God's Great Outdoors

On this Trail To Adventure! Gerry meets with Ken Gingrich as he is someone who making his living in God’s great outdoors. Ken tells about being involved in a godless past to include running with members of the Hell's Angels, Sons of Satan, and Pagans motorcycle bike groups. This is just part of the testimony of this week's guest Ken Gingrich. Ken is joined by his wife Judy and the two share about this time in Ken’s life and how God wound up getting a hold of the two of them when an evangelist showed up at their door. Ken put this story into a tract titled The Ultimate Choice and eventually wound up writing an expanded story of this entire life experience in a book with the same name, The Ultimate Choice. Their hope and prayer is some will come to Christ Jesus from both of these printed materials!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’re in the middle of Lake Saint Clair, as Gerry is with Jay Yelas, a pro bass angler. Jay was there to pre-fishing for an upcoming tournament on the FLW Bass Tour. This beautiful lake boarders the state of Michigan on south side and Ontario, Canada on the northern side. Jay stopped his casting and the bass boat to talk with Gerry. Parked on Lake St. Clair, somewhere close to the Canadian border in the center of this huge body of water, the two discussed outdoor outreach ministry. Looked at how you can use God’s Creation, (Romans 1:20) tied to the changed lives of believers, (Ephesians 2:10) building a relationship with others to see them come to know Jesus as Creator, Lord and Savior.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’ll discover how doing a one day Trail To Adventure! Pastor and Layman conference in International Falls, Minnesota opened the door to a ministry up north, above the Canadian Border. Gerry is visiting with Ted and Cheryl Barker, who live in a small community above the US city of International Falls and is doing activity, based outdoor outreach in their area. Ted tells how he’d attended that Trail To Adventure conference with others from Canada and then they began to use what they’d learned back at home. Cheryl relates what she’s seen from their efforts and its impact on those attending events. Both also reflect on the ministry of the fly-in fishing camp in the area called Rushing Wind and how the owners are all about sharing the Creator God, Jesus Christ!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’ll be hearing of an Indiana Jones style hunting trip that’s been going on for close to twenty years now! The guest is Tim Mahoney, owner of Mahoney Media Studios and Thinking Man Films, a film production studio in the “Twin Cities” of Minnesota. Tim’s quest began back when he’d gotten the chance to visit Egypt on a film shoot at the location where it’s believed the Israelites lived while slaves there. Things he was told there, got him looking into the Exodus and Moses, that has led him to pursue the question; did Moses actually write the first five books of the Bible? This is despite what mainstream scholars would have you believe? The new documentary film investigation, “Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy” uncovers profound new scientific evidence you have to see to believe!

Outdoor writer, Dwight Schuh, is the guest on this week’s Trail to Adventure. Dwight shares the story of an elk hunt in the mountains where because of darkness he had to spend the night in the wilderness away from his base camp. Because of the situation and being in grizzly country he felt particularly alone, but after building a fire he began to think about the fact that no matter where you are, if you are a Christian, you are never alone as God is always with us. Dwight also shares his testimony and how he went from a person who wanted nothing to do with God, to a man who depends on his relationship with Jesus Christ. At the end of this interview he addresses how he’d face death someday, with faith and trust in his God. Dwight Schuh did as is shared in this interview, as after a long battle with cancer he passed into eternity to be with his Savior Jesus Christ on February 5th, 2019.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’re exploring how two guys, David Hale who was a farmer, and Harold Knight a barber, got together to design, develop plus, market turkey calls. Gerry visits with these two legends in the outdoor world to discover that the only reason they started to sell their calls was because there weren’t many turkeys in Kentucky and they hoped to be able to make enough to buy a non-resident hunting license in Missouri. Giving one of these calls to an outdoor writer way back when there weren’t many turkeys to start with, created quite a stir. His article in an outdoor magazine drove in hundreds of phone calls to get one of their “turkey tubes” and it just went on from there. Both these men give all the glory to God for what has happened in their lives and they continue to praise Him as the years roll by. The two are able to present their story at game dinners, telling of God’s blessing on them!

You’ll get hooked on this Trail To Adventure! as Gerry’s with the owners and operators of Rushing Wind Retreat Center. Arnie & Dee Wolf share how God worked it out in their lives to own this facility. It’s a once in a life time adventure you can take someone on where they’ll have the Creator God speak to them by way of the outdoors, speakers and fellowship of others! This couple also talks about all the aspects of the camp, as they work to set the stage for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. This fly-in adventure fishing camp is a place where men can invite friends and relatives to join them for the five days. Also, there are couples retreats that have helped restore marriages and seen changed lives for eternity time and again. Why not check out what a Rushing Wind trip could do for your loved ones!

On this week’s The Trail To Adventure! Listeners will be moved to consider evangelistic outdoor outreach events. It’s a visit to a Pennsylvania church and this program’s guest interview is with Pastor Neal Wintermute. The two men’s discussion is about the church’s mission and how their game dinner is seeing men come to Christ each year. Pastor Wintermute shares with Gerry the different things that the church has tried and is doing in relation to this annual outdoor outreach. One thing is for sure, they are well aware of the fact that everything they do throughout the year, including the game dinner, needs to be bathed in prayer from the day of planning to completion. Getting to know about the different ideas God’s Great Outdoors shares on the “How to” of outdoor outreach events has help them on their way.

The Trail To Adventure! is in North Augusta, Georgia and Gerry is joined by Dr. Bill Brown who teaches at the online program at Liberty University. Bill was formerly at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he taught Evangelism and Church Planting. During Bill’s years of being a pastor in Alaska, and the things that he learned on how to reach men, he relates these strategies to Gerry and the listeners. Growing up in an outdoor family, and experiencing the numerous outdoor interests that men from his congregation desired to do, allowed him to formulate a plan and program to reach the unchurched in the community where one lives. Dr. Bill Brown shares how on some Sundays, he had more men in his church as a pastor in Alaska then women, which is unheard of in most churches because he geared up for men!

This week’s Trail To Adventure! has Gerry in one of the most recognized sport fishing area in the USA; it’s the New York’s Finger Lakes region. He and wife Cyndi were at the Penn Yan Bible Church in Penn Yan, for that church’s first ever game dinner. Our host was there as that Saturday’s dinner’s speaker, then he shared at the Sunday’s Service, as Cyndi presented in special music in the morning’s time of worship. Afterward, Gerry sat down to visit with the Pastor Leo Galletta and the outdoor outreach event director, Rowley Hayner. The two men spoke of the churches desire to minister to their community and present the Gospel to each un-churched person there. Though not a big church or with many members who do outdoor activities, the area is loaded with folks who are. So, the idea of something to bring in sportsmen, seemed like it might just work to help change lives for Jesus Christ and it did, Praise God!