Scott Barkley/Index

Will Arrant, 24, sights up his gun Dec. 19 near Caryonah Hunting Lodge in Crossville, TN. Outings for those such as Arrant, who lives with spina bifida, have become for X-treme Christian Outdoors, a ministry based out of Harmony Grove Baptist Church in Blairsville.

BLAIRSVILLE — Harmony Grove Baptist Church, Blairsville Associate Pastor Jeff Deaver has had a love affair with the woods since he was six years old. It started with hunting squirrel and rabbits before moving up to deer, turkey and larger game as he grew up.

A love for the outdoors became as much a part of him as the north Georgia air. In it he could see a loving Creator as clearly as the mountain foliage enjoyed every fall by Atlanta leaf-lookers.

About nine years ago he approached Pastor Stacy Dyer with an idea for sharing that same evidence with others. Since that time they’ve averaged, by Dyer’s account, around one excursion a week through X-treme Christian Outdoors, the resultant ministry led by Deaver but anchored at Harmony Grove.

More ...