Clear skies and mild temperatures provided a perfect backdrop for those in attendance at the National Day of Prayer observance hosted by Louisiana College on May 3. PINEVILLE – Clear skies and mild temperatures provided a perfect backdrop for those in attendance at the National Day of Prayer observance hosted by Louisiana College on May 3. Joe Aguillard, president of LC, convened the event, which took place in front of Alexandria Hall. The gathering of about 60 people, including faculty, staff, students and community leaders, participated in scripture reading, prayer and singing. The soothing sounds of Kilgore-Kirkpatrick Fountain accompanied prayers that focused on repentance, government leaders and the issue of alcohol. Aguillard opened the concert of prayer by leading participants in a reading of II Chronicles 7:14. The familiar passage instructs God’s people to turn from their wicked ways and embrace humility, prayer and God’s face in a desire to experience forgiveness and revival. Chuck Quarles, chairman of LC’s Department of Christian Studies, voiced a prayer of repentance. He asked God to forgive the sins of His people who have allowed so much evil to proliferate, especially the sin of abortion. Jock Holt, … [Read more...]

International Mission Board trustees celebrated the largest Lottie Moon Christmas Offering on record, earmarked $5 million to fund an additional 200 new missionaries and adopted guidelines on baptism and the practice of tongues and prayer languages among prospective missionaries during their May 7-9 meeting in Kansas City, Mo. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) – International Mission Board trustees celebrated the largest Lottie Moon Christmas Offering on record, earmarked $5 million to fund an additional 200 new missionaries and adopted guidelines on baptism and the practice of tongues and prayer languages among prospective missionaries during their May 7-9 meeting in Kansas City, Mo. They also appointed 35 new missionaries, re-elected trustee officers for 2007-08 and heard reports on the board’s finances and mission personnel. David Steverson, IMB treasurer and vice president for finance, presented the board’s financial statements for 2006 and reported that the mission board ended the year in good fiscal condition. Steverson also brought good news about the projected total for the 2006 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which will be counted May 31. “I’m glad to say that we now have over $144 million in hand and continue to believe … [Read more...]

The only pastor Jefferson Baptist Church has ever known is retiring. BATON ROUGE – The only pastor Jefferson Baptist Church has ever known is retiring. The Rev. Thomas Charles “Tommy” French Jr. has decided that at the age of 76 and after 49 years at Jefferson Baptist, it is time to “transition the church to a new pastor and a new generation.” French is the original pastor of Jefferson Baptist, a church founded in 1957 in a rural cottage in the undeveloped forest along Jefferson Highway. Through his steadfast leadership, the church grew from 17 to 1,500 members and a multimillion-dollar complex of buildings. During five decades of ministry, French, one of the most well-known and respected Southern Baptist ministers in Louisiana, has played an active role in Baptist life in the state and the Southern Baptist Convention. In a sermon titled “There is an appointed time for everything,” delivered one recent Sunday, French said, “I cannot imagine not having the responsibility of the pastoral care of this congregation, but it is time for me to release this responsibility to another called man of God.” He’s been a minister for 52 years, including four years at a small Texas church before coming to Baton Rouge. He plans … [Read more...]

NATCHITOCHES – Westside Baptist plans an Outdoor Outreach Ministry May 31, starting with a children’s fishing contest at 5:30 p.m. and a meal at 6:30 p.m. Professional angler Jimmy Houston will speak. Call 318.352.2383 for tickets or more information. Bill Hudson is pastor. “We anticipate 400-plus outdoorsmen, women and children,” reports Ken Lantz, coordinator. “Many participants would not attend a worship service, but will attend an outdoor event.” Past programs have resulted in “numerous” spiritual decisions, Lantz wrote in a letter to the Message. “Our objective is to get unchruched and immature Church members to commit to a relationship or renewal to God,” Lantz wrote. “We schedule quality speakers who relate to the average outdoors-man by utilizing a common interest – fishing or hunting.” COUSHATTA – Fairview Baptist plans a Family Renewal Week May 20-23, with Nick Holden and family as guest speaker, and music by the Willis Family. Service times: 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday. Matt Endris is pastor. CAMERON – Johnson Bayou Baptist – destroyed by Hurricane Rita – plans the rededication of their rebuilt church buildings at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26. PARKS – Parks Baptist plans a 20th … [Read more...]

Comings and Goings --Carey Baptist Association churches without pastors: Boulevard, First Cameron, First DeQuincy, Eastern Heights, First Hayes, Johnson Bayou, Sale Street, Tample and Woodlawn. --First Folsom seeks a part-time minister of music. Send resumes to PO BOx 106, Folsom LA 70437 orfbcfolsom@bellsouth.net. Call Church 985-796-9295 for more information. --First Lafayette Spanish Mission seeks a pastor. Send resumes to First Lafayette PastorSteve.horn@fbclaf.org or call 337-233-1412 for more information. --Tim Crabtree is new as minister of education and school administrator at Calvary Slidell. --Ken Courville is new as pastor at Goodwood Baton Rouge, effective June 17. --East Jena Baptist seeks a full-time minister of students. Send resumes to East Jena Baptist Church, Attn: Minister of Students Search Committee, PO Box 383, Jena LA 71342. Johnny Phillips is interim pastor. Anniversaries, New Starts and more --Unity Cotton Valley, Homecoming: May  20. Services start at 10 a.m. with Chad Lee preaching; lunch to follow. --Emmanuel Oakdale, 50th Anniversary, May 20. 11 a.m. worship; lunch to follow; singing at 2 p.m.; cake at 3:30 p.m. Glen Wagnon is pastor. --Parks Baptist, 20th anniversary, … [Read more...]

