Fellowship Bible Church in Shenandoah Junction once again welcomes all who would like to join in their annual ‘Wild Beast Feast’ event. The family friendly outreach is open to all and will be held at the Ranson Civic Center on Saturday, Jan. 30. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with dinner served at 5:30.

The evening is free to the public and features potluck dinner as well as wild game dishes.

Pastor Van Marsceau shared, “We just want people to come in and enjoy a great evening focused on the outdoors, hunting and fishing. We’re planning a great feast including wild game.”

Each person attending the event will receive one ticket for the door prize drawings. Youth will receive tickets for age-appropriate prizes. The kids prize table will be for ages 13 and under, and will include many kid friendly outdoor prizes.

Adults will be entered for a multitude of prizes including five guns.

The guns, which have all been purchased and donated to the church for the event, include a Marlin XL7 Bolt-Action Rifle in .270; a Ruger American Bolt-Action Rifle in 30-06; a Remington 870 12 Gauge (turkey shotgun with camo skeletonized stock); a Ruger 10/22 and a Marlin XT-17 VSL .17 HMR with scope.

Although the guns will be on display at the event, any guest who wins a gun must pick it up at Valley Guns 2 in Inwood, where they must complete the proper background check process.

In addition, over $1,000 worth of other hunting and fishing related door prizes, including guided smallmouth bass fishing trip, carbon arrow shafts, backpacks, bowhunting equipment, fishing rods, and other camping and hunting gear will be given away. The grand prize for the children’s drawing will be two Trek 820 Mountain bikes, one for a boy and one for a girl.

In addition to the feast and the prizes, Gold Heart, a bluegrass band, is scheduled to perform. Also as the main focus of the evening, Mark and Dan Witt will speak and share their testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. The Witt brothers ministry is called ‘Following Our Father’ and more information about them is available at their website, followingourfather.com.

Marsceau, who loves this event, said, “There’s something special about a room filled with people who love the outdoors, the shooting sports and hunting and fishing. These are salt-of-the-earth people–patriotic Americans.”

“It’s a lot of fun, too,” he added.

The event, known as a celebration of the outdoors, is more importantly a way for Fellowship Bible Church to reach out to members of the community and share the gospel.

“The bottom line on this event,” stressed Marsceau, “and the reason Fellowship Bible Church hosts this event each year, is to provide a non-threatening opportunity for people to bring their friends to hear the message of the Gospel in Jesus Christ. A lot of people who, for any number of reasons, won’t darken the door of a church will attend this event. We’ve have found too, that when people come in and get to know some of our folks, and see what FBC is like, they are much more willing to give church a try after that.”

The Beast Feast has been a part of the Fellowship Bible Church calendar for several years, one that has continued to grow. With the addition of the gun and prize give-a-ways added two years ago, the number of those wishing to attend made it necessary to move the location from the church building to the Civic Center.

“We really appreciate the way the Ranson Civic Center works with us on this event,” Marsceau commented. “This facility is about the only one that is big enough for us in our community, and we are really thankful to be there again this year.”

The event is expected to draw up to 1,200 guests this year, likely surpassing last year’s record crowd of over 900. While many come for the free meal and a chance to take home a prize, they leave with so much more.

“You know, if somebody attends this event, and thinks it’s all about guns and hunting, they’ve missed the whole point,” Marsceau said.

“It’s all about lifting up the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who maybe just don’t attend church anymore, or who never have. People need Christ! That’s the bottom line! Yes, we love hunting and fishing, but most of all, we love Christ,” he said.

Any questions about the event may be directed to the FBC church office at 304-728-3700 or to event organizer Tim Helman at 304-268-0034.