fall retreat

We had an amazing retreat this past weekend.  We kicked it off by stuffing our selves with Prime Rib from the grill of Mark Murphey.  Then we were led in worship by Chris Albritton.  For about 45 minutes that night we spent in solitude listening to God's word.  It was a much needed time alone with the Lord.  Everyone found a quiet spot, even in the cold, and stopped to listen for a while.  This was the theme for the weekend.  It was a definite retreat.  The next day we had breakfast followed by a couple of group building games.  Yes we finally got everybody across the river (one of the games we played).  Then we spent a few more minutes in quiet and came back together to hear what we were listening to.  It was awesome to hear these students share the things they heard that weekend.  I will cherish this weekend for a long time.  It was almost perfect!  See ya. 

Last week at LifePoint

Last week at LifePoint we talked about how we, the body of Christ, have one mission, to share the one message with the world.  Our one mission is to share the one message to the world.  The one message is that Jesus took our place and paid the price for our sins.  It needs no decorations or add-ins.  It only needs to be shared.  Two weeks ago we prayed for LaTech's campus from our parking lot!  As we looked at all the dorms and classrooms we could see from our parking lot, we prayed that God would open our mouths to share his word.  This past week we took time to make a plan to take the message to the campus.  There will be more to come as these plans are carried out. Continue to pray for us and the campus or Louisiana Tech!

2 weeks in

We have now had students in town for over two weeks.  The first two weeks of the school year are by far the most important for reaching students and plugging them in.  Every campus organization knows this. Now we get to the real work.  The BCM church roadtrip came through and was great.  The first college students were excited and met many of the freshmen that were with the BCM.  I am thankful for students reaching out to others.  We also started a tailgate this year for our entire church.  Our hope is that our students and church members can come together in fellowship and also to reach others tailgating before the game.  Last week was great and we really did not publicize it very well here are some pictures from last week. 

welcome back DAWGS!!!

All of our hard work has come to its fruition,  WELCOME BACK TECH STUDENTS!  We have prayed for this week/year for a long time this summer.  We would love to hear from some of you who may have received a post card from our members or a brochure with all of our stuff. 
This weekend we are opening up the PowerHouse to watch some college football and eat some free food. Stop by after 5:30 and hang out with us. 
Sunday we are giving you a big free lunch after our 11 am worship service.  We want to get to know you and give you a great lunch.  Plan on hanging around and eating with us after church.
LifePoint Kicks off next wednesday at 8pm in the Powerhouse.  This will be a time of community, worship, and study.  We hope you will join us next wednesday night. 
Touch Ruston is next week also.  Thursday we will hit some neighborhoods in town and spread the word about lunch on Saturday.  Saturday we will serve a free lunch to the people in our community from 11-1pm.

Saturday evening we get to enjoy more Bulldog football!  Look for us at the game starting at 6pm. 

We cant wait to meet you.  WELCOME BACK!!!

Tech Campus Prayer Walk

We are just a few weeks away from Ruston becoming a busy town.  Dorms open September 3 for students to begin moving in at Louisiana Tech.  This evening at First Baptist Ruston we had a Louisiana Tech campus Prayer walk/drive.  I put the /drive there because almost the minute we were heading out a large thunderstorm moved through the area.  In my mind we would gather into groups and pray right there in the sanctuary for Tech students.  That would have been great, but that was not enough, people formed groups and headed for their cars.  They drove to the designated areas they chose and began praying for the tech students and faculty that would soon be present.  Every part of campus was occupied by someone praying. It was pouring down rain and lightning and they went out.  Christina and I drove through campus after everyone had left and we noticed vehicles parked all over campus that we knew were members of First Baptist Ruston praying for Tech students.  I did not get a count but there seemed to be well over 50 church members there to pray.  I thank God for a church that loves and supports college ministry.  Tech students, know that you are already being prayed for and our hearts are growing bigger for you.  We cant wait for school to start. 

As summer winds down

Hey all who are reading this.  Hopefully it is Tech students, but for who ever cares, this is how we will finish the summer with First College, the college ministry of First Baptist Ruston.  So far this summer, we have either had, Bible study at Scott and Cheryl Leachman's house or we have served at Rolling Hills Ministries here in Ruston.  We have looked at what it means to be Baptist and how we have gotten to where we are as Baptists.  We also took a look at how to study the Bible both Old and New Testament.  To finish out the summer, we are going to look at a few aspects of our spiritual life.  First we will look at sin,  how did it happen and what kind of impact does it have now?  Next we will look at salvation,  who is it for and what are we saved from?  For the final week of the summer study we will look at sanctification, what keeps us going as believers?  By this time it will be time to get ready for Louisiana Tech students to return.  We are really excited about what is ahead.  I hope that you will join with us in prayer for this school year.  IF you are a member of First Baptist Ruston,  clear your calender on August 22 and join us after the PM service to prayer walk Tech's Campus.  Look for more posts before the school year starts.

Vermont day five and return

Once again, I have to say we had a great time in Vermont.  God was faithful to us and to this church.  He brought in kids who did not have a church and gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with them.  He showed us how much people need Him and how he can use a few people from Louisiana in Vermont.  We did much better with airports on the return home than we did on the way up.  It was an EARLY morning to get to the airport but we made it.  I am thankful for the team that came together.  Everybody had a great attitude and really made my first mission trip experience great.  I hope that they were as fulfilled as I was this week.  Thank you Kyle, Ethan, Lindsey, Mrs. Mary, Keeley, and Morgan.  You were a great team.  I am also thankful for the great church- Capstone Baptist.  Thank you Pastor Phil Steadman and your great and large family.  Thank you Heidi and all of your volunteers for your hard work and dedication.  Thank you God for your Faithfulness!