| The Start “On The Deck BBQ & Catering” evolved from a college ministry of the same name. The ministry started in 2004 as a summer ministry series to provide Christian fellowship and spiritual growth for college-aged young adults by four friends: Mike Judge, Lisa Epperson, Adam Hunt, and Adam Meyer. Early that first summer, some teens returned from their first year of college and asked their former youth ministers (Lisa & Meyer) to help them build a Christian community for college students, as they had found many of their campuses lacking the strong faith community they had while in their parish teen programs. The Name After kicking around a few different formats and ideas, we settled on one that seemed to work: inviting all of the college kids over to the house for family style meals, speakers, and some powerful prayer and praise. The motto evolved naturally: We Eat. We Talk. We Pray. The ‘On The Deck’ name came about because we’re horribly unimaginative: We were gathering and eating dinner outside “On The Deck” at Mike Judge & Adam Hunt’s house. The name stuck and grew on us - after all, what’s better than having friends over for a barbeque out on the deck? After a while, the deck and living room could no longer hold the number of college students coming over each week so we tried a few different locations and now call the Georgia Tech Catholic Center our new home. Ironically, they don’t have a deck but ‘On the Concrete Patio’ just doesn’t have the same ring so we’re sticking with OTD! The Business As the ministry grew, we found ourselves being asked to cook for other events, big and small – from small private parties and wedding rehearsals to 2500 people youth conferences. We partnered with an existing catering company and the whole experience evolved into opening our own catering kitchen in Marietta. Our love of great BBQ has grown over time and we feature the foods we love – pulled pork, chopped chicken, and some delicious sides! Although technically two separate entities, we kept the same name for the business because the ministry gave it life. Our hope is for the business to provide financial and logistic support to the ministry well into the future. The business lives due to our passion for service – both to Christ and His Church as well as to those seeking a casual but mouth-watering good meal to share with friends and family and we thank you for supporting ‘On The Deck’ the college ministry and the catering business. God Bless, Adam Hunt Mike Judge |