Publication of Evangeline & Gulf Coast Baptist Associations of the Louisiana Baptist Convention

ENTRE NOUS
Elizabeth A. Langley
Office Administrator

July 2013 Volume 41, No. 6

Bert Langley
Director of Missions

Melaney Dudley
Administrative Assistant

Weldon Moak & Nathan Rush

Moderators

Mary Langford
Counselor

When we think of summer Mission Trips, we picture exotic locations or unusual ministries, but sometimes a mission trip can be as practical as helping your association office stay maintained and in good order. We have been blessed in the month of June with a group who was willing to share an afternoon or two of sweat equity at the EBA office. Because of their willingness to volunteer to do upkeep and cleaning, the association office has been able to channel resources into other ministries. A special thanks to the Ponter family (eight adopted girls: four from China, four from Bolivia) who live outside Decatur, Alabama, for their hard work and sweet spirits!

EBA & WMU will be joining together this year to promote The Bucket Project: Hospice Kits. Those living with HIV/AIDS deal with humiliation, secrecy, isolation and death on a daily basis. One who works among these hurting people in South Africa said that poverty is their friend and death is their neighbor. What sad words! These kits will be provided to people dying from aids in Africa. Contents for the buckets will be collected at the EBA Annual Meeting as well as at individual churches in the association. The ministry provided through these buckets can truly have life-changing effects. You can learn more about this ministry at www.gogbr.org/buckets
Thank you to all who contacted the EBA Office to let us know about your desire to continue to receive the Entre Nous by mail. It helped to have your responses so that we can better communicate with all who are interested in the ministries supported through the Evangeline Baptist Association.

Evangeline Baptist Association

Connecting Churches Through the Cross Gulf Coast Baptist Association Bert Langley, Director of Missions

DOM Lines

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31,32 How would you define Freedom? The word free may be the most popular word in human languages and also the most illusive as it relates to mankind. Men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves (Author Unknown). Moshe Dayan (Israels military leader and politician) said, Freedom is the oxygen of the soul. Benjamin Franklin, in the Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759, wrote, They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. The Jews in Jesus day believed they were free because they were Abrahams descendants and had never been enslaved to anyone (John 8:33). Surely Rome would have disagreed with them. There are many who would say they are free because they are Americans. In truth, there are more people bound by addictions and fears in America than all the prisoners incarcerated in our land. When our forefathers wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they must have felt a sense of freedom, although the war against the British continued through that year. Surely their sense of freedom did not come from the absence of war. Thomas Jefferson wrote, When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty. Those listening to Jesus longed for a Messiah who would come and free them from the Roman Government. In their mind they felt real freedom would be the fall of Roman. Jesus never mentions the Roman Government as he talks about freedom. Rather He said, Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. (John 8:34) He knew we could never be free as long as sin and the law controlled us. As a dead person is free from the powers of this world we would truly be free when we died to self and alive in Him. In Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand fir m, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Freedom is never free (Author Unknown). The cross was the price of freedom and r eal freedom is still found in Jesus. Celebrate your freedom in Jesus today!

Counselors Corner

Mary Langford, Counselor

I am exhausted but gladly so! Three grown children and three little granddaughters just left, having been with us for almost a week. We dont get to be with them as often as we would like, and are so grateful they were willing to make the long drive to come to us. Our time together was chaotic fun -someone playing the piano, another riding a scooter around the furniture, Lego pieces spread on the dining table, and very often, more than one needing a snack. You know what its like; you have children and grandchildren. And you know, too, that all the parenting books warn against showing favorites. The Bible also uses the story of Joseph to show what can happen when a father exhibits strong preference for one son. In spite of those clear signals, I found that I do have favorites. I am delighted by the child who wakes up smiling and singing. I want to hug the one who comes to offer help in the kitchen. I am so pleased when I see one little girl sharing a toy with another. I am so proud of the one who can read far beyond her grade level. I love it when a granddaughter asks to lead prayer at mealtime. My smile is large when a little one says, Can I sit on your lap? I am delighted by one childs imagination and creativity. And I especially enjoy teaching this one how to play dominoes and another one how to make banana pudding. Nothing is more gratifying than seeing one of those little girls overcome her own will and obey a parent. Im sure you know what Im saying: My favorite granddaughter is whichever one is doing any of the above at any given moment. And as I have been thinking about their visit, it has occurred to me that our Heavenly Father must feel much the same toward us. He loves us all the time, but when do we please and delight Him most? Isnt it when we are singing and praising, when we are gladly helping others, when we are developing the abilities He has given us, when we pray, when we just want to be with Him, when we express our creativity, when we learn new skills, and maybe most of all, when we obey? Jesus said we needed to be like children to enter His kingdom. Those of us who have been in His kingdom a long time might want to take a good look at our children and grandchildren to see what we can learn from them. May the rest of the summer be a blessed time for your family.

