God's Great Outdoors

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is in the Wisconsin Dells in Wisconsin, at the Mathews Bows event. His guest is Joel Maxfield who was the very first employee of the company at the start, as the owner Matt McPherson launched the business. Joel describes the humble beginning that was so small and yet, how on one given Thursday, suddenly the orders started rolling in, one phone call after another. He realized then that God’s hand was on the business as this clearly was a blessing from the Lord! Joel shares on how important the Lord and evangelism is to the owners, always trying to be a reflection of the Creator, Jesus. Also, he tells some fun outdoor adventures stories from years past.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we are taking a visit with outdoor writer Tracy Breen at this home near Muskegon, Michigan as he is doing his job as a stay home Dad. Tracy, a freelance outdoor writer, shares with Gerry and the listeners how he got started writing outdoor articles, plus how he juggled this career with his family’s needs, playing “Mr. Mom”, watching the kids at home while he writes articles. Tracy also talks about how he got started in the outdoors, his love of turkey hunting and how he now has trained dogs to hunt turkeys, which is legal in some states. He relates the story of how he accidentally shot himself on one of his turkey hunting adventures, which almost cost him his life. In all this, he gives the Lord the credit for who he is and how Jesus has given him the writing skills that are helping him fulfill his dream of being an outdoor writer.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! we’ll be hearing from Vicki Cianciarulo who is the co-host of the outdoor television program titled, “Archers Choice.” Vicki and her husband, Ralph, travel around the world chasing the many different big game species they harvest and film hunts for the show. Vicki describes her early years of growing up with her mom in a single parent home and how it impacted the times at church, limiting that experience. Being a “Tom Boy” she loved the outdoors and getting dirty during those adventures was all part of the fun. As a young woman she had a chance to go on a grouse hunt in the northern part of Wisconsin and from that moment on she was hooked on hunting. Next in Vicki’s life came archery and that is where she became acquainted with Ralph who owned the shop she visited to begin the sport. Together this couple was hunting in God’s Creation as the Creator Jesus was pursuing them all to have a personal relationship with this family!

On this week's Trail to Adventure! Gerry visits with Mike Peters who is vice president of Christian Bowhunters of America and the Chapter Chairman of The Lord of the Harvest Archery Club, one of CBA’s chapters. The two talk about how men and women are using this archery & bowhunting ministry to build relationships in the lives of people they know who need Jesus Christ. Mike discusses numerous events that take place across the USA that opens doors for those who love archery and have an impact on lives. One of these events is the Trophies of Grace Whitetail Deer Hunt that happens every year in the fall in southeast Ohio. Mike also, shares how Christ Jesus got a hold of his life!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! The founder of the ministry "Kicking Bear," Ray Howell and his wife Karen join Gerry at The Wisconsin Dells, in Wisconsin. In this interview the couple discusses this youth ministry and how it's reaching so many young people across the country. Karen also shares her side of Ray's testimony, seeing a man who felt he didn't need anything and strived to be perfect, deal with the knowledge he needed a Savior. She tells how she prayed for him to see his need for a relationship with the Creator God. Karen goes into the details of that reality beginning to start to sink in to who Ray was and was not. A true story that certainly can be an encouragement to anyone who has someone they love and are praying to see them one day receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! treestand safety is the topic as Jay Everett from Hunter Safety Systems is this week’s guest. Gerry and Jay spend part 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 from an elevated platform. Statistics show that one out of three people that hunt out of a treestand will have an accident at some time in their life, with a number of these incidents being fatal. Jay relates facts on the safety harness and how their research reveals that most falls take place going up, getting into, coming out of and then descending to the earth. The goal of this program is to be sure that none of the listeners will become a part of the tragic statistic, on the negative side.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is at Lake Ellen Camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the camp’s director, Ralph Peterson. Gerry had been invited to come as the speaker for one of the week long summer children’s camps. Lake Ellen Camp in Crystal Falls has events going on all year, with the summertime being the most active. Ralph Peterson shares with the listeners about his own parents’ history in the area of camping ministry and also his experiences, which have taken place over the years. He details what the campers, counselors and staff experience at the camp and how he’s seen some work up through the different stations over the years, by the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This would be an excellent place not only to sent children as campers, but also those who want to learn to do work in outdoor ministry, as a life career and quest!

On this Trail To Adventure! this week, Gerry interviews one of the outdoor sports world’s legends at the ATA show in Columbus, Ohio. Pro fisherman and television host, Jimmy Houston, shares about his old friends from the early days of tournament fishing when the sport was just getting started, and how they have remained close friends. Jimmy also talks about relationships, and the ability for him to be able to share truths from the Bible with people he encounters because of his position in the outdoor industry. He gives away a Bible each year that he has personally used during his own twelve months of Bible study and reading entirely through the Bible, which he has done for over 40 years. His challenge to the listeners is to be in God’s Word each and every day, plus share it with others!

At the Trail To Adventure! conferences that GGO conducted across the USA, one of the key points is teaching the “4 P’s”. They consist of “Prayer, Planning, Perpetration & More Prayer!” This is also what the guest on this week’s broadcast, Steve Finn, practiced – prayer and more prayer. The founder of Chestnut Mountain Ranch, located near Morgantown, West Virginia, relates on how much he and his family sought God in prayer. This became a practice before and during (is done even today), as they looked toward establishing a boy’s home and school to reach troubled youngsters, with the goal to create Godly men. Having been in a single parent home and later a police officer he has experienced the same struggles these boys do, feeling led to make a difference in their lives. After working at one of the boy’s homes in Georgia, he and his wife targeted West Virginia with its high dropout and suicide rate!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure, Professional fishing legend and television host Hank Parker joins Gerry at the Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas. This was a special two day event teaching pastors and laymen how to do outdoor outreaches. Hank shares with the listeners about his fishing career, television shows and reflects with Gerry about his children and grandchildren. Hank looks on the loss of one of his loved ones, the struggles he went through and how no matter what, God is supreme! Hank Parker’s dad was an alcoholic with a conversion to Christ, had a horrific death in a car accident, and he left a note in his Bible requesting that the pastor preach a salvation message at his funeral if he died because both of his boys were on their way to Hell.