March Newsletter

Mentorship Dinner

By Kevin Bonnar

We gathered at Olivet Church in La Crosse, WI last month to celebrate our mentorship program and also to recruit new mentors and mentees. We started out the night with Ray sharing the heart of Kicking Bear mentoring and the history of how God has changed lives for the past 25 years by matching up interested kiddos with a Godly man or woman willing to take these kids on amazing outdoor adventures. Then we shared this video with KB moms sharing the impact that mentoring has had in their family’s lives: Kicking Bear Moms. Was really cool to hear of the impact! Next, we walked through our highlights of last year including our turkey, bear, squirrel and deer hunts, along with kayaking, fishing, and many more outdoor memories made by mentors and mentees. To close out the night we honored our current mentors and were very thankful to be able to give them a gift of thanks for all they do to move the mission of Kicking Bear forward and to help kids chase dreams and know that God has a purpose for their life and that purpose is for good!

If you are interested in our mentoring program please reach out to Pastor Kevin-kevin.bonnar@kickingbear.org. Also, we have created a new monthly mentor doc that we are sharing with our team, it is uploaded to the website each month and maybe you will find it useful too, check it out here: Making Tracks.

We would like to thank Silver Stag Knives and Advertising Concepts for helping us create gifts of thanks and appreciation for our mentors!

Community Impact

Last month 400+ men attended a wild game dinner in Bark River, Michigan. Ray was blessed to be their keynote speaker. Dean Hulce from God’s Great Outdoors and the leaders from Bark River Bible Church host this annual event, where they invite unchurched men in for an evening of entertainment, amazing spread of wild game dishes, hunting gifts and an invitation to accept God’s free gift of eternal life.  It was incredible! Ray’s favorite dish was the bighorn sheep meatloaf!

We witnessed God move in an incredible way with this event. God is amazing!

We were also blessed with an opportunity to serve our friends at the Mathy Boys and Girls Club in La Crosse for their February Family Night. We set up our archery stations and some arts and crafts for families. It was so much fun and really exciting that for many of the kiddos that night it was their first time shooting archery, we love that! Thankful for our partnership with such a great organization and thankful for the opportunity to share the Gospel through our service and smiles! Check out more pics from the night here! Banquet Season 2025! Big thank you to our Kansas Kicking Bear crew for their very successful Wild Game Tasting in February! Thank you to First Christian Church of Medicine Lodge, KS for hosting, all the amazing volunteers and sponsors and the community of great folks in Kansas that do so much to carry forth the mission of Kicking Bear with such big hearts and smiles! The body of believers in Medicine Lodge and the way they support and work with one another is a beautiful way to see the churches work together to have a positive impact on their community. Thank you for showing the way and God Bless!