Nearly 500 men and boys lined the walls of the Friendship Camp gymnasium on Oct. 5 – frequently checking the score of the Georgia-Auburn game while near a fire escape that gave them some signal in the building – as they waited their turn to get a plate of food at the 2024 Season Opener Steak Dinner.

It’s now the second year the churches of the Friendship Baptist Association have invested time and money into the family-friendly event. $20 a ticket bought attendees a steak dinner, entertainment, and raffle access to roughly $7500 worth of prizes.

Andy Peterson of Lion King Ministries shared his harrowing story of escaping from a mountain lion after a thirty-minute fight on a Colorado mountain. But before he found himself locked in the grasp of the apex predator, Peterson was battling with drug addiction and broken family relations.

He shared that it was a lack of peace that motivated him to climb a trail in the Roxborough State Park that ended in a serene panoramic view every weekend. On a fateful day in April 1998, he came face-to-face with the big cat on his way back down the mountain.

In one fateful moment after crying out to God for mercy, Peterson says he saw the face of Jesus and experienced a commanding peace he had never felt before.

He survived the mountain lion but received 70 staples and several dozen stitches to close up the wounds. It would take him another two weeks to fully surrender his life to Jesus and find the missing peace in his life.

17 men surrendered to Christ for the first time after hearing Peterson’s story of being twice-saved and over 100 rededicated their lives.

“This is His story and His testimony,” said Peterson afterward. “I’m just in awe and humbled God is using me to serve.”

Attendees also gave $700 towards hurricane disaster relief.

The Season Opener Steak Dinner is organized by the men’s ministry of the Friendship Baptist Association. Around twenty local churches were involved in this year’s planning, cooking, and serving.