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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Organizer says God at work in community outreach

ALEXANDRIA – Walter Layssard, a contractor and a member of Homewood Baptist Church in Alexandria, is on fire for God. “God is really in my life right now and He has laid it upon my heart to touch one million lives,” Layssard said. “And that is my objective.” A talented songwriter and singer since the age of 14, Layssard has turned to the ministry and has put together a community outreach – To Make Homewood Your Home – in which he is inviting people to come to church, while also feeding lunch to the first 200 people, handing out 100 CDs filled with Christian songs by Charles Crawford and two cases of Gideon Bibles. And it is all free . He will hold his outreach on Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Quick Print Printing Services, located at 1125 Texas Avenue in Alexandria. “God has opened so many doors,” Layssard said. “I can’t say enough about Miss Sharon [Meranto] not only allowed me to use her parking lot but also provided me with the fliers and invitations I’ve been passing out. She donated three hours of her valuable time to make and print these fliers and invitations. “People at our local radio and TV stations have also been so helpful helping to get the word out as well. It has been a blessing to get this much … [Read more...]

Down by the river: First West celebrates baptism of 31 members in Ouachita

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WEST MONROE – A few hundred members of First West recently celebrated the baptism of 31 fellow members down by the riverside. One of two river baptisms the church holds each year, First West held River Fest on a mid-August afternoon that resembled a true celebration by the Ouachita River. Nearly 600 people were present to witness the baptisms and take part in games, music, inflatables for the kids and a catered catfish supper. “There was a lot of energy, as people were super excited to get baptized,” said Christopher Trombatore, student pastor at First West. “We had people from every age range and socio-economic class. It was just a really neat day for our church and the people who were baptized.” For Trombatore, River Fest was extra special. The last person he baptized was Caleb Adams, a member of the youth group when Trombatore was student minister at Tom Hebert Road Baptist Church in Lake Charles. Now an intern for the student ministry at First West, Adams believed he had made a decision when he was younger and was baptized. However, as a teenager, Adams realized his true need for Christ but had not followed through with believer’s baptism. Adams told Trombatore he knew … [Read more...]

First Haughton’s Spinney to be nominated for LBC President

By Philip Timothy, Message Managing Editor Gevan Spinney’s name will be placed in nomination for the position of president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention during this year’s LBC Annual Meeting, according to a press release distributed by Waylon Bailey, pastor of First Baptist Covington and former Louisiana Baptist Convention president. Spinney is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Haughton. The LBC Annual Meeting is scheduled to meet Nov. 9-10 at First Baptist Church in Bossier City. According to the release, Spinney is “a young man who loves Jesus and has a passionate heart for the lost while not compromising his conservative theology. He has served in almost every imaginable position in his association and in the state convention.” Since becoming the pastor of First Haughton in 2003, he has overseen the church’s explosive expansion. Under his leadership, First Haughton’s attendance has grown from 300 to 900 and the church has recently moved into a new $7 million children’s facility and worship center that seats 1200. In the last two years, the church has baptized 246, an average of 123 annually. Additionally, the church’s budget has more than doubled through his stewardship and First Haughton … [Read more...]

Mike Johnson offers pro-bono defense to LSU’s football chaplaincy program

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BATON ROUGE – In the wake of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s claims that the chaplaincy program at Louisiana State University is unconstitutional, Mike Johnson, chief counsel of Freedom Guard, has offered to defend the school pro-bono. Officials from FFRF released a report on Aug. 17 entitled “Pray To Play: Christian coaches and chaplains are converting football fields into mission fields.” In the 25-page report, which was followed by a letter sent to LSU and other schools including several in the Southeastern Conference, the organization that focuses on separation of church and state said public universities and their employees are forbidden from endorsing, promoting or favoring religion. “Yet, many football coaches at public universities bring in chaplains—often from their own church or even members of their own family—to prey on and pray with students, with no regard for the rights of those students or the Constitution,” the report said. “These coaches are converting playing fields into mission fields and public universities are doing nothing to halt this breach of trust. They are failing their student athletes. The purpose of this report is to expose this … [Read more...]

Janet Huckabee discusses prayer, the state of America during visit to Baptist Building, LC

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA/PINEVILLE – The wife of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee visited Central Louisiana today, sharing her thoughts on the need for prayer, the condition of America and her husband’s bid for the highest elected office in the United States. Janet Huckabee’s Wednesday morning began early as she did a radio interview at a local station, attended the prayer meeting at the Louisiana Baptist Building in Alexandria and ending her morning by talking to a group of students and pastors at Louisiana College in Pineville. During her message at the Baptist Building, Huckabee said if everyone in the room had a chance to sit at the table with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Jesus Christ and discuss the state of the country, what would they say to them. “Would you be able to say anything at all and would we be able to honestly say we are doing everything in our power to give our children and ,yes, our grandchildren back a better America then where we grew up,” said Huckabee, a native of Lake Charles. “I think I would probably say we might not be able to do that.” Later, Huckabee shared the importance of having a team of 10 ladies praying for her on a daily basis. This team prays for such requests … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

