Ira Marks' Missions Offering

 In the early 1940s, a house boat was converted into a worship sanctuary which could travel up and down the waterways of the Atchafalaya Basin.  This vessel, affectionately known as “the Little Brown Church on the Water,” formed the beginning stages of what eventually became the foundation of Baptist  Missions in South Louisiana.  This mobile meeting place, navigated by missionary Ira Marks, moved through rivers and canals in order to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to people living along the bayou.  Missionaries and members of “the Little Brown Church” would invite community residents aboard to join in worship services, Vacation Bible Schools, and weddings.  Some brothers and sisters living in our association can still remember the sound of gospel hymns rising up in the warm night air as “the Little Brown Church” moved through the swamp, and the glow of the lights that illuminated our communities for the gospel.

To watch a video that describes the history of “the Little Brown Church” and early missionary efforts in the Atchafalaya Basin, click here.