God's Great Outdoors

Todd Freiwald, who is the author of the book “The Ripple Effect”, shares with Gerry about growing up and learning how important survival skills were in the outdoors on this week’s The Trail To Adventure! Fire, shelter, food, and water are the four essential elements one needs to stay alive for an extended period in the outdoors. Coming to Christ and then becoming a father made him realize how important walking with the Lord was. So as his children grew, he developed a survival program that taught them, not only to survive in the outdoors, but also to survive everyday life by applying principles illustrated in God’s Word to the four survival skills. This is an excellent book to help with mentoring one’s children or in a group setting for churches, ministries, or Christian camps.

Gerry visits with Steve Scott, founder of the ministry "On Target Outfitters" on this week’s episode of The Trail To Adventure! This trip has him in Ohio as Steve tells the listeners how as a youngster he wanted to learn to hunt and fish, but his dad had left the family. Thankfully a couple of men in his church made him part of their adventures and life and this allowed him to see what a dad really should be like according to God's Word. The experience was why he as a young man went into the ministry of being youth pastor and was moved to start "On Target Outfitters." Steve also tells about the book he wrote which is a devotional titled "Faith Afield" which correlates with a variety of outdoor topics and scriptures tied to each topic, which Gerry found to be an excellent read to be sure.

On this Trail To Adventure! Dr. Tom Rakow, the founder of The Christian Deer Hunters Association and Gerry visit together discussing the numerous outdoor ministries that have come about over the years. The idea is to provide Christians looking to reach others who enjoy time in God's creation with the tools to provide the ability to help win them to receive Jesus Christ as their Creator God. Tom shares about how The Christian Deer Hunters Association got started and how he never expected it to be what it is today. Tom also tells how he got started writing books, and today despite the fact that he flunked English several times in school, with his family’s aid he has written a number of books that are helping Christians reach out to their unsaved friends and relatives with books on fishing and hunting.

This week’s Trail To Adventure! interview has Gerry back in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, in Brainerd, Minnesota, and a visit to Lindner Media Studios. Gerry visits with Al & Mary Lindner, and Al tells about the journey of he and his brother Ron’s business activities through the years and how they got to where they are today. Al shares on how they came to doing the The Angling Edge television show and the direction from God to be more and more active in sharing the Gospel. Mary talks of her medical journey of the past 20 years as she is a breast cancer survivor and has had three heart operations. Mary has had so many different medical devises implanted in her body she calls herself the “Bionic Women.” The key point she relates to the listeners is to use God’s Word and have faith that we are in His capable hands!

As Gerry was on his Trail To Adventure! traveling to speak at a Game Dinner in western Wisconsin, he hooked up with Daryl Christensen. Daryl is a past God’s Great Outdoors Board of Directors member and spent most of his life in the professional walleye fishing arena. He shares how when the economic crash of 2008 took place, it hit the fishing industry hard. This caused Daryl to move to an early retirement from his profession, going in a different direction. Having been one of Wisconsin’s leading members of the state’s bird watchers, he began doing studies for the Department of Natural Recourses. So, besides getting to speak at Game Dinners, this has opened doors to present the Creator, Jesus Christ to those who enjoy ornithology.

This program begins with a description of what the retreats are like at Rushing Wind in Ontario, Canada an hour drive above International Falls, Minnesota and through these fly-in fishing times, many lives have been changed for eternity. Phil Driver is the guest on this week’s Trail to Adventure! Phil heads up a ministry called Northwest Iowa Special Youth Challenge. This is a youth hunt that’s for disabled and terminally ill girls and boys getting them afield for turkey in the spring and deer in the fall. Gerry and Phil talk about how they met at a Trail to Adventure! Conference that took place in Iowa, something that Phil only came to in order to meet more speakers for their ministry. He didn't think he would learn anything new at this Trail to Adventure! Conference, but was sorely mistaken as he learned a number of things that helped their ministry today!

On this trip Gerry is at the Trijicon factory in Wixom, MI and on a visit with Chuck Wahr who is the Vice-President of Sales & Marketing. Chuck shares about Trijicon’s founder Glyn Bindon and the owner’s family, and their relationship with Jesus Christ, and how this is mirrored in the way they conduct business. He also relates about his growing up with adventures in the outdoors, his family and the enjoyment of time in God’s creation, near Muskegon, Michigan. Chuck tells about a controversy that developed regarding scripture references on scopes made for the military that created quite a stir not too long ago. The two talk about that issue, and the fact that this manufacturer of illuminated sights has been in the practice of putting Bible verse references on their products since their beginning.

Gerry is in Ashley, Indiana on this week’s Trail To Adventure! program with the owners of Three Rivers Archery, Dale and Sandi Karch. The pair share how they got started in traditional archery and opened a small shop there in Wisconsin. Dale began to build Tomahawk bows; his recurves are now one of the best-selling traditional bows today. When they approached Three Rivers Archery Company about putting the Tomahawk in the catalogue, they were informed that if they wanted them added in, the couple would have to buy the company because it was for sale. God had been preparing them for this in their archery journey as you will clearly hear with this interview.

Gerry is in the upper part of the country’s western prairie land on this week’s Trail To Adventure! at Pheasant City Lodge in Wessington, South Dakota, at the home of Kevin and Kristie Tevedal, the pair share about how they use this pheasant hunting facility in what is considered the top state for these game birds as a way to minister to others. Men's ministry, father/son, father/daughter ministries, women's retreats, church groups, and more all have used this facility for outreach. Both Kevin and Kristie share personal stories of events, actions, and testimonies of ministry they have seen take place at the lodge. This couple and their family work to make Jesus Christ first and evident to the clients, in all they do at Pheasant City Lodge.

At the annual Archery Association Trade Show, Gerry visits with Paul Meeks who started API Outdoors Treestand Company. Paul shares about the history of hunting from trees and how he got started in the treestand industry with API being the first aluminum stand to appear on the market. Then when Paul eventually sold the business, it was the number one manufacturer of treestands in North America. Gerry and Paul spend the majority of this interview talking treestand safety to help the listeners understand the importance of the topic and seriously consider their need to wear safety harnesses while hunting and they also look at how Paul Meeks and API helped in the radio program’s beginnings!