Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season with family and friends and that the New Year has been joyful and refreshing. Hopefully, you are still keeping your 2026 resolutions and staying on track with your Bible reading plans.
The New Year began with the ABS (Association of Baptist Students) traveling to Louisville, Ky., to attend Cross Conference, joining approximately 12,000 high school and college students from across the country. We departed Ruston on Dec. 31 with a small group of Louisiana Tech students, then picked up additional students in El Dorado, along with Wyatt Baptist Church’s pastor, Adam Thomas, who graciously served as our second van driver. Our final stop was in North Little Rock, where we picked up a student from Central Baptist College before continuing on to Louisville. In total, our group included more than 20 people, including my entire family. The trip went smoothly — like most trips that include a stop at Buc-ee’s!
Cross Con26 was an excellent conference featuring faithful preaching, powerful interviews with missionaries serving in difficult places, informative breakout sessions, and a clear call for students to consider giving their lives to the mission of God. During the final session, two students from our group stood with hundreds of others and publicly committed to pursuing missionary service. That alone made the entire trip worthwhile. Please pray for these students, as well as for the others who attended, that God would mobilize them to spread His name among all peoples. We desperately need laborers willing to go, and we continue to pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise them up from among this generation. The church of God has been entrusted with the gospel of God to send people for the glory of God, making known the name of God, and we must take this calling seriously. This is why I value this conference so deeply and plan to continue taking students each year as long as I am able. Next year’s conference will be held in St. Louis, Mo., and I am hopeful we will be able to take even more students.
Our return trip included unexpected challenges, including a church van breakdown and our arrival back in Ruston at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. Even so, it was all worth it. The church plant was incredibly gracious in allowing me to preach on very limited rest, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who helped make this trip possible. This underscores why supporting ABS’s ministry is so important. Our work is about helping students develop lifelong habits of being connected to gospel-preaching, gospel-teaching churches where they can serve faithfully for decades to come. Conferences like Cross help students catch that long-term vision and purpose for their lives.
Church-plant work continues to progress well. In recent months, we have connected with families relocating to Ruston and individuals connected to the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and we are grateful for the doors God is opening. We currently have interest from two additional families who are considering becoming covenant members, and the fellowship within our group continues to grow. We also have three families expecting babies this year, and Lord willing, we look forward to ministering to and supporting them in every way we can. Please pray for safe deliveries and healthy babies.
Additionally, pray for us as we seek to reach more people here in Ruston. Our desire remains to make disciples of all peoples, just as Christ commanded in Matt. 28:19-20. Much of our growth to date has come through word of mouth and personal relationships, but we aim to be more intentional about outreach and engagement in the coming year. Pray that God would grant us wisdom and discernment as we pursue these efforts.
May the God of all grace and peace bless you and your churches in this New Year as you seek to serve and honor Him faithfully. Thank you for your continued prayers and faithful partnership in this work — we could not do this without you.
