Ecton Lawrence "Ji" Billiot Jr.
July 7, 2008
Jaime Pineda
July 11, 2008
First Baptist Church of Houma has decided to expand its holy terrain within the Terrebonne Parish community, and here to help last week were some “good stewards” from Tennessee and Georgia.
Every year, First Baptist members go to various places to help building churches and schools. But this year, the church is planning its own expansion.
First Baptist Church of Houma Pastor Steve Folmar said worshippers tend to offer stewardship to other Baptist churches instead of having revivals and special outreach programs to get people involved in the church. “Stewardship is a way of life,” he said. “It is a way of thanking God for all our blessings by returning to God a portion of the many gifts that he has given us.”
The out-of-town worshipers displayed the essence of good stewardship last week when they gave their time, talents and material goods to help First Baptist lay the foundation for the expansion of its Covenant Christian Academy School in Gray, off Louisiana Highway 24.
Presently, the school is located at the First Baptist Church site on Main Street in Houma.
“Sharing involves being with God in prayer and worship, using our gifts to help build God’s kingdom among our family and friends, our workplace and our communities,” said the Rev. Marty Comer from Sand Ridge Baptist Church in Lexington, Tenn.
Comer said his group was drawn to the project because First Baptist is trying to provide a Christian education to the community. He brought down 17 youths, ages 12 to 16, to assist. For some, it was their first mission trip.
“We wanted to be a part of the mission so that we could know what it’s like to witness to people by building a Christian school,” said 12 year-old Colby Singleton from Sand Ridge Baptist Church.
According to the Sand Ridge’s Assistant Music Minister Denny Hall, the trip teaches the youths the value of a lifetime of service.
“The youth have been great,” Folmar said. “Whatever we ask them to do, they do it.”
The project was born out of the church’s attempt to save money that would have been paid to contractors for work that church members were capable of doing. That prompted First Baptist to offer a summer mission trip to Houma.
“We offered a mission trip down to Bayou Country, and these folks took advantage of it and we are so thankful to them,” Folmar said. “This has given us the opportunity to meet new people and experience different cultures.”
The Meadowdale Baptist Church group from Georgia brought its own contractor.
The group does missions two or three times a year. For the past three years, they have gone to New York, but this year they chose to head south.
“I felt that we needed to come to this area to help out for the past three years,” said Travis Stephens, a member of Meadowdale Baptist.
Fellow worshiper David Bryant is a logger by day. His said his expertise was surely needed when cutting the lumber to raise the walls on the school.
“There are not a lot of Baptist churches in Houma, so we believe in helping the people that need to be helped,” he said. “Not to mention we get a chance to spend some time with our own church folks.”
The churchgoers at First Baptist Church of Houma were excited to showcase their cooking skills to their non-Cajun friends.
“It’s amazing to watch what people on missions do. The Lord has anointed them and they are giving back and we appreciated the gesture,” said First Baptist member Melissa Balure, who will serve as CCA’s preschool director.
Balure has been a member of the Houma church for nearly 20 years.
Donna Nyssen has been with the local church for more than 25 years. This marks her first mission, as she gave up her week to help prepare meals at First Baptist’s northwest campus.
“This was a different experience for me. I have been a part of this church for years and I never participated in a mission,” she said. “I am glad that I had the chance to participate in this one because it gave me the opportunity to showcase Louisiana cooking and culture to someone else.”
Houma’s Covenant Christian Academy has more than 200 students from grades pre-kindergarten to ninth grade. The 4,000-square-foot Gray site will not be ready by the start of the fall school year in August.
However, Folmar hopes to move into the new building by year’s end.
Meadowdale Baptist Church member David Bryant cuts a board as fellow volunteer Jack Bibb watches. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
