Is anybody teaching archery as part of a ministry?

[ballen28115]

Hey all,
I was approached by my church's athletic program director about starting up an archery minstry to complement our "regular" sports programs.  I've done some searching on the web and found a few sites but I wanted to ask if anyone in this community had done this and could give me some pointers?  I've been coaching Cub Scout archery for years, but obviously this is a more in depth effort.  Thank you and God Bless,  Bert

[TexMex]

Bert, sounds great to me, I have no first hand knowledge though.  Good luck and my prayers are with you.

God Bless

[ballen28115]

Thank you for the encouragement.  I was at Cub Scout camp this past weekend teaching some brand new cubbies the basics.  Few things shine brighter than a kid's face when they pop that target for the first time!

[Doc Nock]

I've been keepin my Yap shut, hoping for others to provide more input to your needs.

Since not, let me throw this out there under the flag of FWIW...

We all see spirituality different in some ways.

Over the years, I have moved dead center toward, "not about religion and rules and regulations, but a relationship with our Saviour, Jesus Christ!"

Having said that, what do you need?

It would seem that Archery should teach the core principles of archery, whether compound or stick, and teach respect for the life of the quarry, and how we learn form, consistency, follow through and repeating the right behaviors each time we draw the bow to build a solid set of skills....

It doesn't seem you would need much in the way of formal Christian format to be able to witness to those same tenets in your daily behavior as a Christian, and draw some parallels to the Word, and our call to "take captive our thoughts" and walk the narrow path to avoid temptation.

Archery and Christianity are both about discipline and practicing the right things ...right.

If indeed, Christianity is about "relationship" than teaching young people archery, while showing them Christian love, acceptance and relating the precepts of good archery to those same things in living a Christian life, seems pretty powerful right there.

Don't let formality block your giving heart. Let Christ shine through your love of archery and love of the youth!

FWIW...  

[ballen28115]

Doc,
Thank you for the input.  I appreciate it all.  So far I think I've been working on the "focus" angle -focus on Christ as Savior, focus on shooting form, focus on the target in life and in archery.  Regards,
Bert

[Arwin]

I am blessed to teach kids 2-3 times a year through Michigan Bow Hunters. Love it!
 1. Patience is a biggie,LOL!
 2. Some kids are not aware of what a bow and arrow can do, and will wave it around if not kept a close eye on. Only have two at a time up to shoot or 4 if you have a helper.
 3. I find that the basic fiberglass dual shelf bows are great for general use. They will fit most kids, are indestructable, cheap, and good for right and left handers. Dress em' up with some string silencers or a camo paint job.
 4. You can never have enough arrows! Ask your buddies to donate old ones in decent shape. I had to teach at a GirlScout camp this past summer and their archery gear consisted of a couple bows and arrows with 1/2 the fletching gone or no tips. Proper flying arrows are more important than the bow they are using IMO.
 5. Get a hold of some arm guards and gloves or tabs. Nothing turns a kid away more than a slap to the forearm or blistered fingers.
 6. HAVE FUN!!! Most kids don't care about hitting the mark, they just want to see an arrow fly. I found that to be a good lesson for myself as well.
Here is a link to something that may help. They kinda push the Genesis wheelie bow, but may help you with targets,arrows and stuff.

     http://archeryintheschools.org/activea.asp

[monkeyball]

Hi Bert,
        You have probably already checked it out but the CBA (Christian Bowhunters of America}is an organization that may be able to help you out.They have some great literature out in easy to read format that the kids would be finished with before they know it.A great bunch of guys.
                                   Craig

[ballen28115]

Guys,
Thanks again for the feedback.  I'm open to all suggestions - please keep them coming!

Bert

[Hogtamer]

look at our website    www.applingarchers.com

[five-oh]

I saw a guy one time, Byron Tabor was his name.  He was from out East I believe.  He put on a trick shot demonstration, then had a message.  It's been years since I seen him, but he was good.

[Scott S.]

Centershot Ministries  http://www.centershotministries.org/

From what I understand, it is an offshoot of the NASP program in public schools and started by the son of the NASP founder.  

We have a local Youth for Christ chapter that uses the NASP program (yeah, Genesis bows) in public schools but uses their own variation of the Centershot program in their own private after school programs where they are not restricted to what they can speak about.