God's Great Outdoors

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is visiting with Jim Butler in the Pennsylvania’s scenic Appalachian Mountains. Jim & his wife Barbra own & operate Strath an De Farm, which in Celtic means “God’s Valley.” The beautiful forest setting is the location for annual summer father & son retreats. Also, a father & daughter event camp, that both are designed to make lasting memories in the lives of those who attend each year, plus draw them to the Creator God. Jim shares about the numerous activities these men & their children join in together with the goal of deepening the family bond & one’s personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The farm sees over 500 total attend each year & is a “no cost” event, with a free will offering taken!

On this production of Trail To Adventure! program were at the National Religious Broadcasts Convention in Dallas, Texas. Gerry and his guest, Ken Davis will have you laughing as he interviews this well know and popular Christian comedian. The two of them discuss how humor can be used in friendship, to hurt others and to help share the Gospel. Ken also relates how he got involved in the outdoors, his love for hunting, archery, and how he now pursues big animals like elk with his bow and arrow. The point made here is that laughter is a gift from God, and can be used to tear down barriers unsaved people have in order to share the truth that Jesus Christ loves them very much!

On this Trail To Adventure! Gerry’s with the Len & Gail Marcott who are from the “Cheese Head State,” during a trip to Rushing Wind Retreat Center in Ontario, Canada. Len shares how God worked in his and two of his son’s lives seven years before this interview on their first trip to Rushing Wind. This is a fly in fishing an 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 camp is operated for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to all that visit this remote wilderness area. Gail had set up the first trip to allow her husband and two adult sons to have a reconnect, but God clearly did far more than she had hoped for! Why not check out what a Rushing Wind trip could do for you and your loved ones too!

This Trail To Adventure broadcast came about as Gerry walked into a restaurant after a day at the Archery Trade Association Show, in Nashville, TN. Going through the door to eat and at the same time, that today's guest Jason Koger was going in, so Gerry handed him a tract because he had a camouflage shirt on and invited him to join him for dinner. Jason lost both of his hands in an accident where he was electrocuted with high voltage while riding an ATV. It was clear after a few moments Jason had a relationship with Jesus Christ, and also emitted the joy of the Lord. He shares about his accident, the loss of his hands, his wife having to deal with a baby, a small child and him, even having to feed all three at dinner time which caused a decision that Jason had to make that will certainly challenge every listener. Jason also tells how he got back into the outdoors, plus where God took him after the accident.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is visiting with Dr. Richard Swenson in Wisconsin and the two are talking about Intelligent Design. The truth is there is more of a chance mathematically that your car happened by accident over hundreds of millions of years, then just your eyeballs having evolved and how they work with your entire body? This is just one of the things that Dr. Richard Swenson shares in the interview with Gerry as they discuss this topic and Dr. Swenson’s book, “More Than Meets the Eye”. Having taught surgery at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, and having minored in physics, this interview is jam-packed with information that declares that we have a Creator God. Perhaps the most listened to interview aired by GGO in the 20+ years we’ve been broadcasting.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry visits with Keith & Lora Cline, discussing their trips to Rushing Wind Retreat Center. Located in Ontario, Canada they went the first time during the couple’s marriage event. Keith, a rural mail carrier in north central Nebraska, heard about it on God’s Great Outdoors while driving one day. He asked wife Lora if she’d want to go “up there” for their 35th wedding anniversary. “Yes!” was her answer. The couple also shares about the Special Youth Challenge deer & spring turkey hunts they are a part of in Nebraska and takes place in other locations across the nation. Put on for disabled and terminally ill youngsters, the ministry is seeing youth and adults come to Jesus Christ. Gerry had the blessing of speaking at a SYC in Spencer, Nebraska, a fund raiser event that was set up to also have him share about our Creator God on that night!

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! Gerry is at Lake Ellen Camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the camp’s program director, Nick Hucle. 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. Nick Hucle tells the listeners about hunting adventures with his parents as a kid and more. Nick relates his and his wife, Cory Ann’s history in the area of being campers and then their moving to camping ministry itself. He relates what the campers, counselors and staff experience at the camp and how he’s seen attendees 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 for those wanting to learn to do work in outdoor ministry, as a life career.

On this week’s Trail To Adventure! broadcast, Dr. Tom Rakow the founder of The Christian Deer Hunters Association and The Christian Anglers Association visits with Gerry at Grace Bible Church in Silver Lake, Minnesota. The topic is Tom’s new book release titled, Hunting Miracles: Ancient & Modern. In this work the author Dr. Rakow has collected and compiled a number of stories from the past Christian churches history and also people alive today, with their true experiences that have happened in regard to hunting adventures. These stories relate to the fact that the events depicted clearly showed God’s Hand in what took place! Dr. Tom also tells about other books he has written that are helping Christians reach out to their unsaved friends and relatives with true stories about dogs, fishing and hunting that share the Creator God in the Creation He has made.

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.