Victoria Baptist Church dwindled as the 1980s melded into the ’90s. But the congregation’s commitment to reaching people remained steadfast. BATON ROUGE (BP) – Victoria Baptist Church dwindled as the 1980s melded into the ’90s. But the congregation’s commitment to reaching people remained steadfast. Especially the Vietnamese who were arriving in Baton Rouge.  “[Victoria] was in an area of population change,” Joel Hilbun recounted, “and had been declining for 50 years – nearly its entire existence, really, since it was started in 1947 – but even as it declined, the members continued to reach out where they saw needs.”  Hilbun was Victoria’s pastor for 15 years during which the Vietnamese work was begun. He later returned to the church for the nine months before its closure. Hilbun now is serving Victoria’s successor – Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church – on an interim basis until a new Vietnamese pastor is called.  When the United States left South Vietnam in 1975 and communists invaded from the north, many Vietnamese languished in POW camps or fled the war-torn nation. They waited in refugee camps for months or years for entry to the United States and the freedom they longed for. The U.S. government, in turn, parceled … [Read more...]

Last Wednesday morning, Jeff Woodrich was up at 3:45 and on the road by 4:30, heading north from his Walker home. STATEWIDE – Last Wednesday morning, Jeff Woodrich was up at 3:45 and on the road by 4:30, heading north from his Walker home. Typically, it’s the way Woodrich, who is the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Mission Builder Director/Strategist, begins most of his workdays. With 40 projects statewide, and more coming on line weekly, the early start is necessary to allow him to cover as much ground as he can. “I used to inspect the projects every week, but I’ve had to cut back to every two weeks because of the high cost of fuel,” Woodrich said. “We have projects ongoing all over the state.” On this particular day, Woodrich has scheduled meetings in Alexandria, Natchitoches, Bossier City and Campti. In Natchitoches, he meets with BCM director Bill Collins, project coordinator Bill Temple and architect Jeff Sampson at the Northwestern State University BCM. The project, which was slow getting started because of the weather, is moving ahead, and appears on schedule to be completed by mid-December. There isn’t time for lunch as he’s next off to Bossier City, 70 miles to the north of Natchitoches, to check in with … [Read more...]

Alana Blackwell was a junior in high school when a friend at church invited her to hang out with a group of Baptist college students at Louisiana State University. Blackwell, a future LSU Tiger herself, jumped at the opportunity to build relationships with the collegians. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Alana Blackwell was a junior in high school when a friend at church invited her to hang out with a group of Baptist college students at Louisiana State University. Blackwell, a future LSU Tiger herself, jumped at the opportunity to build relationships with the collegians. For the next two years, Blackwell frequently met with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry group at LSU. She took part in devotionals on being a leader among her youth group and how to stay involved in church as she transitioned to college. Blackwell now is a leader of “Transitions,” a BCM outreach at LSU focused on connecting with high school students and college freshmen. Attending college for the first time “can be overwhelming,” Blackwell said. “It is very important to connect with students while they are still in high school so that they feel comfortable getting involved with the BCM when they get to college. “It was during those meetings in high school … [Read more...]

Some three million people in Louisiana do not know Christ, estimates the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission Board. STATEWIDE – Some three million people in Louisiana do not know Christ, estimates the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission Board. Thanks to Louisiana Baptists generous gifts to the Georgia Barnette State Missions offering there is a “light rising in the darkness” as churches are started, needs of care and share ministries are met, and new ministries to the unreached are launched. This year Louisiana Baptists are asked to embrace Isaiah 58:10, “if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. As they give to the 2008 state goal of $1,600,000 for the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering, lives are changed through the light of the Gospel. Mark your calendar for the Week of Prayer for State Missions and the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, Sept. 14-21.  Featured this year are: Miguel Barrios, I-20 Catalytic Missionary; Becky Clausen, Community Ministries; Parkview Baptist Church; Tony Bourque, The WatersEdge Church; Jeff … [Read more...]

Amiable Baptist Church is as serious about vacation Bible school as it is about missions and being God’s servants in its community. GLENMORA – Amiable Baptist Church is as serious about vacation Bible school as it is about missions and being God’s servants in its community. One of the first churches to be started in what is now the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Amiable is to cele-brate its 180th anniversary in September. From its inception, members say, the church has focused in equal parts on outreach and inreach – including not only its members, but everyone in its community, which is about seven miles into the piney woods and 30 minutes south of Alexandria. “We don’t do big things, but we do a lot of little things to help people,” said Martha Winegeart RN, long-time member and a driving force behind the church’s free medical clinic. It may be the only free Southern Baptist medical clinic in the state. The medical clinic needs physicians to volunteer one Thursday night a year, Winegeart said. Call 318.659.3399 to reserve your night, she implores physicans from throughout central Louisiana. “This is God’s ministry,” the nurse said. “We’re just being His hands, and at the same time we’re sharing the love of … [Read more...]

The quality of the photo with this article is not all it could be, but the content is. MONTGOMERY – The quality of the photo with this article is not all it could be, but the content is. There’s Ray Teal, pastor of the historic (notice the antique windows) First Baptist Church of Montgomery, surrounded by youngsters of many skin tones, and those kids are riveted on what’s happening at the front of the worship center. Teal, pastor of First Montgomery since 2003, and a public school teacher before that, leads by getting out of the way. He equips and enables church members to get out of their pews and into God’s service, no matter where it takes them. This year during VBS, the youngsters signed soccer balls, which then were deflated and shipped to a mission point in South Africa. First Montgomery spends about $5,000 a  year on VBS, and considers it money well spent in addition to the 10 percent of offerings given to missions through the Cooperative Program. First Montgomery is among the highest per-capita giving churches in the state. “VBS is the best investment we can make in our church,” Teal said. “It’s the best investment in our time and our gifts.” One of the VBS students gave the offertory prayer: “Bless … [Read more...]