By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Baptists are invited to attend a pre-Evangelism Conference event at a number of churches in Evangeline Baptist Association Jan. 24.
Evangelists from the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists will preach and sing at 13 churches in the association for what is called a Harvest Weekend.
Some evangelists will appear at churches for one day while others will be at a location for three days.
Harvest Weekend organizers are excited about how God will use these evangelists before the Evangelism Conference, scheduled for Jan. 25-26 at First Baptist Church in Lafayette.
“The harvest weekend is an emphasis that was begun by our vocational evangelist to assist churches in evangelism,” said Wayne Jenkins, evangelism and church growth director for Louisiana Baptists. “The evangelism division and local association cooperate with them.
“Each year this has been a fruitful time for participating churches,” he said. “There are 13 churches participating this year. Preparation materials have been written for the church and evangelist that will assist in maximizing this evangelistic event.”
The churches in the area are taking up an offering and the association and Louisiana Baptist Convention are supplementing the event, which allows a church to host an evangelist without charging admission.
Bert Langley, interim director of missions for Evangeline Association, said this allows the host churches to concentrate on other details of the weekend.
“We are hoping the churches will have lots of prayer and prep time for this,” Langley said. “We don’t want them to just show up for the event and say that’s it, but rather invite family and co-workers to participate in this.
“It’s more than a one-day thing,” he said. “We are hoping whatever happens at their church carries on for a while.”
Langley asks that even if someone is not able to attend they can still pray for all involved and impacted by Harvest Weekend.
“Put us on their prayer list,” he said. “Pray this is more than just a harvest day. It will may be the launch of something great in the area.”
Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church
111 Oak Drive, St. Martinville, LA
10:45 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Host pastor: Jesse Charpentier
Evangelist: The Lisemby Family
Calvary Baptist Church
4015 Moss Street, Lafayette, LA
10:30 a.m. & 5:00 p.m.
Host pastor: James Craft
Evangelist: Gary Maroney
First Baptist Church, Carencro
242 St. Pierre Blvd., Carencro, LA
10:30 a.m.
Host pastor: Nick Peters
Evangelist: Joe Aulds
First Baptist Church, Abbeville
210 N St Charles, Abbeville, LA
10:45 a.m.
Host pastor: Pres Riley
Evangelist: Michael Courtney
New Life Church
231 E Bagstill Street, Arnaudville, LA
5:00 p.m.
Evangelist: Michael Courtney
The Garden Baptist Church
103 Merchants Blvd., Lafayette, LA
11:00 a.m.
Host pastor: Larry Langley
Evangelist: Al Gist
Kaplan Baptist Church
400 Trahan Ave, Kaplan, LA
10:30 a.m.
Host pastor: Lee Rodgers
Evangelist: Rick Elder
Community Baptist Church
800 Rue du Belier, Lafayette, LA
11:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Host pastor: Tom Lambert
Evangelist: Lyndon Longoria
Vatican Baptist Church
2426 Hwy 93, Vatican, LA
10:00 a.m.
Host pastor: Chad Thibodeaux
Evangelist: Rick Hertless
First Baptist Church, New Iberia
210 E St Peter, New Iberia, LA
11 a.m.
Host pastor: Ed Downs
Evangelists: The Pearsons
Mt Hope Baptist Church, Oakdale
2557 Ballard Road (Hwy 372), Oakdale
10:45 a.m.
Host pastor: Sean Keith (interim pastor)
Evangelist: Price Harris
Check back online at www.baptistmessage.com for additional churches who plan on participating in the pre-Evangelism Conference Harvest Weekend.
