By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM)–The novel coronavirus pandemic has not slowed the rebuilding of the facilities of the First Baptist Church in Bossier City, 17 months after a fire destroyed much of the campus. "This has been encouraging to the church body and the community around us to see the construction not stop," Pastor Brad Jurkovich told the Baptist Message. "We have had several people to say it's been so cool to see new construction going on. I believe this has given our congregation and the area hope in the midst of this pandemic." A groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 29, 2019, launched the rise of a new $20 million, 70,000-square-foot building to replace facilities destroyed by an early morning fire on Dec. 10, 2018. The worship center and Tiny Town preschool area were among the few buildings that were not damaged by the fire. Once complete in the summer of 2021, there will be a new chapel, student center, foyer and event center and space for Sunday school classes and other small groups to meet. Crews already remodeled the children's area and replaced 25 offices that were lost in the fire. Currently the worship center, foyer and small group space are undergoing a renovation. In … [Read more...]
Franklin Avenue grows outside the walls of its new facilities
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS, La. (LBM) – Sunday mornings these days are a little different for Pastor Fred Luter. Instead of preaching to nearly 3,000 worshipers packed inside the new worship center at the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans East, Luter finds himself facing empty chairs as he shares his message to a virtual audience watching via Facebook Live and YouTube. Rather than dwell on the absence of faces in front of him, Luter focuses on the 10,000 or so "hidden" viewers who are listening each Sunday morning. Importantly, he maintains a priority on sharing the Word, regardless, and as a result, an average of 15 people per week since going online-only March 15 have respond by humbling their hearts to Christ for salvation or restoration or church membership, he said. Luter said he never dreamed God would use this online option to reach so many with the Gospel. "We built a big sanctuary when we relocated in 2018 and now have empty seats," Luter told the Baptist Message. "We are limited in our ministry now because we can't get out much, but our reach to share Christ has never seemed so unlimited. "Never would we have gotten this type of response if it were not for this … [Read more...]
Tall Timbers cancels summer camps
By Message Staff WOODWORTH, La. (LBM)--Louisiana Baptist leaders announced May 14 that all state convention-sponsored camps at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center will not take place this summer because of novel coronavirus pandemic-related safety concerns. "In light of Governor Edwards' updated guidelines and after consultations with multiple medical professionals we determined we could not safely conduct the camps given the current state of the COVID outbreak," Dale Lingenfelter, director of the business and information services team for Louisiana Baptists, told the Baptist Message. Lingenfelter noted Louisiana Baptists Executive Director Steve Horn and the rest of the executive leadership team have monitored the situation since mid-March. "There were many considerations that factored into this difficult decision," Lingenfelter continued. "Groups come to Tall Timbers from across Louisiana and surrounding states and when you take into account space for social distancing, the wearing of masks, sleeping in close quarters and then returning to their cities and churches after days of such exposure, it seemed very problematic." Groups who registered for a 2020 camp automatically will receive a refund. Tall Timbers, a … [Read more...]
2020 Commission Update: Promote stewardship to churches
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists are in the final year of implementing the President’s 2020 Commission Final Report, an initiative undertaken during the leadership of Waylon Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, and the LBC president in 2012-2013. The 2020 recommendations were crafted collaboratively by a commission of 400 Louisiana Baptist leaders, staff members and laypeople, working in 20 subcommittees of 20 members each. Ten “key actions in reaching our state” – known as KAIROS – were developed to engage two audiences – the next generation and every people group. These measures for improving the spiritual health and growth of the state were adopted by messengers at the 2013 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. This article is the fourth in a series published by the Baptist Message to report what successes have been achieved toward the ambitious goals of the statewide initiative, as well as to note what objectives remain to be done. KAIROS THREE Challenge congregations to regularly and intentionally promote biblical financial stewardship. In 2018, Louisiana Baptists and LifeWay Christian Resources released the results of a state-wide … [Read more...]
2020 Commission update: Reaching the next generation and people’s groups
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists are in the final year of implementing the President’s 2020 Commission Final Report, an initiative undertaken during the leadership of Waylon Bailey, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington, and the LBC president in 2012-2013. The 2020 recommendations were crafted collaboratively by a commission of 400 Louisiana Baptist leaders, staff members and laypeople, working in 20 subcommittees of 20 members each. Ten “key actions in reaching our state” – known as KAIROS – were developed to engage two audiences – the next generation and every people group. These measures for improving the spiritual health and growth of the state were adopted by messengers at the 2013 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. This article is the first in a series published by the Baptist Message to report what successes have been achieved toward the ambitious goals of the statewide initiative, as well as to note what objectives remain to be done. FIRST AUDIENCE –THE NEXT GENERATION “The LBC Executive Director will form a ‘Next Generation Task Force’ whose assignment will be to 1) study the needs of the younger generation, 2) discover and develop … [Read more...]
Candidates for governor’s race throw hats in the ring
Although the next primary election for the state's highest office will not be until October 2003, the air is filled with politicians' hats flying toward the ring. This means it is not too early for citizens to begin thinking about what to ask candidates, and then which candidate to support. There are several key issues most concerned Louisiana Baptists will want to ask. Certainly abortion will be at the top of many Baptists' lists, although that issue has pretty well been settled in the state. There may be some differences about so called "exceptions," such as rape, incest, severe fetal deformity and the life of the mother, but overall, Baptists will want a candidate who is pro-life. Baptists who demand a pro-life position by a candidate will not be alone. Anti-abortion forces are strong in the state and there is not much chance of a gubernatorial candidate's race including a pro-choice position. The Baton Rouge The Advocate, in its July 16 editorial, encourages Louisianans to require a stance to oppose the expansion of gambling by a candidate before giving him or her support. Actually, the editorial picked up the idea from U.S. Representative David Vitter, R-Metairie, who has already tentatively entered and … [Read more...]
