Hawesville—The hunters sought better ways to stalk wild game. The fishermen were looking for the secrets to the big catch. Two Kentucky Baptist associations, meanwhile, were pursuing two-legged creatures—lost souls.

The Sportsman’s Expo the groups sponsored at the Hancock County Fairgrounds near Hawesville Oct. 4 drew more than 2,000 outdoors enthusiasts, leaders estimated. The event was sponsored by many of the 36 churches within Blackford and Breckinridge Baptist Associations.

Many participants did not know when they arrived, though, that the event was church related. It was not played up on the signs or in the promotion. “It’s going to be a first-class outdoor sportsman’s expo,” coordinator Tony Rodgers said prior to the event. Until recently, Rodgers was pastor of Pellville Baptist Church.

“It’s just a ministry that has the potential to reach people we might otherwise be missing,” Rodgers explained. “It’s an opportunity to give them inroads to something that hopefully will change their lives.”

Marty Webb of Paynesville manned a booth at the expo advertising his Meade County wild-game processing business. The show had “a nice little crowd, … more people than I thought it would be.”

Men, women and children dressed in camouflage wandered through booths selling everything from taxidermy services and animal calls to john boats and even camouflage bikinis.

Youngsters could compete in the BB-shooting contest or try hunting and fishing simulators. Hunting equipment was given away as door prizes throughout the day and the right to hunt elk in Eastern Kentucky was auctioned off at the end of the event.

Mossy Oak dealer Susan Iglehart of Owensboro thought the unusual outreach effort was a good idea. People attend outdoors-related events for “a lot less than this,” she said.

“Anywhere you can take advantage of spreading the Word, we should do it,” noted Ronald Embry, a member of New Life Baptist Church in Hancock County, who brought his 8-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter to the expo. “There are a lot of Christians out here but there are a lot of non-Christians, too.”

A short gospel message was delivered by Jimmy Sites of Hendersonville, Tenn., a former Church of Christ pastor who now is host of “Spiritual Outdoor Adventures” on The Sportsman’s Channel.

“The best hunter is the best deceiver,” Sites explained, telling a crowd in the pavilion about ways to avoid detection by a deer. “The details of the hunt make all the difference in the world.

“I’m not the world’s best hunter. Far from it,” he added, inviting listeners back to the final presentation of the day. “Let me tell you about the greatest hunter I’ve ever met. … I’ve had a personal experience with Him. Can I say it’s life impacting? He has many trophies.”

The expo cost organizers about $10,000 to put on. About $3,000 came from the Kentucky Baptist Convention and $750 came from Hancock County Tourism. The rest was contributed by local churches or industries.

Plans call for local congregations to follow up with contacts made through the expo, Rodgers noted. He said he also hopes churches will host their own outdoors-themed events, such as wild-game suppers or breakfast on the opening day of hunting season.

He compared the expo to “cowboy churches” serving a particular niche in communities. “I believe Christians and Baptists who are eager to reach people where they are need to offer something that will reach them where they are,” he insisted.

Men and women who enjoy the outdoors invest a lot of money and time in their hobby, Rodgers added. “I say if you really want to enjoy the out-of-doors, get to know the One who made them.”