Here, diversity is the key word as downtown Baton Rouge meets urban sprawl, which gives way to farm lands and eventually to swamp water. BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE – Here, diversity is the key word as downtown Baton Rouge meets urban sprawl, which gives way to farm lands and eventually to swamp water. The challenge in such a landscape is to minister to the equally diverse population. The association known as BAGBR – Bagbar– is responding to the challenge with church revitalization and church starting efforts, Executive Director Roddy Conerly says. “We have a mixture of the populations from the entire world in the greater Baton Rouge area,” Conerly said. Part of that mixture can be attributed to the enrollments at Louisiana  State University and at Southern University, where students from all over the world attend, he said. Some of the diversity is a result of the area’s attractions, including the Mississippi River and the casinos it supports, as well as the downtown area of Baton Rouge, the swamps south of the city, sporting events at the two universities, as well as fishing, and industries such as petroleum, sugar cane farming, and crawfish.   “The rapid growth of the greater Baton Rouge area … [Read more...]

Got a hurt, hang-up or habit holding you back? Meet the ultimate Higher Power and discover healing. BATON ROUGE – Got a hurt, hang-up or habit holding you back? Meet the ultimate Higher Power and discover healing. Celebrate Recovery (CR) at Istrouma Baptist Church seeks to free believers and unbelievers alike from addictive, compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors by promoting the ultimate Higher Power: Jesus Christ.   “Istrouma gets more members through that one ministry than anything else,” said Rodrick Conerly, executive director of the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge (BAGBR). “It’s very effective in helping people and getting them to have the proper relationship with Jesus Christ.”  “CR originated with the Saddleback Church in California,” wrote Istrouma’s associate pastor, Ron Lambe, in a recent email. A Christ-based ‘12-step’ program of recovery, CR offers a safe environment, along with acceptance, instruction and accountability, to people dealing with chemical and emotional addictions. At Istrouma, participants meet 52 weeks a year, from 6-9 p.m. on Friday evenings Though CR is based on Alcoholics Anonymous, there are several key differences, the pastor continued. Primarily, CR is Christ-centered … [Read more...]

Neither poverty, nor car bombs, nor mudslides nor loss of electricity stays a missionary from the completion of God’s assignment. BATON ROUGE – Neither poverty, nor car bombs, nor mudslides nor loss of electricity stays a missionary from the completion of God’s assignment. Rodrick E. (Roddy) Conerly, executive director for the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge, and his family can attest to that. Stationed in Lima, Peru through the International Mission Board for 12 years, the Conerlys experienced all that and more, but never deterred in their task to spread the gospel. “There is a lot of hardship there,” Conerly said about Peru where terrorists were part of the landscape during their time there, and where poverty consumed more than half the population. “One lady asked me to raise her son because she couldn’t provide enough food.” Though he could have taken the child, he had to tell the woman no because so many other mothers would have asked the same thing. While he and his family lived in Peru, two terrorist organizations, The Shining Path, and the Tupac Amaru, were very active, Conerly said. “When we arrived in [the early 1980s] they were beginning their activities,” he said. “At first we could travel … [Read more...]

The number of construction missions opportunities available this summer in Louisiana is unprecedented in the state’s history. STATEWIDE – The number of construction missions opportunities available this summer in Louisiana is unprecedented in the state’s history. The photos at right make for an incomplete list of construction projects across the state that are somewhere in the process from moving dirt to getting final approval from city inspectors. Baptist Message coverage is limited by space, but Louisiana Baptists are limited only by God’s direction and the number of volunteers willing to help. All skills and skill levels are needed: tea-makers, trench-diggers, trash-picker-uppers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, gardeners, roofers and more, for projects wherever God calls you to. --Louisiana Baptist Mission Builders has projects all over the state: Denham Springs, Slidell, Morganza, Baton Rouge, Chalmette, Covington, Bossier City, Ruston, Natchitoches, Tillou, Meraux, Cameron, Lafayette,  Shreveport and probably others. (Mission Builders recently completed projects at Oberlin and Prairieville.)  --First Baptist New Orleans partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 30 homes last year; 10 more are to … [Read more...]

Summer Camp schedules offer a variety of God-centered activities for children and youth. 2007 Summer Camping Schedule Acadian Baptist Center Eunice, La. 337-457-9047 www.abccamp.com Youth camps, grades 7-12, “Hype,” June 11-15; “Er Get Reel,” July 23-27. Pre-teen camps, grades 3-6, “The Race,” High Definition June 18-21; “Hype,” July 30-Aug 2. Missions camp, grades 1-12; “Live Out Loud” June 25-29. Day camp, grades 1-3; “G.L.O.W.” July 9 – 13. Horsebackriding camp, ages 10 and up, May 28-June 1; June 4-8. Camp Bethany Bethany, La. 318-938-1221 www.campbethany.com Kidz Mission Camp, completed grades 4-6; June 25-28. Preteen Camp I, completed grades 4-6; July 2-6. Preteen Camp II, completed grades 4-6; July 9-13. Camp Fuego, completed grades 6-12; June 16-20. Clara Springs Baptist Encampment Pleasant Hill, La. 318-796-3875 Youth Camp, completed grades 6-12, June 25 – 28. Kids Camp, completed grades 1-6, July 9 – 12. Girls Camp, completed grades 1-6, July 16 – 19. Boys Camp, completed grades 1-6, July 23 – 26. Dry Creek Baptist Camp Dry Creek, La. 337-328-7531 Boy’s Opportunity Camp, by invitation only, May 28 – 30. Girl’s Opportunity Camp, by invitation only, May 29 – 31. GA Camp, … [Read more...]

