SLIDELL – The youth of Grace Baptist are to participate in an ice skating event Friday, Nov. 30. GLENMORA – “2Talk42” Ministries is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, at Glenmora Baptist. Falis Holloway is pastor.  MINDEN – First Baptist’s Women on Mission group is to hear Vivian Holder, retired foreign missionary to  Hong Kong, Liberia and Switzerland, at the 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, meeting. The church is collecting items for a January medical missions trip. Items requested are multi-vitamins, pain relievers and anti-fungal medications. A holiday luncheon for single senior adults is set for 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29. Bill Crider is senior adult minister. Wayne DuBose is pastor. ALEXANDRIA – Emmanuel Baptist is sponsoring An Interfaith Dialogue at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26. The topic is Sacred Texts: Their History and Meaning of three faith traditions. It is open to the community at no cost. For information call 318.442.7773. Chris Thacker is pastor. BATON ROUGE – The Speeders potluck supper is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, and a Car Clinic is to be held Dec. 1 at First Baptist. Burn Page is pastor.  ALEXANDRIA – Calvary Baptist is to host a holiday grief group at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, and is to continue Wednesdays … [Read more...]

COMINGS, GOINGS Kris A. Chenier, new as pastor of Trinity Heights Shreveport from New Zion Covington. Champ (wife Amy) Cox, new as pastor of First Gueydan; recent Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate. NEEDED First Baptist Pollock needs part-time worship leader or full-time worship leader/associate pastor. Call 318.765.3525. Philadelphia Baptist needs paid nursery workers. Call 318.442.0754. First Baptist Homer needs nursery coordinator. Call 318.927.3596. Grace Memorial Baptist Slidell needs a part-time financial secretary and part-time music secretary. Bob Heustess pastor. ORDINATIONS  BOGALUSA – Mike Breland, Jack Lee, Jeremy Seal and David Stringfield are to be ordained to the deacon ministry at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 at First Baptist. Bob Adams is pastor. SLIDELL – Neal Chapman is to be ordained to the deacon ministry at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25 at Calvary Baptist . Charles Starnes is pastor. REVIVALS DELHI - Warsaw Baptist has set revival services for 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25 and 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 26 - 28; Marion Collier, evangelist; Dennis Fontenot, pastor. … [Read more...]

Princeton, LA – “I’ve never won anything in my life,” said the teenager, grinning from ear to ear. Princeton, LA – “I’ve never won anything in my life,” said the teenager, grinning from ear to ear. He held the winning ticket in his hand and had just claimed sole possession of a brand-new portable CD player. His reaction said it all to the members of Fillmore Baptist Church – “The block party was a success.” They did not know what to expect while planning their first-ever community block party in early September. The idea of having a block party in the Grey Lake neighborhood as a community outreach tool had been brought to their attention by church member Paula Lucas, and at the following business meeting the church voted “yes” to fund it. But even though the entire congregation seemed to be in support of the event, they admittedly had no idea where to even begin. They started out by giving specific jobs to different members of the church. Lucas, her husband Ron, and a few other members handed out flyers door-to-door in the neighborhood. Other members provided games for the children, refreshments and so on. They also began to meet at a different home every week and hold cottage prayer meetings (For the block … [Read more...]

Suppose the dollars in your next paycheck lost almost half their value. Would you be able to pay the bills – much less buy anything extra? RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Suppose the dollars in your next paycheck lost almost half their value. Would you be able to pay the bills – much less buy anything extra? That’s the discouraging reality some Southern Baptist missionaries face as the U.S. dollar continues its steep fall in value against overseas currencies. International Mission Board finance officials project Southern Baptists will need to meet their $165 million goal for the 2007 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions just to sustain ministry budgets funded by last year’s record $150 million offering. If you bought an imported car or other foreign-made products this year, you’ve probably felt the pinch of the shrinking dollar. Imagine having to buy everything from overseas – with money that keeps losing value. That is what American missionaries living abroad – but supported by U.S. dollars – have to do. When the dollar is strong against other currencies, missionaries have extra buying power. But the days of the reliably strong dollar are gone, at least for now. “Unlike most U.S. exporters who benefit from a … [Read more...]

Charles Stanley, founder and president of In Touch Ministries, and Geoff Hammond, president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, signed documents Oct. 25 finalizing the sale of NAMB’s FamilyNet television network to In Touch. ATLANTA (BP) – Charles Stanley, founder and president of In Touch Ministries, and Geoff Hammond, president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, signed documents Oct. 25 finalizing the sale of NAMB’s FamilyNet television network to In Touch. “This is an historic day for us at the North American Mission Board and as Southern Baptists,” Hammond said at ceremonies held at In Touch’s Atlanta headquarters. “Dr. Stanley is America’s preacher. And we come to celebrate the launching of FamilyNet to new heights here at In Touch.” Hammond, who was joined by NAMB trustees Bill Curtis, Tim Patterson and Tim Dowdy, praised the trustees and said “these guys have done a lot of hard work in leading us on this. We wouldn’t be here today if not for our trustees and their support. “We bring to you, Dr. Stanley, FamilyNet,” Hammond. “We know it’s going to be in good hands – in the hands of people who are biblically sound and passionate about the Great Commission. “We look forward … [Read more...]

