From the prison cell to the pulpit: Louisiana Baptist pastor named “Replanter of the Year” | Baptist Life

MARRERO, Louisiana (BP) – When Troy Gause sat in the small one-person suicide watch cell – with no windows or light from the outside world – at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, he never imagined he would one day be the pastor of a thriving church.

Although the distance between the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center and Cross Community Church in suburban New Orleans is only about 60 miles, it can seem much farther.

To get there, Gause had to make a U-turn. That U-turn not only changed his life, it also shaped the gospel work that became the hallmark of his ministry as a pastor in Louisiana.

During the 2024 Replant Summit, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) recognized Gause's ministry by naming him “Replanter of the Year.” The event included sessions with Mark Clifton, NAMB's national director of replant, JJ Washington, NAMB's national director of personal evangelism, and Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as an evening of worship with songwriter Matt Papa.

Although Gause was not suicidal when he entered the cell, the long isolation and harsh conditions eventually wore him down. The trauma of the events that led to his incarceration for drug possession had partially paralyzed him and pushed him to his limits.

In that cell, Gause began a profound conversation with God that would forever change his life and the lives of lost people in the greater New Orleans area. Although he had been saved as a teenager, he had strayed far from his faith. Now Gause pleaded with the Lord, listing all the things he had tried to do to find fulfillment, only to hear God say, “You have not tested me.”

Gause replied: “God, please. Take this ruined life.” And in that cell he promised never to turn away from him again.

Gause kept that promise. While working on a search and rescue team after Hurricane Katrina, he met a staunch believer named Lawrence Jacques, who taught him. Jacques, a street evangelist, took him under his wing and introduced him to preaching Jesus on the streets of the Big Easy, where Gause met one person after another who needed the turnaround he had found.

In the years that followed, Gause attended and graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He founded Church Without Walls to reach people on the streets of New Orleans and connect them with local churches. With the encouragement of several mentors, including seminary professor Peter Charpentier, Gause founded Cross Culture Church in 2017.

“We started with just eight people in my living room,” Gause said. “I didn't know how or where it was going, but I knew God had a plan and I was willing to follow Him wherever He led me.”

Cross Culture Church grew but struggled to find a regular meeting place. In 2021, everything changed when a friend introduced Gause to the pastor of Ames Boulevard Baptist Church in Marrero, an aging congregation that needed help with lawn care. Gause began taking care of the lawn for free just to help the church. As his friendship with the church's pastor blossomed, the two eventually decided to merge their churches to provide a young core of people for Ames Boulevard and a building for Cross Culture.

“When the opportunity arose to merge with Ames Boulevard, it was clear that God was opening a door,” Gause said. “We weren't just merging two churches – we were creating a new church family that reflects the diversity and love of our community.”

On April 30, 2023, the two congregations merged to form Cross Community Church in Ames, with Gause serving as senior elder. From the beginning, the newly formed church was characterized by great diversity, uniting people of all ages and backgrounds—young and old, black and white—serving Jesus together as one unified church.

Cross Community Church has launched a number of new initiatives to reach out to its neighbors, including a mentoring initiative for young boys and new small groups. In about 16 months, membership of the new church has grown from 40 to nearly 100.

One of these new families included Leon and Javon Every, a couple who had been together for more than 35 years and had five children but had never married. Late last year, the couple married in the church. Since becoming part of the church, seven family members have been baptized and joined the church.

The Ames Boulevard pastor baptized Terry Borque shortly after the churches merged, and she says Cross Community has made a huge difference in her life. When she was battling sepsis in the hospital earlier this year, Gause's ministry helped give her courage. Borque had been going to church all her life, but not to a congregation that faithfully taught the Bible.

“I didn't get a full meal. I only got parts of it and that wasn't enough for me,” Borque said. “But Pastor Troy teaches directly from the Bible and I missed that.”

Lane Corley, director of Send Network Louisiana, is a longtime friend and supporter of Gause. Last year, his team was involved in 22 church mergers across the state, providing either training or funding.

“I think it was special that these two churches came together – the Anglo-Saxon and African-American congregations praying and serving together,” Corely said. “It had an immediate impact [on the surrounding community]creating the welcoming atmosphere that Ames Boulevard wanted to create. It was truly remarkable.”