More than 700 hungry men attended the annual Men's Wild Game Feast Friday night at Cape First Church in Cape Girardeau.
The feast is one of Cape First's largest outreach events. It's free and open to males of all ages.
According to Cape First pastor Allen Basham, the church has put on the Men's Wild Game Feast since about 2003 and there is always a variety of ages that attend. Basham oversees Men's Impact Ministry at the Cape First location.
"We are always trying to find things that men are interested in," Basham said. "We're constantly thinking of new ways to reach guys. We do care about who they are, and we want them to understand you can be a man and be Christian. You don't have to lose your masculinity to be a Christian."
Food for the event is hunted and donated by church members. This year's menu included hot dogs and nachos as appetizers. Fish, chicken, shredded elk, elk steak, fallow dear, Jambalaya and sausage, desserts and drinks were also available buffet-style.
"The food is always amazing," Southeast alumnus Chad Barks said. "There's like five or six different species of meat, and that is probably the most perfect meal for a man -- ever. The more species of meat, the better."
In addition to the food, free seminars on field processing game, gun laws and self-defense were also available.
"I like how they have expanded with showing all the different classes," Barks, who has attended the feast for five years, said. "I think this is only the second year they have offered the self-defense class. Self-defense was very violent..."
This event has never been cancelled due to inclement weather in the past. Blake Tiemann, pastor at Cape First's House of Hope location in South Cape Girardeau, said one year the ice was removed from the parking lot just in time for the event.
"I was frozen solid. Even my fire pit was froze," said Mark Graham, a pastor at Cape First, who helped prepare the food at last year's event.
According to Barks, there have always been a variety of different speakers at each feast.
Hank Hough, executive director of Kingdom Dog Ministries, was this year's speaker. He and his dogs are from Spring, Texas. They travel around the world spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hough uses his Labrador Retrievers to demonstrate the importance of obedience by implementing biblical concepts.
During Hough's presentation, he stressed the importance of listening to the ones in your life who love you, as dogs must listen to their master in order to stay safe.
"The next time someone tells you 'No,' maybe, just maybe, they love you," Hough said. "Just maybe they really care. Just maybe they know something you don't."
Giveaways this year included a deer stand, hats and Buffalo Wild Wings gift certificates.
