By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor [img_assist|nid=6029|title=Andy Johnson Pastor Cross Roads Baptist Church Farmerville|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=70|height=100]FARMERVILLE (BP) – When Cross Roads Baptist Church realized they had more income than budgetary needs last fall, it didn’t take long to decide how to spend it. They upped their giving to missions through the Cooperative Program from 10 percent to 12 percent. [img_assist|nid=6030|title=Cross Roads Baptist Church is a congregation of 100 in Farmerville Louisiana|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=59]“The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:2 that stewards are to be found faithful,” said Andy Johnson, pastor of the Farmerville, La. congregation. “Rather than roll those finances over into a CD or put them away in a rainy day or a building fund, we decided that they would be put to better use for the Kingdom’s sake in the Cooperative Program. “The CP missionary force is, in my opinion, one of the most important arsenals that we as Christians have today,” the 30-year-old Johnson said of the national and international outreach supported by 45,000 Southern Baptist churches. The missionaries “are on the front lines ... think of it as a military … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=6032|title=Thompson Road Baptist Church in Slidell observed its Constitution service on Sunday January 17.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=82]Thompson Road Baptist Church in Slidell observed its Constitution service on Sunday, Jan. 17. It was a mission of Calvary Baptist in Slidell for many years. The church met in a double-wide trailer and struggled to survive for awhile. Calvary sent a staff member named Randy Boyette to make one last attempt and it worked. The group grew to 50 in the double-wide and then working with the LBC Missions and Ministry office, Church Site Corp., and Baptist Mission Builders, was able to build a facility in West Slidell. With the constitution service they move from mission church status to full membership in North Shore Baptist Association. … [Read more...]

Drop-off sites for Haiti supplies Southeastern Louisiana: Bush: Hebron Baptist Church 79614 Hwy. 41 985-886-3109 Covington Dawsey’s Hardware 78481 Highway 437 Ph: 985-892-1640 985-892-6138 985-630-2378 Hammond 116 Robinhood Dr. Ph. 985-630-7459 985-630-2378 Central Louisiana: Olla First Baptist Church of Olla 3153 Elm Street Office 318-495-5506 Fax 318-495-3140 Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. E-Mail: ofbc@ollafirstbaptistchurch.org Pastor: Johnnie Phillips Cell 318-992-3641 Northeast Louisiana Shreveport/Marshall, Texas, area Church of the Living Waters 325 Stevens St. Tatum, Texas Ph: 903-678-2455 903-678-1375 903-754-1059 … [Read more...]

From Louisiana to Haiti Hebron Baptist Church is one of a growing list of drop-off sites for anyone who would like to give to the Haiti Relief effort. Through Monday, Feb. 15, Hebron Bush will be open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and then from 6- p.m. to 8 p.m. Hebron Bush is located on Hwy 41, in Bush, going south towards Slidell on the left hand side.  For more information, call the church office – 985-886-3109 – from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. The following items have been requested by Christian leaders in Haiti. The dropoff location is the church fellowship hall: The #1 need in Haiti is baby formula, according to Disaster Relief leaders who just returned from an assessment trip to identify places and situations that were being overlooked. Cooking utensils (pots, pans, forks, spoons, etc) Rice Beans Cooking Oil Tomato Paste/Tomato Products Spaghetti Ramen Noodles Soap Tooth Paste Towels & Wash clothes Blankets Sheets Tarps Tents Ropes Foam Mattresses & Cots Tin for shelters Medical supplies, such as 4x4’s, tape, gauze rolls, band aids exam gloves pain medications personal care items hand sanitizer liquid soap antibiotic … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=6040|title=BUCKETS OF HOPE OFFER OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERY BAPTIST TO PROVIDE HANDS-ON HELP TO HAITIANS|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=495|height=640] … [Read more...]

