Just as Jesus told Peter and Simon in the Gospel of Matthew, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," an Orangeburg pastor felt led by God to begin a ministry to make sportsman "hunters of men."

"I was asked to come and pray for the Grand American Coon Hunt, and I didn't know what it was," said Pastor Anthony Hughes. "There's more dog boxes and pick-up trucks than you'll see in your life."

As the minister for New Hope Baptist Church, Hughes admits he didn't expect the coon hunt to be the best atmosphere for a man of God, but says now he was "so impressed with the people there."

While he expected to hear a lot of foul language and some indecency, he found a family atmosphere instead. It was then that God began laying upon Hughes' heart a burden for the thousands of attendees of the weekend of hunting activities.

Each year he went back, Hughes felt that stirring until about his third or fourth year of attending the national event -- when an answer came to him.

"I drove by, and I remember it was a red S-10 truck," Hughes said, "and there was a man sitting in the truck trying to eat. And that's when God said to me, 'What if you feed these guys a meal? And give them some place to sit down? And we can share with them the Gospel.'"

Hughes then asked his congregation to pray about the idea and "they got real excited about it then."

After passing muster with the church membership, the idea went before the Grand American board, who gave permission for a one-time event.

"We started pretty small that first year," Hughes said.

Small or not, the results were very positive for a first-time outing. About 150 hunt attendees were fed and more than 10 souls made faith-based decisions.

"From there it grew, and now we're seeing somewhere between 300 and 400 and more than 60 have been saved," Hughes said.

The program consists of a hot meal during the typically cold January weather. There's a beef and vegetable stew accompanied by cornbread, chicken bog, sandwiches, desserts and soft drinks or coffee.

Church volunteers man the impromptu kitchens set up at the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds, the site of the hunt. But most of the meals are prepared by the lesser mobile individuals of the church.

During the meal, a praise band performs as do individual vocalists. A brief faith-related message is then presented.

In addition, about $5,000 worth of door prizes donated by local and out-of-state businesses are given away. Some of those prizes last year included a .22 caliber rifle, tickets to local restaurants, a Cabela's gift certificate, hunting equipment and thousands of pounds of dog food.

There is no admission for the meal and the public is invited, Hughes said.

On the Friday of the weekend hunt, New Hope invites the nearly 50 sponsors to a dinner at the church in order to show their thanks for the support.

More than simply a meal for the body, the church then administers to the soul. Anyone making a faith-based decision during one of the meals is asked if they wish to have someone contact them.

From there, churches near the hometown of the individual seeking God are then contacted by the International Missions Board, the Southern Baptist Church's international outreach ministry.

So far, the IMB has dispatched ministers and church members to individuals in 16 different states as a result of the Orangeburg effort.

"There is only one reason, the only reason we do it is to share the Gospel with people," Hughes said. "Jesus said go and make disciples of all people. We are commanded by Jesus to go into all the world. Our sole desire is to fulfill that command."

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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