The annual Blessing of the Hunt hosted by Goss Baptist Church at the Columbia Expo Center Nov. 10 is once again expected to draw around 3,000 people while blessing people prior to hunting season.
The primary goal of Blessing of the Hunt has always been to glorify God and glorify Jesus Christ, according to Bro. Brian Malone of Goss Baptist Church.
“Seeing people coming to know the Lord is the greatest thing a person can experience in their life, to find forgiveness and find grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “There are a lot of hunters out there that we pray over, and we ask for God’s mercy and grace on them and safety for the hunting season.
“But the most important part is that they find the Lord Jesus, so we pray for those hunters and pray for anybody and everybody that comes. Not everybody has to be a hunter; everybody is welcome to come. But we pray for God’s blessing and for God to do something great in their lives. We do this every year because we serve a God who is this amazing God who loves us, cares for us and looks and longs for people to come to Christ.”
When the event first began, it only drew 150 people. It peaked to roughly 5,000 when Alan Robertson from Duck Dynasty spoke.
This year’s guest speaker will be Mitchell Johnson, who is a national and world champion turkey caller and owns Dead End Game Calls.
“He’s a national speaker who shares his faith with people,” Malone said.
Malone estimated that there will be more than 40 vendors for those in attendance to shop with prior to the event starting.
In years past, the grand prize was an ATV, but this year it will be $2,000 cash that is sure to excite everyone. There will also be other prizes, including a dove hunt in Argentina and a bow hunt, each of which are valued at more than $5,000.
The doors will open at 5 p.m., and the actual event, which is free, begins at 7 p.m. For more information, call (601) 736-9563.
