BATON ROUGE – Istrouma Baptist Women’s Ministry is to host its 2nd annual ChristmasFest and craft fair 6 – 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13. Kim Wier and Pam McCune, national Christian speakers from James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” radio show are to be the featured speakers. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at www.istrouma.org or by calling 225.925.5406, ext. 124. Matt Surber is pastor.  BATON ROUGE – RAs of Jefferson Baptist collected non-perishable food items for the Southeast Ministries Food Pantry which assists in feeding thousands of people a month in the area. The GAs of the church hosted a walk-a-thon and accepted pledges for the World Hunger Offering during October.  A Girls Night Out and Boys Night Out is set for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10. Guest speakers are to lead the devotional times in the host homes. T. C. French Jr. is pastor.  HORNBECK – The 19th Annual Community Thanksgiving service is set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 at First Baptist. Neighboring churches in the community are to participate. Tracy Bryan, Jr. is pastor.  RUSTON – Calvary Baptist is to host a community-wide Thanksgiving lunch at the Ruston Civic Center Thursday, Nov. 22. Celebrate Recovery meets at Calvary Baptist at 6:30 p.m. … [Read more...]

COMINGS, GOINGS Chad (wife Angela) Mills, new as pastor of  First Baptist, Oil City, from Eastwood Baptist, Haughton. Bernabe Tasayco, new as pastor of Spanish Mission of First Baptist Lafayette. Charles (wife Connie) Kimball, new as pastor of Sale Street Baptist Lake Charles. Jerry Fletcher, new as pastor at Spencer Baptist. Tim Thomas, new as pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist, Ruston. Richard Abel resigned as pastor of Litroe Baptist, Marion. Bill Standley resigned as pastor of University Baptist, Ruston. NEEDED Carey Baptist Association needs pastors at the following churches:  Bethel, Boulevard, First Cameron, Central, First DeQuincy, Eastern  Heights, First Elton, First Hayes, Sale Street,  Temple, University, Woodlawn. Northwest Baptist Association needs pastors at the following churches:  Cypress, Grawood, Linda Lay, Northwoods,  Trinity  Heights, Willow Point, Woodland Hills. Ministers of music are needed at: Benton, Beulah  Land, Ellerbe Road, Emmanuel Vivian, Ida, Linwood, Mt.  Gilead, Oil City, Pinecroft, Trinity  Heights, Woodland Hills. Ministers of youth are needed at: Benton, Mooringsport, North Keithville, Northwoods, Oil City, Rodessa. Pianists are needed at  Mt. Gilead, West … [Read more...]

Bobby Welch, during a recent overseas trip as SBC Executive Committee strategist for global evangelical relations, said his heart was moved to see how Southern Baptists are connected through the Cooperative Program to what God is doing around the world.   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Bobby Welch, during a recent overseas trip as SBC Executive Committee strategist for global evangelical relations, said his heart was moved to see how Southern Baptists are connected through the Cooperative Program to what God is doing around the world. One of the ways he saw the success of Southern Baptists’ unified giving plan was at a regional meeting of International Mission Board workers. “At that meeting, I sat there and watched them all crowd into one home, deeply imbedded right in the middle of a community in that country, and watched the joy they had and saw them with their little babies and some of them were expectant mothers and others had teenage kids,” Welch said. “I looked at them and I thought about the fact that all these people are here and they’re doing such a wonderful and powerful work and God is moving through them, and we have the joy as Southern Baptists to be putting our hand under their lives at this point and … [Read more...]

Financial contributions to churches were up as a portion of income in 2005 when church members gave 2.58 percent of their income, up from 2.56 percent the previous year, according to a report by empty tomb, inc. that examined the giving trends of church members in the United States. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Financial contributions to churches were up as a portion of income in 2005 when church members gave 2.58 percent of their income, up from 2.56 percent the previous year, according to a report by empty tomb, inc. that examined the giving trends of church members in the United States. An analysis of the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey revealed that giving to “church, other religious organizations” accounted for 72 percent of funds directed to charity. That makes religious groups the largest recipient by U.S. region, age and income brackets, empty tomb said, suggesting that religious values are the chief motivation for most charitable giving. Also, the under-25 age group gave 87 percent of their donations to “church, religious organizations,” which may indicate that religious teachings form philanthropic values in the United States, empty tomb said in an Oct. 3 news release. The … [Read more...]

Most Americans would agree there’s enough negative news about the Iraq war. But then there’s SPC Victor Rosario Rivera – Puerto Rican, American soldier in Iraq, Christian, Southern Baptist.  BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BP) – Most Americans would agree there’s enough negative news about the Iraq war. But then there’s SPC Victor Rosario Rivera – Puerto Rican, American soldier in Iraq, Christian, Southern Baptist. For the last year, Rosario, 37, has served as an information system maintainer/operator with the 1-89 Cavalry, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division at Camp Stryker in Baghdad. English is his second language. While Iraqi insurgent sniper bullets zip by and IED’s explode on the streets of Baghdad, Rosario focuses on keeping U.S. Army computers, networks and Internet satellite services up and humming. When he’s not doing that, he’s sharing Christ, the Bible and his faith with his Spanish-speaking buddies. Rosario came to the attention of the North American Mission board staff in Alpharetta, Ga., recently when he e-mailed NAMB requesting permission to use a logo for the fliers he prints and distributes to promote his Bible study for fellow Hispanic servicemen in Iraq. Permission granted. In a response to a NAMB staff member, … [Read more...]