The Louisiana Baptist Convention executive board elected a new staff member, authorized funding May 1 for renovation of the Baptist Building in Alexandria and construction of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries building at Northwestern State University, Natchitoches. WOODWORTH – The Louisiana Baptist Convention executive board elected a new staff member, authorized funding May 1 for renovation of the Baptist Building in Alexandria and construction of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries building at Northwestern State University, Natchitoches. Board members also approved several other actions and heard reports from the state missions staff and LBC entities. Bill Robertson, pastor of Temple Baptist Church, Winnsboro, and president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, was elected to serve as the director of LBC pastoral leadership team. Robertson was elected to a second term as the state convention president in Lake Charles in November 2006. His acceptance of the LBC staff position will require that Robertson step down as president. First vice president Scott Thompson, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church, Eros, will assume the president’s responsibilities. In his last official address as LBC president, Robertson challenged … [Read more...]

Keeping with its 10-year pattern, Vacation Bible School continues to have the greatest evangelistic impact in the Southern Baptist Convention, with 26 percent of baptisms in SBC churches a direct result of VBS. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Keeping with its 10-year pattern, Vacation Bible School continues to have the greatest evangelistic impact in the Southern Baptist Convention, with 26 percent of baptisms in SBC churches a direct result of VBS. LifeWay Christian Resources recently released VBS statistics for 2006 when two VBS lines, “Arctic Edge: Where Adventure Meets Courage” and “Club VBS: Space Quest,” were utilized. Jerry Wooley, LifeWay’s VBS ministry specialist, explained that totals are based on information provided to LifeWay by churches submitting a VBS report and/or information submitted to the Annual Church Profile (ACP). --Number of SBC congregations reporting VBS – 26,502 --Total VBS enrollment – 2,962,457 --Decisions to receive Christ as Savior – 94,980 --Decisions for church-related activities – 3,022 --Total Sunday School prospects discovered – 280,693 --Prospects enrolled in Sunday School – 39,218 --Prospects added to Sunday School prospect files – 212,108 --Baptisms resulting from … [Read more...]

The few remaining people at Terrace Heights Baptist Church in Yakima, Wash., didn’t want their church to die. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The few remaining people at Terrace Heights Baptist Church in Yakima, Wash., didn’t want their church to die. After attendance had dwindled down to a handful of members, they feared the church would soon shut its doors for good. Something had to change fast. Terrace Heights is one of many churches in the United States that started out strong, stopped growing and then fell into a period of decline. Currently, 70 percent of Southern Baptist churches have either leveled off in growth or are declining. In the new book, “Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too,” authors Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson researched 300 churches among 10 denominations around the country. They mapped out a detailed approach to restoring “plateaued” or declining congregations. The book is published by B&H Publishing Group, the publishing division of LifeWay Christian Resources. According to Leadership Journal, which the authors cite in the book, 340,000 churches are in need of church revitalization. “Over time, most churches plateau, and most eventually decline,” Stetzer writes. … [Read more...]

The woman in the small ice-covered town near Springfield, Mo., was hardened toward the church. She had no good words for it, had lost faith and hope in it, and said she had opted out of it. SHOCCO SPRINGS, Ala. (BP) – The woman in the small ice-covered town near Springfield, Mo., was hardened toward the church. She had no good words for it, had lost faith and hope in it, and said she had opted out of it. But that was up until a cold morning last January when she was surrounded by 15 men – all Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers – who presented her with a Bible, autographed by every man who had worked all day in sub-freezing weather to clear her property of downed trees and limbs after an ice storm. Taking the Bible, she began to cry. “I had given up on the church,” she said. “But I can’t believe how you people came to my house and did all this work. There’s no way I could have ever paid for it.” Becoming emotional as he told the story at this year’s 2007 Disaster Relief Roundtable, Jim Wells, director of missions for the Tri-County Baptist Association in Nixa, Mo., said, “The chainsaw team’s chaplain then asked the woman if anyone had ever shared Christ with her. She dropped her head and said no.” With the … [Read more...]

Woman’s Missionary Union now offers print-on-demand Bible studies to help small groups in churches increase in biblical and missional understanding of their responsibility and opportunities for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)—Woman’s Missionary Union now offers print-on-demand Bible studies to help small groups in churches increase in biblical and missional understanding of their responsibility and opportunities for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. These Bible studies are offered for all age levels as part of WMU’s new Generation M (M for missions) brand of online products. Generation M products can be easily purchased and instantly downloaded from the WMU online store, www.wmustore.com. Among the Generation M products is a 52-week Bible study based on the Book of Acts. Intended to spark discussion and understanding about present-day missions and missions involvement, the “Christ Followers” series provides an undated lesson plan to be used by small study groups any time of year. The intergenerational series includes four units of 13 sessions designed for the educational needs of preschoolers, children, students/youth and adults. “Christ Followers is general and timeless, making it … [Read more...]