ARNOLD—Jesus challenged Peter to be a fisher of men. Gary Hollern, who is a member of First Baptist Church here and president of Heaven’s Anglers, is using fishing as a ministry to reach men.
Heaven’s Anglers is a group of avid fishermen united in purpose.
“We have two goals,” Hollern said, “One is to reach out into the community with the sport of bass fishing and two is to share Jesus while doing it.”
Hollern explained that these goals are what make the difference in their group.
“It would be difficult to take your kids to most bass fishing groups,” he said. “Our group maintains a Christian environment. We have high ethics and high standards based on our Christian beliefs. We are a nondenominational group which wants to share the love of Jesus.”
Heaven’s Anglers have shared Christ at several events in recent days.
“We take all opportunities to share God’s Word by teaching the Scriptures and passing out Bibles,” Hollern said. “Our most recent event was the Help a Child Charity Tournament held at Mark Twain Lake to benefit the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and Global Compassion Ministries.”
Hollern reported that a donation of $1,700 was given to each of the two organizations.
“We were delighted to award this money,” Hollern said. “The $3,400 that we raised for these charities was 50 percent more than we earned last year which was 50 percent more than the year before. So, we’re growing each year.”
The tournament provided door prizes for the participants with the help of several sponsors: Bass Pro Shop, Jethro Bait, OPC Marine, FBC Arnold-CCW Class and the West County Assembly of God.
“In addition to prizes of fishing gear,” Hollern said, “we gave out many ministry items. Many of those participating in the tournament are not Christian, so these were another way of reaching them.”
Heaven’s Anglers are also active in other events where they have the opportunity to share Jesus. Hollern said the club helps on Veterans Fishing Day at the Busch Wildlife Area.
“We help with this every year,” he said. “They bus in 50-60 wounded soldiers from the St. Louis Jefferson Barracks Hospital. We help them fish because this may be their only opportunity for an outing from the hospital.”
They also help at the Two Rivers Family Fishing Fair at Pere Marquette in Grafton, Ill.
“We always sponsor a casting booth because it gives us another opportunity to share with the community and our families can participate with us,” Hollern said.
More information about Heaven’s Anglers is available on their web site: www.heavensanglers.com. Hollern said the 2013 Charity Tournament is already scheduled.
“We are set up for the next four years at Mark Twain Lake,” he said.