When members of Parkway Baptist Church speak of lost hunters, they aren’t talking about sportsmen who can’t find their way out of the woods.

The church’s Men’s Wild Game Banquet, a free dinner on Feb. 2, is an opportunity to share food, fellowship and hunting tales with sportsmen who may not be Christians, according to Parkway Youth Minister Jim Reid.

&uot;I’ve always said the best way to introduce people to Christ is to introduce them to Christians,&uot; he said. &uot;This to let hunters know about the Creator of all that beautiful nature they enjoy.&uot;

Parkway has hosted similar dinners in years past, but organizers are adding two new guests this time around.

David Fortenberry, the president of the Outdoor Evangelism Association, will talk about deer calling and tree-stand safety, and Gene Hoyt, a national champion deer caller, will give a presentation on his trade.

The church will also give sporting good door prizes donated by area businesses, including caps, turkey calls, a nine-foot Strong Built deer stand and a hand-made Indian knife crafted by church member John Tuttle.

But the main attraction this year is the same as it has always been – the food.

Several men in the church will prepare a buffet of wild game dishes and barbeque ribs.

&uot;I always tell them to fill their plates with game and then put the ribs on top to hold everything else down,&uot; Reid said.

And don’t worry about the church running short of food, Reid said. &uot;Running out of food is an unpardonable sin.&uot;

Although the event usually attracts around 100 people, banquet chairman Terry Wagner hopes to double that figure Friday.

&uot;It’s an outreach,&uot; he said. &uot;We’d like to see more people. Instead of just people from out church, we’d like people from other churches or maybe people who don’t go to church at all.&uot;

The dinner starts at 6 p.m. For more information, call Reid at 442-7434 or Wagner at 442-0136.