- Outdoor Expo seeks to
draw families closer to nature
Saturday, April 21, 2007
By Terri Jo Ryan
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Many Waco men who share a passion for outdoor pursuits and find salvation in
the wilderness are coming together April 28 in an event intended to draw
more families into the fellowship of fishing, hunting and hiking.
The Columbus Avenue Baptist Church men’s ministry and Legacy Outfitters will
co-host the Cen-Tex Outdoor Expo from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 at The
Center, the church’s family recreation facility at 1115 Columbus Ave.
The Cen-Tex Outdoor Expo will feature booths, exhibits, demonstrations and
clinics on outdoor activities, including several styles of hunting, fishing,
boating, archery, shooting, mountain climbing and even wildlife calling.
Cleveland Witt, one of the organizers, said the event is a massive
undertaking with hundreds of volunteers ready to help Central Texas families
discover nature’s bounty.
The streets surrounding the church, at 1300 Columbus Ave., will be closed
from 11th through 14th streets to accommodate the many exhibitors.
Legacy Outfitters is a national Christian outdoorsmen’s fellowship formed
five years ago in Waco by Jeff Fritscher to develop “men for Jesus, helping
them become better husbands, better fathers, and ultimately, the men God
intended them to be.”
The 200-plus members of the Waco chapter will take part in the Cen-Tex
Outdoor Expo as part of its Christian outreach to the greater community,
Fritscher said.
A special attraction, Witt said, will be Christian dog handler Hank Hough,
who tours the country with his “Kingdom Dogs” to teach moral lessons about
obedience to the Master’s call and fidelity to that mission.
Hough, a resident of Spring, started Kingdom Dog Ministries several years
ago after pondering how to use his gifts to glorify God.
- “So God sent me a dog,”
said Hough in a telephone interview this week from his home. Kingdom Dog
Ministries began with a chocolate Labrador retriever he named Isaiah 40:31
(known as Monk, for short, because of his brown coat). All his dogs are
named for favorite Bible verses, he said.
- Although Monk has since
died, Hough’s continued the ministry with champion labs Isaiah 6:8 (aka
SendMe) and Joshua 24:15 (aka Prophet). The dogs help him illustrate
biblical precepts, and their talents have taken them to a variety of
audiences, including church youth groups, high schools, football teams and
even job fairs.
- He and Prophet will also
perform at the April 29 services at Columbus Avenue Baptist, said expo
chairman David Alford, a local attorney.
The scope of the Outdoor Expo has expanded during the months of planning,
Alford said. Some 150 deacons of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church will be on
hand for crowd control and several hundred other men who are members will
help run the event.
- Six years ago, Columbus
Avenue conducted a small version of an outdoor expo for just its own church
family, Witt said. But this is the most ambitious plan to date. Plans call
for next year’s event to move to the Heart O’ Texas Coliseum, he added.
- The Cen-Tex Outdoor Expo
will be a commercial-free gathering as well, Witt said, with no sales taking
place, nor even orders taken for future purchases. The focus is on family
togetherness, not shopping, he said.
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