Twin trees guard the entrance to Camp Bethany, and beyond them, acres and acres of meadow. BETHANY – Twin trees guard the entrance to Camp Bethany, and beyond them, acres and acres of meadow. Camp Bethany offers space – space for running, jumping, laughing and playing, and space to take a deep, relaxing breath. “We have a good, safe place,” says Robert Cole, director of the camp that was established in 1980. “People just feel a peace once they come past those two big trees. They love to sit on these rocking chairs and just rock.” Camp Bethany, one of 10 Baptist camps in the state, is owned by the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association, which stretches through rural areas north to Arkansas and west to Texas but which is anchored by one of the state’s largest metropolitan areas. Camp Bethany’s spaciousness and serenity is an apt counterpoint to the hustle of Shreveport/Bossier City. “We’re 15 miles from Pines Road, and 30 from Youree Drive,” Cole said. “That’s become the main hub of Shreveport.” The proximity to the urban area is both a hindrance and a help, the camp director said. Events at the camp get good attendance, but many people choose to go home at night; that cuts down on overnight revenues. “And … [Read more...]

“I’m the person I used to make fun of, religiously,” says Steve Jurik. BETHANY – “I’m the person I used to make fun of, religiously,” says Steve Jurik. On his own at 15, he’d grown up without friends, without a sense of belonging. He joined the Army and his bunkmate convinced him he was an athiest. “I started telling myself there wasn’t a god. There was nothing out there for me to believe in.” That was Jurik’s life for several years, but then Hurricane Rita set her eye on Buna, Texas. Inexplicably, Jurik had married a week before, a woman pregnant with his child. He already had twins, their mother long gone. Jurik stuffed his family and important papers – such as his new marriage license to Crystal – into a 2001 Dodge Stratus, and drove north.  It had been a long day in an overstuffed vehicle when an “evacuee shelter” sign at Mansfield Road Baptist Church caught his attention. “That was the first place we started to experience this love,” Jurik said. “They invited us in to eat.” Mansfield sent him on to Providence Road Baptist for longer-term lodging. “I started seeing things out here that I’d never seen before,” said Jurik, who cooked at the shelter. “Terrell Whetstone. Every day I came to work, he … [Read more...]

Pinstripes and solids abounded when New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students picked up their new suits May 10-11, thanks to Jim Tatum’s “Suits for Servants” ministry. NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Pinstripes and solids abounded when New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students picked up their new suits May 10-11, thanks to Jim Tatum’s “Suits for Servants” ministry. Tatum, a clothier from Jacksonville, Fla., traveled to New Orleans in April to fit students for new suits and to share how God led him to start the unique ministry. During Tatum’s three days at New Orleans Seminary, 285 students ordered 520 suits at a cost of only $50 each. Those suits arrived in 38 heavy duty boxes that each weighed in at just over 53 pounds. For students who qualified, the cost was even lower than that. New Orleans Seminary trustees, who held their spring meeting the week Tatum was on campus, collected money that provided suits free of charge to students in particular need. Still others heard about Suits for Servants and gave their own money as well. Shane Baker, the seminary’s financial aid director and overseer of the suit distribution, said the affordability of the suits was what most impressed students. For many, the $50 price … [Read more...]

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley said the seminary’s 89th graduating class should always remember one lesson learned from Hurricane Katrina: “In Christ alone I have all I need.” NEW ORLEANS (BP) – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley said the seminary’s 89th graduating class should always remember one lesson learned from Hurricane Katrina: “In Christ alone I have all I need.” Addressing the 368 graduates during the May 18 and May 19 commencement services, Kelley reminded the students just how special their achievement is in light of their struggles and trials over the past two years. “You are a part of the ‘Katrina Class’ of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary who, as a part of your experience in preparing for ministry, went through the worst disaster in the history of the United States,” Kelley said. “My, what an unforgettable time that was. It’s marked all of us for the rest of our lives.” Kelley encouraged the graduates to use all the things they learned in the classroom and from professors and apply it to their ministry. But he emphasized the importance of what they learned about the sufficiency of Christ. Reading the words of Philippians 4:13, … [Read more...]

Most – but not all – Southern Baptist churches in Louisiana are using the "Game Day Central" VBS Curriculum produced by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Resources. LifeWay this summer also offers Jungle Jaunt for churches that want a choice. June 3-8 Pineville Park Pineville June 4-8 Calvary Alexandria Mulberry Houma Donahue Family Pineville Sale Street Lake Charles First Delhi First St. Francisville First Ferriday First Swartz Philadelphia Deville Parkview Alexandria Woodlawn Baton Rouge First Zwolle Northside Lafayette First Baton Rouge First Jonesville Highland West Monroe First Baker June 10-13 CrossPoint Baton Rouge June 11-15 McClendon West Monroe First Winnfield Riverside Denham Springs Fair Park West Monroe Elm Grove Bossier City First Minden Start Baptist, Start First Haughton First Jackson Koran Haughton First Jena First Kentwood First Bastrop North Monroe Baptist June 18-22 First Ponchatoula Judson Walker Calvary Ruston Westside Natchitoches First Many First Vidalia Christ Baptist Houma Grace Memorial Slidell Dunn Baptist, Delhi First Oakdale Highland New Iberia Fair Park West Monroe New Llano, Leesville June 24-29 Superior Avenue … [Read more...]