In the months before he died, British author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis predicted his literature largely would be forgotten by the beginning of the 21st century. WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) – In the months before he died, British author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis predicted his literature largely would be forgotten by the beginning of the 21st century. Forty-four years after his death, the presence of approximately 270 people at a conference honoring “C.S. Lewis: The Man and His Work, a 21st Century Legacy” spoke of his continuing impact upon scholars and avid readers. The Oct. 26-27 conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., combined four plenary sessions with featured speakers as well as the presentation of about 40 papers on different topics relating to Lewis’ works. The conference was the first major event sponsored by Southeastern’s L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, named for the well-known Southern Baptist apologist and longtime dean at Southeastern. The first and third plenary session addresses were given by Walter Hooper, a trustee and literary adviser to the C.S. Lewis estate for the last 44 years, during which time he has edited approximately 30 books of … [Read more...]

AIDS in the U. S.: 'Whoever loves them first, wins' LAKE FOREST, Calif. (BP) – More than a million individuals lie with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.; yet, despite responding with Christ’s compassion to care for the sick and to meet the needs of “the least of these” in so many other instances, evangelicals in America largely have struggled with how to respond in ministry to those stricken with this disease. Hesitancy stems in part from the nature of how HIV/AIDS has spread across the states. Unlike the rest of the world (e.g. in Africa, heterosexual sex with multiple partners is the main transmission factor, and in Russia HIV/AIDS is spreading through rampant intravenous drug abuse and sharing of infected needles), the HIV/AIDS virus has spread among Americans mostly from homosexual sex and secondly through dirty needles shared by illicit drug users. Because homosexuals and Christians have been engaged in a culture war for more than two decades, believers are at odds with themselves about how to show their compassion by proclaiming the Gospel to and by caring for AIDS patients, but without giving the appearance of condoning sin or surrendering the fight for the soul of the country. In an exclusive interview with Baptist Press … [Read more...]

Reports of God’s work in the state were a significant part of the Nov. 12-13 annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. ALEXANDRIA – Reports of God’s work in the state were a significant part of the Nov. 12-13 annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.   Louisianians so far this year have given nearly $1 million more to global missions through the Cooperative Program than at this same time last year, LBC Executive Director David Hankins said in his state missions report. Giving to all missions causes was by “double digits” more than the giving to local church causes, Hankins reported.   “This reverses a two-decade trend,” the LBC executive director said. Hankins employed an audio-visual presentation of "Empowering Kingdom Growth – Louisiana" to encourage churches to participate in the three-pronged effort – a Kingdom Heart, a Kingdom Strategy, and a Kingdom Commitment – that can equip Christians with the skills and motivation to be a builder of God’s kingdom. Mark Robinson, director of LBC’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries Team, reported that at least 250 college students made professions of faith in Jesus Christ during the 2006-07 school year, and that another 300 … [Read more...]

Dr. Merritt at Kingsville Baptist Church spoke of life's Goliaths. Dr. Spencer talked about intimacy with God. And Dr. Britt – the sufficiency of God. PINEVILLE – Dr. Merritt at Kingsville BaptistChurch spoke of life's Goliaths. Dr. Spencer talked about intimacy with God. And Dr. Britt – the sufficiency of God.   These messages touched Tony Robinson's heart. Jonathan Young's, too, both men said.   Young once worked with the music ministry at Trinity BaptistChurch in Oakdale, where Robinson is pastor. This was an unplanned reunion for them, a bonus of the Louisiana Baptist Convention's annual Pastor's Conference.   At the Nov. 12 conference, which preceded the 2007 annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Robinson and Young were among perhaps 350 people to hear messages delivered by Chad Grayson, pastor of Airline Baptist Church of Bossier City; Evangelist Bill Britt, president of Compel Outreach International of Gallatin, Texas; Evangelist Jerry Spencer, pastor of Sharon Baptist Church of Savannah, Tenn.; James Merritt, pastor of Cross Pointe Baptist Church of Duluth, Ga. and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention; and Paige Patterson, president of … [Read more...]

For Chuck Register, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss., Hurricane Katrina’s story isn’t one of destruction and loss, though his church and community were shattered by the storm. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – For Chuck Register, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss., Hurricane Katrina’s story isn’t one of destruction and loss, though his church and community were shattered by the storm. “Ultimately, the story of Katrina is the story of people responding to love,” Register wrote in the latest edition of a journal published by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. “It is the story of volunteers, thousands of volunteers, responding to the love of Jesus –  a love so powerful it has transformed their lives to the point of sacrifice.” The Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry is the first issue published by the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Seminary since the devastating hurricane struck. Edited by Steve Lemke, the seminary’s provost, the journal focuses on God’s goodness in the face of tragedy and on the Baptist response to the crisis. A chapel message delivered by Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Seminary, is included in the journal. It’s called “Lessons Learned from … [Read more...]