IN REVIEW
District Board Meeting
Our District Board met at the end of August, which was after the writing of my last Communique. So, I wanted to give you some exciting news that we all can celebrate. In our March and August board meetings combined, the district board approved 32 Local license, 11 General license and 14 Ordination license applicants. This total includes five ladies who received their Local license and one lady who was ordained. This is a great achievement by our district. We are truly multiplying our number of ministers. I want to thank our pastors for making a way in our churches for men and women to answer the call to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I also want to commend our district board who interviewed all applicants and walked them through the process of licensing.
KidReach
On Saturday, September 17th, our Children’s Ministry Department under the leadership of Bro. Tommy Parker, Bro. Eddie Gorden, and the Children’s Ministry team, held their annual KidReach. KidReach is a workshop designed to encourage, energize, and equip Sunday School teachers and children’s ministry workers. Eighteen clinicians, some of the best in Pentecost, led the way teaching on various children’s ministry topics. The total attendance was about 250 which is just remarkable. We are thankful for a strong burden for our children in the Louisiana District.
COMING UP
UGST Professional Development Counseling Seminar (October 28-29)
There are several reasons many pastors are uncomfortable counseling others:
- They are not educated, trained, and equipped for counseling others.
- They are not an expert in human behavior.
- Practical counseling is not what they feel called to do.
- Counseling presents many awkward situations.
- There is too much pressure to give the right answer, or it could be disastrous.
- Counseling takes a lot of time which could be spent in other areas of ministry.
But as shepherds and leaders, we all must sit down from time to time with those whom we lead. You don’t have to be a professional, licensed counselor to provide direction, but you also shouldn’t feel apprehensive about it.
So, on October 28-29, here on the district campgrounds, we will host the UGST Counseling Seminar. It will be held Friday, October 28, at 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 29, at 9:00 AM and should conclude around 3:00 PM (includes lunch break). Those who complete the course will receive a UGST Certificate.
Course Description
The class is 9-10 focused in-person hours taken from the Intro to Counseling class in the Master’s program at Urshan Graduate School of Theology. The course is extremely valuable to pastors, ministers, leadership, and lay-helpers. For anyone working in the people-helping ministries, this information will reduce unnecessary hours spent in counseling, provide direction, and focus for meeting with a person in need of counseling, and reduce the stress/anxiety around working in areas a person may feel they have not received enough training to do. Students will leave the class with immediate tools to integrate into ministry as well as skills for crucial conversations going forward.
Registration Required
To register, go to our district website, www.ladistupc.com/ugstseminar. The UGST registration fee is $250 per person or $400 for a married couple. For more information, contact Sally Kelley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 318-640-9657. This will be well worth the investment.
We are working to provide resources for the ministers and leaders of our district. As we grow together, the Kingdom of God will advance.
Mission Louisiana – Master Plan for Improving Our Campgrounds
Since Friday evening of Camp Meeting, when I announced the District Board’s plan to move forward with the building of a New Boy’s Dorm as well as a New Tabernacle, I have received an overwhelming amount of supporting comments. I have also received questions about how to get involved as well as the time frame of the building process, just to mention a few.
New Boy’s Dorm
Our Master Plan Team as well as our District Board agreed that our greatest need is our Boy’s Dorm. We are beyond capacity and have been for years. Our existing Boy’s Dorm is not able to be repaired due to the extreme condition of the foundation. A larger, New Boy’s Dorm will allow our Children’s & Youth Camps to grow in attendance.
New Tabernacle
For many years, our tabernacle has been at capacity. Many of the Pentecostals of Louisiana do not attend Camp Meeting because of the inadequate seating conditions. We have simply outgrown our tabernacle. After reviews by engineers and architects, it has been determined that our existing tabernacle cannot be expanded to accommodate our growth. It is estimated that there are between 30,000 and 40,000 United Pentecostals in Louisiana. Building a new Tabernacle would allow more of our membership to attend.
Repurposed Buildings
By building a new tabernacle, it would allow us to repurpose our existing tabernacle into a 900-seat cafeteria and indoor concessions. This would allow all our main buildings to be centrally located as well as provide additional much needed meeting space.
At the present time, our campaign committee is diligently working to complete our plan to inform all our ministers and congregations across the state of exactly how our building program will look. We already have many of our Louisiana ministers and leaders involved in the process. This plan will be unveiled in January 2023. It will explain what our buildings will look like, their locations, and a time frame. We will also unveil our capital plan and how our churches and our friends can get involved.
These are very exciting times. Our district is facing growth in every area. I cannot wait to see what God does in the Louisiana District over the next five years, should the Lord tarry.