The weather may have kept the attendance down, but it couldn’t prevent the small army of volunteers from doing God’s work. ALEXANDRIA – The weather may have kept the attendance down, but it couldn’t prevent the small army of volunteers from doing God’s work. Over the three-day weekend, hundreds of volunteers, many from local churches, took to the sidewalks, the streets, the parks, and the playgrounds to pass out Bibles, tracts and plans of salvation to all those who attended. And while the numbers are still being crunched, Kevin Roberts, associate pastor of Philadelphia Baptist Deville, said early estimates are 300 plus people made professions of faith at the various events.  “I was a little disappointed in the weather, because we had to cancel the block party in Pineville on Saturday, and the Freedom Fest ended on a wet note this evening. But despite the rain, spirits are still high because of the number of decisions made this weekend.” There were 167 professions of faith (the most of any event over the weekend) at Real Encounter, where motorcyclists and skateboarders performed some breathtaking stunts before a large, appreciative audience in a packed parking lot at the Rapides Parish Coliseum. A NAMB-sponsored … [Read more...]

When the monthly accounts closed for October, the business office of the Louisiana Baptist Convention announced the highest level of Cooperative Program giving for any October in the history of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. ALEXANDRIA—When the monthly accounts closed for October, the business office of the Louisiana Baptist Convention announced the highest level of Cooperative Program giving for any October in the history of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The LBC business office reported October undesignated giving to the Cooperative Program was $2,188,553.70. By comparison, $1,637,442.63 was given during the same month in 2006. “About the middle of the month we saw a trend emerging,” business administrator Dale Lingenfelter said. “Then as we closed for the month, we were humbled by the generous missionary spirit of Louisiana Baptist churches.” During the first 10 months of 2007, the LBC accounting office has received  $18,502,819.23 in undesignated Cooperative Program giving which is a 5.18 percent increase over the same 10-month period in 2006. “The record increase this month and the growth in the first ten months of 2007 is a testimony of local churches understanding the heartbeat of God,” David E. Hankins … [Read more...]

When all reports are in, perhaps 1,500 people here will have made professions of faith in Jesus during the recent Louisiana/Korea crusade. SEOUL, South Korea – When all reports are in, perhaps 1,500 people here will have made professions of faith in Jesus during the recent Louisiana/Korea crusade. Eight churches reported in with 438 professions of faith by the time of the Nov. 5 “Victory Dinner,” which took place at the largest Baptist Church in Seoul, where Young Min Pee is pastor. “The state of Louisiana was one of the best states to help Korea, with much fruit,” Pee said as  he welcomed about 100 Americans and Koreans to the Victory Dinner, including Young Sik You, executive director of the Korean Baptist Convention, and Choon Sik Choe, president of the Korea Baptist Convention. A missionary with the International Mission Board translated from and to English/Korean. The evening’s high points included short messages from outgoing Crusade Coordinator Charles Lowry of First Baptist Pineville, and from Executive Director Yoo of Korea, as well as testimonies from American team members and Korean churches. The 38 Americans – including eight who were staying on a third week to help make up for a significant shortfall … [Read more...]

The strong but pleasant smell of old leather and parchment fills the rare books room in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s John T. Christian Library. Shelf after shelf of ancient books and documents line the walls of this long narrow room.  NEW ORLEANS (BP) – The strong but pleasant smell of old leather and parchment fills the rare books room in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s John T. Christian Library. Shelf after shelf of ancient books and documents line the walls of this long narrow room. Stepping into the room is a step back in time – into the world of Reformers and the dawn of the printing press. It’s also a step back to the earlier days of the seminary when the library’s namesake, John T. Christian, donated the collection shortly before his death. Because they are so delicate, the books have rarely been seen, much less used. Though closed to the general public, the room has been the site of intense research since February. Last spring Ellen Middlebrook Herron, a Chicago-based scholar specializing in medieval history and rare books, spent four months carefully assessing and cataloging the collection. For years, library workers suspected that the collection was special, if not remarkable. … [Read more...]

Children at the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home are provided with love, the best care, an opportunity for hope, and, foremost, their spiritual needs are taken care of. MONROE – Children at the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home are provided with love, the best care, an opportunity for hope, and, foremost, their spiritual needs are taken care of. On Feb. 15, the children’s home will also be able to better take care of their education needs, because on that day, the home will celebrate the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art learning center. “This learning center will be a real investment in the future of the children,” Perry Hancock, the home’s executive director, said. “It will be the first time in 15 years we will finally be able to bring our multimedia and computer labs, educational library, and tutoring rooms all together under one roof. Right now, they are scattered all over our campus.” Fifteen years ago a fire destroyed the Home’s library, and since that time the children have had to make do. “For the first time in a long time, we will have a true educational resource library,” Hancock said. “The new facility will feature an expanded computer room and a big center room with tables and chairs that seats … [Read more...]