Just off the road between Denham Springs and Watson in Livingston Parish, Live Oak Baptist Church sits at 35603 Coxe Avenue, a steady presence for families across southeast Louisiana. The church frames its life with three plain words - Know, Grow, Go - and the building is busy every day of the week with worship, classes, small groups, students, and children. Whether someone has lived in Watson for decades or is brand new to the parish, the goal is the same: encounter Christ, deepen that relationship, and carry it into the neighborhood and the world.
Know, Grow, Go: The Heartbeat of the Church
Three words organize everything at Live Oak. Know means personally encountering Christ through worship, scripture, and prayer. Grow is the lifelong work of discipleship, fellowship, and service alongside other believers. Go takes the faith outside the walls into homes, workplaces, the Watson community, and around the globe. The vision rests on two passages that the church names often: the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 and the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:37-40.
Pastor Johnny Morgan puts it plainly: "Our members are those who found forgiveness after recognizing our sinful nature and confessing our sin. We now are in a relationship with God the Father to carry out His work on Earth." Worship is not just a Sunday exercise, the church teaches - it shows up in how members treat the people they meet every day.
Sunday Mornings at 8 and 10:30
Live Oak gathers twice on Sunday morning. Services at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM share the same shape: a time of celebration with music and a Biblical message. Between them, at 9:15 AM, the entire church splits into Sunday School for an hour of age-appropriate Bible study.
The sanctuary congregation looks like the community around it. "We are men, women, children, plumbers, electricians, businessmen and women, students, teachers, motorcycle riders, athletes, artists, young, and old, but most of all we are family." The dress is relaxed, the music is led by a worship team, and the preaching works through books of the Bible with an evangelistic heart.
Children's Ministry in Building A
Kids are not an afterthought at Live Oak; they have their own building. Building A, the Children's Building, is where everything for ages three through sixth grade happens.
- Sunday School at 9:15 AM uses Lifeway curriculum with trained, background-checked teachers. Kids check in at the front desk, get a name tag, and parents receive a matching pickup tag. Nursery babies stay in the nursery; older children are walked to their rooms by staff. A weekly review sheet goes home so families can talk about the lesson together.
- Children's Church runs during the 10:30 AM service for ages three through nine, also using Lifeway curriculum, with a snack provided. On the fifth Sunday of any month, it is "Family Sunday," and older children worship with their parents in the main service.
- Kids Club meets on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 6:30 PM during the school year, for children ages three (potty trained) through sixth grade. It is a loud, friendly hour of games, Bible verses, and stories about Jesus.
Children's Ministry is led by Frank Mons, Minister of Education and Children's Minister, with Nicole Trest serving as Children's Coordinator. The check-in and check-out system is designed so that the same adult who drops off is the one who picks up, which gives both the kids and the staff a little more peace of mind.
Student Ministry and the 25 Tenants
Live Oak's Student Ministry is for seventh through twelfth graders and meets on Sunday nights from 5:00 to 6:30 PM during the school year, switching to Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in the summer. The schedule also includes canoe trips, summer camps, youth conferences, and seasonal outings.
The ministry is led by Student Minister Mike Fielding, and the church has set out a specific list of 25 things they want to teach every student before graduation. They include the trustworthiness of Scripture, the reality of the resurrection, how to share a personal testimony, what a disciple is and how to make one, why the local church matters beyond just the youth room, and the lifelong nature of sanctification. The list also points students toward quiet service, healthy friendships, integrity when no one is watching, and the courage to trust God when His answers are not what they want. It is a thoughtful mix of doctrine, character, and practical wisdom.
A Sunday School Class for Every Age
Sunday School at 9:15 AM is the church's largest weekly small-group touchpoint, and the directory of classes runs four pages long. Highlights include:
- Adult classes by life stage: Wayne Gilbert leads the 65-and-up class; the Simms teach ages 25-35; Harold Robinson leads ages 45-54; Clint and Theresa Bankston teach 35-44; Scott Shoemaker leads the Median Adult class.