[img_assist|nid=6046|title=White Castle First Baptist Pastor Greg Wilton and wife Abby hold a Saints helmet found while gutting houses after Katrina|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100] By Paul F. South, NOBTS Communications WHITE CASTLE, La. (BP) – As Super Bowl week dawned in New Orleans, Greg Wilton’s face and a tarnished replica Saints helmet graced the front page of the city’s newspaper, The Times-Picayune. Wilton, 27, tried to quell the buzz from family and friends, but this is no ordinary football helmet. And Wilton, bivocational pastor of First Baptist Church in White Castle, La., a town of 1,946 where bayous and sugarcane stalks likely outnumber people, is more than, as he puts it, “a guy with a helmet.” He’s a guy with a message to share. First, about the helmet, which Wilton hopes someday to return to its owner. Rewind to the spring of 2006, seven months after Hurricane Katrina. Wilton, then a new graduate student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, joined a group of collegians working through the seminary’s MissionLab program during spring break to gut houses in New Orleans’ devastated Upper Ninth Ward, one of the Crescent City’s hardest-hit areas by post-Katrina flooding. As they … [Read more...]

by Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor RUSTON – Members of Cook Baptist Church signed up for back-to-back, two-hour time slots recently, for the opportunity of reading the Bible aloud. Families, Sunday school classes and other small groups, as well as individuals, sat in the foyer of the church a half-mile north of Interstate-20, and read from where the last person left off. It took 79 and one-half hours for 100 people to read from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 in the New King James version. “We wanted to make a statement that America needs to return to hearing God,” said Mike Holloway, pastor since 2005 of Cook Ruston. “We want people across America to Hear God Speak – that’s the name we gave it – hear God speak to their hearts about their morals and lifestyles. “I wanted it in the foyer for a purpose, in front of those big windows,” Holloway said. “It was making a statement for everybody driving by, even at 2 in the morning, to see that we’re going back to hear God speak. It was a direct message to the world that we need to hear God again. We’re just calling America back – to the church first and also to America – to hear God speak.” Holloway said he hopes other churches across Louisiana and across the … [Read more...]

If a motorcycle rider was 100 percent sold out to Jesus, what would he or she look like? Groups of men and women around our nation are attempting to demonstrate this through motorcycle ministries. Motorcycle riders were once considered rebellious and less than reputable individuals. However, today, the rider cruising down Main Street just might be your doctor, accountant, schoolteacher or minister. The number of registered motorcycles continues to rise, with more than 4 million today on the road in the U.S. Here’s another interesting statistic: all 4 million riders need Jesus. Whether someone has tattoos or tab collars, he or she needs a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some churches are actively seeking to engage this particular culture with the claims of Christ. The apostle Paul said, “I do all [things] because of the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:23). His goal was to engage a segment of culture without compromising the integrity of Christianity. Instead of a “whatever it takes” mindset, his was a “whatever does not compromise the faith” mindset. Just as Paul said, “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some,” he also followed with these words, “I discipline my body and bring … [Read more...]

By Andy Johnson, Pastor Cross Roads Baptist Church, Farmerville There are many things that come to mind when the word “Evangelism” is mentioned. Some think of a dynamic orator who preaches with fervency. Others focus only on door-to-door witnessing. Evangelism, however, is so much more. [img_assist|nid=6053|title=Andy Johnson, Pastor Cross Roads Baptist Church, Farmerville|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]Evangelism is a lifestyle that begins with a passion to win lost souls to Christ by any means necessary. Being an effective evangelist may require a total life change. It has been said that you can judge a man’s character by the company he keeps. I disagree. Jesus was a man of extraordinary character, yet He spent time with people the religious establishment of His time considered outcasts and sinners. Jesus even had a thief, a denier, a doubter, and those who jockeyed for position in God’s Kingdom as His inner circle of friends. He even had fair weather friends; all but one of His closest friends deserted Him when He was crucified at Calvary. In the end, we see that Christ’s refusal to disband them from His cabinet was the thing that turned the world upside down. It was Jesus’ fickle and flawed … [Read more...]

By H. P. Tarpley, retired pastor Pollock, La. “He that winneth souls is wise,” declares the Bible in Proverbs 11:30. Jesus said that his overriding mission was to “seek and to save that which was lost.” And his greatest teaching to his disciples was “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The aforementioned statements lead me to believe that sharing the gospel should be the top priority for followers of Jesus Christ.  Now that I have reached senior status, I never hesitate to share the gospel. As a result of a God-given courage I have been privileged to see a number of people in their 70s and 80s trust Christ for salvation. The Bible makes it clear the height of divine wisdom is revealed in those who seek to win lost souls to Christ. That truth leads me to ask the question: ‘Why is a person who wins souls considered wise? First, it is because they save a person from hell. In one of Jesus’ most well-known parables, a rich man died and went to hell and Lazarus died and went to heaven. When someone dies we bury bodies, but we do not bury people. They exist somewhere for eternity. A second reason a soul winner is wise is because he or she is doing the will of God. In the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28, … [Read more...]