Dr. Tom C. Rakow
Founder & Executive President
Christian Deer Hunters Association ®

Phone: 320-327-2266   
tom@rockdove.com  

Tom's Buck Tom's Buck

Buck on left - Wisconsin public land - 2006. Buck on right - long bow - Minnesota public land - 2005.

As a full-time pastor Dr. Rakow is available for a limited number of speaking engagements.   

Cost: Travel expenses, lodging (if necessary), and an honorarium from the church or sponsoring group(s).  Arrangements can be made for sponsoring group(s) to sell books at a reduced rate for fundraising purposes.     

SOME PAST OR UPCOMING GAME FEED/SEMINAR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
January 8, 2006 Greenville, Illinois First Christian Church
January 12, 2006 Fargo, North Dakota Bethel Evangelical Free Church  
January 28, 2006 Grantsburg, Wisconsin (Community Event)
February 4, 2006 Lodi, Ohio Victory Baptist Church
April 8, 2006 Dassel, Minnesota  Evangelical Covenant Church
June 16-20, 2006  Nester Falls, Ontario Canada God’s Great Outdoors Media, Inc.
September 15-16, 2006 Michigan - Wesleyan Church Father and Son Retreat 
September 22-23, 2006 Iowa - Hunt for Handicapped Youth
November  2, 2006 Gaylord, MI  Gaylord Evangelical Free Church
November 16, 2006 Wisconsin Rapids, WI  First English Lutheran Church
November 25, 2006 Ithaca, WI  Willow Valley UMC Father & Child Event
January 5-6, 2007 North Carolina Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBC) 
February 2&3, 2007 Pottstown, Pennsylvania  Berean Bible Church
March 1, 2007  Cedar Falls, Iowa Prairie Lakes Church 
March 23, 2007 Dodge Center, Minnesota Praise Fellowship Church
April 28-29, 2007 Iowa - Special Youth Challenge Turkey Hunt
June 20-22, 2007  Ontario, Canada Rushing Wind Retreat Center
September 7, 2007  Macungie, PA  Salem Bible Church
September 29, 2007  Mason City, Iowa (Trail to Adventure Seminar) 
October 6, 2007  Bemidji, MN  (Trail to Adventure Seminar) Oak Hills Bible College
October  26, 2007  Mount Horeb, WI  New Hope Evangelical Free Church
November 15, 2007 Wisconsin Rapids, WI  First English Lutheran Church
December 1, 2007  Winthrop, MN  Winthrop Evangelical Covenant Church  
January 4-5, 2008 North Carolina Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBC) 
February 9, 2008  Roanoke, VA  East Gate Nazarene Church
February 23 & 24, 2008  Chambersburg, PA  Air Hill Brethren in Christ Church
March 1, 2008  Highway 13 Sportsmen's Wild Game Banquet; Ogama, WI
  First Baptist Church of Phillips, Ogama Baptist Church, and Woodland Community Church
March 8, 2008 Big Lake, MN (Multiple Church Event - Riverside Church, Bridgeview Church, and Oakwood Church)
August 22-23, 2008 Fort Worth, TX  Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
    God's Great Outdoors Trail to Adventure Conference
September 5, 2008 Oley, PA  New Life Bible Fellowship Church

More than three decades ago (at the ripe-old-age of eleven) Tom C. Rakow poached his first deer with a twenty-two caliber rifle.  Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of some very bad hunting habits.   Then in 1977, Tom came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior while watching a Billy Graham Crusade on television (Testimony appeared in Decision Magazine, June 1995) .  Not surprisingly, one of the first things that happened was that Tom’s hunting attitudes and activities began to be transformed.  Although Rakow would be the first to admit that God still has a whole lot of work left to do in his life, he’s convinced that a return to biblical principles (which predate aluminum arrows, game wardens, black powder, and the Second Amendment) will serve as a helpful bridge between divergent views held by hunters and non-hunters alike.

Dr. Rakow has written for major publications and also authored “Copy Me!” Bible Quizzes, Hunting & the Bible: A Scripture Safari , Raccoon Hunting Basics , Raccoon Hunting Questions (audio), Devotions for Dog Lovers , SELF-INFLICTED HUNTING ARGUMENTS: Biblical Responses to a Loaded Issue, Devotions for Hunters & Anglers, and Raccoon Hunting Basics and Beyond.  He is a featured speaker on The Trail To Adventure DVD teaching series, and is included in True Stories of Pro Outdoorsmen both produced by God’s Great Outdoors www.ggoutdoors.org.   In addition, Tom is in demand as a speaker for wild game banquets and also hosts a weekly radio broadcast called “First Light.”  In 1994, he founded the Christian Deer Hunters Association ( www.christiandeerhunters.org ), a national, non-profit, interdenominational, volunteer ministry to deer hunters.  More recently he founded the Christian Anglers Association (www.christiananglers.net ). He is Co-owner of Rock Dove Publications (www.rockdove.com).  His conversion experience aired in January, 2006 on the Unshackled Radio Program (The longest-running radio drama in history) and can be listened to online at www.unshackled.org Program #A2875. 

Dr. Rakow has studied the Bible in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and regularly researches hunting-related issues as they pertain to a biblical world view approach.  He holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Moody Bible Institute (IL), Asbury Theological Seminary (KY), and Bethel Theological Seminary (MN).  Rakow has been listed in the Dictionary of International Biography - 23rd Edition , and Who’s Who in Religion .  Tom and his wife, Beth, and their four daughters reside in Minnesota where he has served as full-time pastor of Grace Bible Church ( http://silverlakechurch.org )  since 1989.