ON THE MOVE Harry, wife Brooke, Brown is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Ringgold. Justin Hardin is the new minister of youth at Beulah Land Baptist Church, Haughton. Brandon, wife Lacey, Lewis is new minister of youth at First Baptist Church, Haughton. Tom Descant is the new associate pastor to families at Hillcrest Baptist Church, Franklinton. Scott Teutsch is the new interim pastor at Plain Dealing Baptist Church, Plain Dealing. Tom Cole is the new music minister at Shreve City, Shreveport. Jeff Triplett is the new youth minister at First Baptist Church, Haynesville. Joe Bob Alexander is the new interim pastor at Ferry Lake Baptist Church, Oil City. Mark Caruso is the new associate pastor/youth minister at Pine Grove Baptist Church, Livingston. HOMECOMING Red River Baptist Church, Benton: 166th anniversary and homecoming celebration, Aug. 30, 10:45 a.m. Speaker: Wayne Dubose. Morning worship celebration will be followed by dinner on the grounds. All former members, pastors and staff are welcome to attend. Pastor: Josh Cagle. Bethel Baptist Church, Colfax: Homecoming, Sunday, Aug. 30, 10:45 a.m. Following the morning service there will be covered-dish dinner and fellowship in the Family Life Center. … [Read more...]

Southern Baptists undertook monumental task of helping New Orleans rebuild

Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS -- After 196 continuous days of response along the Gulf Coast, Southern Baptist leaders knew the third phase of disaster relief – rebuilding -- would take an effort bigger than anything ever attempted before, said Mickey Caison, the North American Mission Board disaster relief coordinator in 2005. In the New Orleans area alone, an estimated 100,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed. Responding in kind, Southern Baptists gave through the North American Mission Board and state conventions the largest disaster relief offering ever collected, Caison said. After a record-breaking disaster relief response, Southern Baptists were ready to mobilize to rebuild. The result was unprecedented, said Freddie Arnold, church planter strategist for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans in 2005. “It was probably the most impressive thing Southern Baptists ever did. The churches came together and stood together, and it was a long-term relationship,” Arnold said. “We’d never seen anything like that before.” A letter to the editor printed Mar. 1, 2007 in The Times-Picayune, the New Orleans newspaper, showed the impact Southern Baptist volunteers had made. Frustrated at the … [Read more...]

GBO provides needed support for missions and ministries

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer In the midst of challenging economic times, supporting missions and ministries in the state can prove difficult. However, over the last 10 years Louisiana Baptists have demonstrated a strong commitment to state missions by their growing support of the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering. The offering has gone from approximately $1.2 million in 2005 to just under $2 million in 2013 [thanks in part to a large one-time gift], and $1.6 million in 2014. “Louisiana Baptists want to be a part of reaching the world and North America,” said David Hankins, executive director for Louisiana Baptists. “But when it comes to reaching those living inside our borders, it becomes personal. They want to do whatever needs to be done to reach the estimated 2 million people who don’t know Jesus.” “Be Something” taken from Ephesians 5:1, where Paul encourages the believers living in Ephesus to “be imitators of Christ,” is the theme for this year’s offering. The offering is named after Georgia Barnette, the first elected and paid WMU executive director/treasurer in the state. She would travel by boat, pirogue, horse and buggy, and train from her home in New Orleans to other areas of Louisiana to visit … [Read more...]

600 Katrina evacuees found shelter at Istrouma Baptist in Baton Rouge

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - When  Ron Lambe, now-retired administrative pastor of Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, recalls Hurricane Katrina he can’t help but quote Charles Dickens, “it was the best of times and the worst of times.” “It was the worst of times due to how grossly ill-prepared our entire state government, the Red Cross, our church and even our nation was for a natural disaster of this proportion and the grueling 16 hour days our staff and volunteers put in each day,” Lambe recalled. “It was the best of times because it allowed our church members to learn quickly to love those who are less fortunate than us and to demonstrate true sacrificial love to those displaced by the floods.” Istrouma is the largest SBC/LBC church in Baton Rouge and had previously made an agreement with the Red Cross to be a shelter the year before Katrina made landfall. A small group of Loyola University students evacuating from New Orleans after summer sessions were the first to “camp out” in the church’s Bain Building, a two-story building of classrooms centered around a gym. Then the flood hit, New Orleans nearly emptied out and more than 600 distressed people ended up sleeping on cots and the gym … [Read more...]

Baptist response warms hearts to the Gospel

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter Raw emotions bubbled to the surface as people struggled to process the losses brought about by Hurricane Katrina. As Southern Baptists faithfully offered care to those suffering from the storm, hearts warmed to the Gospel. The power of relationship When the local news warned that those remaining behind must write their social security numbers on their arms so bodies could be identified later, Kelli and George Esler knew it was time to leave. The couple went to Grenada, Miss., where John and Candy Saxon, a couple who had befriended them the previous year, found them a place to stay. John was a New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary student. Candy taught school in Chalmette with Kelli. When the news of the devastation in Chalmette reached them, Kelli realized her perfect life was over. “Living on the floor of some lady’s house, in a city I’d never heard of, in a state I’d never visited, that was the breaking point,” Kelli said. “I knew how out of control all of this was.” Kelli saw how far downward they had fallen when her husband, George, a computer programmer, took a job sweeping the floor of a sawmill. As George worked alongside John at the mill, he came to faith in … [Read more...]