platte – known originally as Calvary Baptist Church of Bayou Chicot, started in November 1812 by Joseph Willis – plans its 200th anniversary celebration Nov. 2-4. Activities include a community worship service Nov. 2 at Vandenburg Cemetery north of Bayou Chicot, prayer breakfast Nov. 3 at Calvary Ville Platte, plus … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=8143|title=First Houma Groundbreaking|desc=First Baptist Church of Houma broke ground April 15 on a 50,000 square foot worship facility. The new facility will seat 1,500 and include four additional wings for education ministry. Over the last 13 years the church has grown in worship attendance from an average of 350 to more than 1,100. The facility will take about 14 months to build. Foster Construction from Alexandra is general contractor; Jeff Sampson from Alexandra is architect; Steve Folmar is Senior Pastor.|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427] … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   WOODWORTH – The annual spring meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board members was a time for voting on LBC business and hearing reports of LBC-related entities.   It is the 93-member Board’s responsibility to provide watchcare of the LBC for its 1,600 affiliated churches.   Board President Rick Byargeon, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Ruston, opened the May 1 meeting at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center – following a short performance by the Voices of LC, led by Fred Guilbert – with a message based on Exodus 34:29-35.   Why was Moses’ face glowing? “It was God’s way of saying, ‘This man has been in my presence; listen to him,’” Byargeon said. “Time spent with God gave him authority to speak. ... If you want to be authentic, you’ve got to spend time with God. You want to show evidence you’ve been with Jesus.”   In his report, LBC Executive Director David Hankins discussed the Awaken – It’s Time movement, and his participation in the parish “Wave of Prayer” that took place in March and April with about 2,500 participants in all.   “It was a great experience for me,” Hankins said. “We have a … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Louisiana Baptist Foundation Communications   ALEXANDRIA – Good fellowship, good food and golf.  That was the draw at the recent Baptist Golf Fellowship held the OakWing Golf Club in Alexandria.   The fellowship tournament is co-sponsored by the Louisiana Baptist Foundation and the Louisiana Baptist Message twice annually, in the Spring and Fall.   Golfers from all across the state came to enjoy two days of God’s beautiful creation and the camaraderie of fellow believers around the game of golf.   Warm temperatures greeted the players as they began medalist play and the team competition at noon on Monday.  Fourteen different church teams vied for the “Traveling Trophy” awarded to the team with the best combined score. Although the competition was as close as ever, the team First Baptist of DeRidder – Diz Smith, Tony Branham, Dennis Millsap and Jerry Istre – took the prized Team Cup home with them once again, with a combined score of 317.   For the first time the medalist play was divided into three divisions: Super Senior (above 70 years of age), Seniors (age 60-69) and regular (59 and under).  John Willie, who was an outstanding golfer at Grant High School and … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press   NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Appointments to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Committees have been announced by SBC President Bryant Wright. Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., announced the appointments in accordance with SBC Bylaw 19 which requires that their names be released to Baptist Press no later than 45 days prior to the annual meeting.   The Committee on Committees will assemble in New Orleans just prior to the SBC annual meeting, June 19-20, to nominate members of the Committee on Nominations who, in turn, nominate trustees to serve on boards of the various entities of the SBC.   SBC Bylaw 19 also provides that the Committee on Committees “shall nominate all special committees authorized during the sessions of the Convention not otherwise provided for.”   The Committee on Committees has 70 members, two from each of the 35 state or regional conventions qualified for representation on boards of SBC entities.   Buddy Champion, pastor of First Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala., has been designated as committee chairman. Louisiana members: Terry Booth, Amite Baptist Church, Denham Springs; Matthew Endris, … [Read more...]

By John D. Wilke, Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Nearly 4,000 people attended Vacation Bible School preview events this winter to prepare for “Amazing Wonders Aviation: Encountering God’s Awesome Power.” Jerry Wooley, VBS specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources, described VBS previews as “great moments of bringing people together from all across the country” to build momentum for this summer’s outreach. “We host classes on crafts. We sing all the music. We teach high-tech and low-budget decorations and we look at the Bible content,” Wooley said. “We do everything in VBS in a compact 24-hour period.” This year’s VBS theme is drawn from Psalm 147:5: “Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite” (HCSB). The curriculum uses 1930s and 1940s aviation to help VBS participants encounter God and His power by exploring some of the world’s greatest natural wonders. VBS 2012 will immerse participants in daily worship before sending them on a make-believe journey from the Amazing Wonders Aviation airstrip to such wonders as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Victoria Falls in Africa, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, the polar Northern Lights and Paricutin volcano in Mexico. In … [Read more...]

By Mark Kelly, Baptist Press[img_assist|nid=8149|title=Doing What They Can|desc=Marie Buchanan (right), missions director of East Winnfield Baptist Church in Joyce, La., presents the church’s check for $3,000 to Mark Fenn, missions pastor of First Baptist Church in West Monroe. The money will pay for the cost of drilling a well to provide clean water for people in Central Asia, where as many as 10 percent of children under 2 die of water-borne diseases every year.|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=424] JOYCE, La. (BP) – When Ella Creel heard children were dying for lack of clean water, she knew something had to be done. But the problem was half a world away, in the high desert of southern Tajikistan. And her church didn’t have a lot of resources. “We bump up around 100 in attendance on Sunday,” said Creel, a member of East Winnfield Baptist Church in Joyce. “Our Sunday School class is just 18 members, mostly widows, mostly on fixed incomes. We’ve never had more than $100 in our class treasury.” They had been studying a series of lessons in their LifeWay Sunday School quarterlies about the Christian’s responsibility to make good use of the resources God has given them. When the class came to the story of Jesus … [Read more...]