- Topical adult classes: Dan Robichaux, Vince and Joycelin Ebbers, a Ladies class with Beth Hill, a Men's class with Mark Roberts, and a College/Career class with Donald and Leah Turner.
- Student classes: 9th-12th grade boys with Austin Robichaux, 9th-12th grade girls with Michell Turner, 7th-8th grade with Tyler Brown.
- Children's classes: 5th-6th grade (John Hecht), 3rd-4th grade (Jennifer Dorhauer), 1st-2nd grade (Julie Francis), Pre-School (Jason and Melissa Zito), Toddler (Laura Robichaux), and Nursery (Leanne Davis and Betty Hull).
All teachers are background checked and trained, and the children's area follows the same secure check-in and check-out pattern described above.
Women's Ministry and Men's Ministry
The Women's Ministry calls itself S.E.R.V.I.N.G O.U.R L.O.R.D E.veryday SISTERS (SOLES) and meets quarterly. Its purpose is to bring women to a saving knowledge of Christ, give them room to grow, and help them find balance spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally, and then send them back out to minister to others. Karisha Varnado and Tammy Morgan help coordinate the group.
The Men's Ministry gathers for Bible study twice a month on Thursday nights at 6:30 PM, sharing a meal around the table before opening God's Word. Beyond the twice-monthly meetings, the men stay active year-round: construction trips, local service projects, and the associational disaster relief chainsaw unit, where they put their hands to work alongside their brothers.
What the Church Believes
Live Oak's Statement of Faith holds to the historic Baptist convictions. The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. There is one God eternally existent in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church affirms the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and personal return. Salvation comes through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ, made possible by regeneration through the Holy Spirit, with the fruit of a godly life as its evidence.
The church practices two ordinances: baptism as an outward sign of inward grace, and the Lord's Supper as a symbol of Christ's death and suffering, observed until His return. The statement also affirms the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the power of prayer, and the biblical definition of marriage as a covenant between one man, one woman, and God. Tithing and offerings are taught as God's instruments for ministry and the spread of the gospel.
Wherever Your Shadow Falls: Local and Global Missions
Live Oak takes the third word of its mission seriously. The Missions team has a simple answer to the question "where do we serve?": "Wherever Your Shadow Falls."
Locally, the church meets needs that come up close to home, including building handicap ramps for families in need and taking on whatever project shows up next. Disaster relief is a long-standing commitment; the church has an active team that is chainsaw-trained and mud-out trained and has responded to disasters across the United States and in Haiti. The men of the church also serve with the associational disaster relief chainsaw unit.
Globally, the church sends mission teams to several continents, trying to go international every other year. Members support the three traditional Southern Baptist mission offerings: the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering, and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Some families collect change throughout the year in mission banks and turn them in each October.
A Small, Unified Staff
The pastoral team is close-knit. Johnny Morgan has been at Live Oak since 2004, first as Student and Associate Pastor, before being called as Senior Pastor in April 2018. Donald (Donny) Turner has led worship since 2008. Frank Mons has served as Minister of Education and Children's Minister since 2015. Mike Fielding joined in 2018 as full-time Student Minister, Kaleb Morgan came on as Media and Technical Coordinator in 2020, and Nicole Trest joined in 2021 as part-time Children's Coordinator. "You'll see us laugh a lot, cry at times, but you'll always see a unified staff that are as close as blood brothers," the church writes. Their shared aim: to advance the Kingdom for God's glory.
Visiting, Giving, and Getting in Touch
Visitors are welcomed to stop by the office during the week: Tuesday through Thursday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and Friday, 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. The office is closed on Mondays. The phone is 225-243-6138, and the email is info@liveoakbaptist.org. Sermons are posted on the church's YouTube channel, and giving can be set up online as a one-time or recurring gift through the church's Clover giving page. The mailing address is 35603 Coxe Ave, Denham Springs, LA 70706.
For those who want to plug in, the church's "Plan a Visit" page points new guests to the 8:00 and 10:30 AM services and Sunday School at 9:15 AM, and invites questions of any kind. Watson is the parish, the body of believers is the church, and the next step is simply showing up.