Evangeline Baptist Association

Connecting Churches Through the Cross Gulf Coast Baptist Association

Through the support of the churches in the Evangeline Baptist Association, we are able to provide funding for a number of ministries in the Acadiana area. In the next few issues of the Entre Nous we are going to highlight some of these ministries so you can see how your financial and prayer support help reach many for Christ in some new and different ways. This months focus is on Church Acadiana, pastored by Andy Manning.

Church Acadiana was launched in a living room in June of 2005 by Andy and Lydia Manning with the prayer and support of the EBA and the North American Mission Board. Today, over fifty people gather weekly for worship at Celebrity Theatres in Broussard. And meeting in a movie theatre has its advantages. Two Sundays a year (every April and October), area charities utilize the theatre for their events, attracting hundreds of people. And Church Acadiana takes advantage of the crowds. Pastor Andy said, We invite all of our members to show up early on those days. Wearing matching t-shirts, we give out free refreshments and pass out flyers inviting people to church. Instead of viewing these events as disturbances, we sensed God telling us that these events were His way of helping us invite the community to church. Church Acadiana is focused on reaching the lost at any cost. In 2011, the church was experiencing some financial setbacks, even with Pastor Andy working bi-vocationally. It was during this time of shortage that God gave the church an impossible vision: Raise an additional $8,000 and put on a big day for Easter 2012. It was a crazy idea that had to come from God, recalled Pastor Andy, because God was calling us to raise extra money for a big event while we didnt have enough money for our monthly bills. But the church moved forward with prayer, hard work, and extreme generosity. Some members even held their own garage sales and sold things on Craigs List in order to contribute to the churchs Easter Outreach Fund. When Easter finally came, the church grew by over 100%, with many people making professions of faith. We saw people return who hadnt been to church in a long time, and we reached many brand new people who were just waiting to be invited to church. Just about everyone who attends Church Acadiana is from an unchurched background, and thats why their Home Group ministry has been so crucial for discipleship. Small groups meet in homes during the week for prayer, care, and Bible study. The groups all study the same thing: the previous Sundays sermon. Sermonbased small groups have been highly effective for us for a number of reasons. The Sunday sermon pushes people to plug in to a small group in order to go deeper with the sermon, and Home Group attenders are pushed to listen carefully to the sermon, knowing that they will be studying it further in Home Group. Church Acadiana is small, but that doesnt discourage them from reaching out in big ways. We used our annual Christmas Offering this year to build a well in Asia and to help a needy lady in the church with some emergency dental care. Twice a year we provide school supplies and Christmas gifts for the children of inmates in association with Innerfaith Prison Ministry. We support two missionaries on a monthly basis. And thats only a snapshot of our outreach. We are constantly teaching our people to look for opportunities to serve others in Jesus name and to be contagious evangelists wherever they go. Pastor Andy hopes to stay at one church for a lifetime. I have the most wonderful church family. Once they were lost and looking for answers, and now they love Jesus, they love His church, they excel at giving, and they are passionate about reaching their friends for Christ. I cant wait to see how God will use us in Acadiana and beyond in the years to come!

ENTRE-NOUS Publication of the

Evangeline & Gulf Coast Baptist Associations

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ALASKA MISSIONS GARAGE SALE

Regional Sunday School Training Conference FBC Jennings Saturday, October 5th

Saturday, Oct. 12 at FBC Lafayette

Donations are now being accepted!
Please contact Marvin Savoie at 278-4381 for more information.
ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE GARAGE SALE WILL GO TO ALASKA MISSIONS WORK
2 - Judy (Mrs. Wallace) Millsaps, FBC Jeanerette 5 - Gary Funderburk, East Bayou 6 - Peggy (Mrs. Tony) Ronsonet, Coteau Holmes 7 - June (Mrs. Sam) Blaylock, Trinity, New Iberia 18 - Zack Young, Retired 22 - Thurman Floyd, FBC Pecan Island Sam Perry, East Bayou 24 - Scott McKenzie, FBC Lafayette 29 - Johnny Ward, FBC Delcambre - Ginger (Mrs. Jessie) Charpentier, Jenkins Memorial

Regional Sunday School Training Conference NOBTS Saturday, September 28th