LaFAYETTE — A tradition for the last nine years has been the Chambers County Outdoor and Wild Game Expo put on by LaFayette Heights Baptist Church. Bringing out vendors, exhibitors, an evangelist speaker and around 900 members of the community, the Expo has celebrated the outdoors and those who enjoy it.

Carrying on that tradition for the tenth year, the 2018 expo will be held Saturday, Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT.

Harold Harmon, a deacon at LaFayette Heights, said that the event was started in 2008 as a way for church members to spread the Gospel in an exciting way.

“The Outdoor expo was started as an evangelism tool,” he said. “When we started we wanted to reach hunters and fishermen and those with an outdoor interest. If you hunt, fish or spend time in the outdoors, you realize that God created. You see God’s creation and several of us had the desire to see that kind of ministry in our area.”

Harmon and other clergymen brought out a few vendors and a speaker to the first event held in the church’s parking lot, seeing around 200 to 300 people coming through. In recent years as the event has grown and moved to a bigger nearby field, he said, they now get close to 900.

Every year features a guest speaker who presents a lesson during the last hour of the event. This year, popular Evangelist and former Alabama governor candidate Scott Dawson will take the main stage to share the word.

“Scott Dawson has a ministry that ministers to youth and college age students,” Harmon said. “Over the years our kids have been to many of those retreats so it was a natural fit to ask him to come.”

The 20-or-so vendors and exhibitors will be showing and selling everything from fishing rods to ATVs. Door prizes will be given out throughout the day and church members will provide free food from baked goods to wild game.

Chambers County Game Warden John Davidson will go over hunting regulations and rule changes for this season so that all those who attend will be informed on God and game.

“We want the whole family to come, so we try to have something for everyone,” Harmon said. “It’s a good time for someone who has friends that may need to know the Lord. It’s a time where they can bring them to enjoy the day with them and listen to a speaker with an evangelistic message. We don’t try to pressure anybody into anything, we just let them know that we love them.”