Ideas for a marksmanship program pitch?

[Olympus]

I'm interested in starting a marksmanship program at our church. I attend a very large church in the city and I've found that a lot of people are simply scared to death of a gun. I'm thinking about approaching some of the administrators of the church with a marksmanship program. My program idea isn't fully formed, but it would be something like starting in a classroom setting and discussing things like safety, different mechanics of guns, properly handling, etc. Then after everyone has demonstrated a good knowledge of safety and of how to properly handle a gun, then a trip to a range where we can get in some live firing. You can see I haven't got all the details lined out. But my question is how can I directly tie marksmanship and sport shooting to God? I know that is going to be a large question that I'll be asked if I make the proposal. They're going to ask something like how would a marksmanship program help bring someone closer to God or be a better Christian? I'm not really sure how to answer that one. If I tied in a section on ethical hunting then I could make a case for ethical population control, habitat management, donating food to the needy, and just overall stewardship of the environment. But I wanted this program to be a introduction into shooting for all of those people who are scared of guns to become more comfortable with them and understand they are not something to be scared of if treated the correct way. I want to introduce people to shooting that wouldn't normally be interested and maybe go into hunting and nature at a different time. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OAKVILLE SHOOTER]

Well, I am not sure how to exactly tie it to the Church and God directly. You may want to try talking about Christian fellowship and maybe evangelism. Wear some type of Christian oriented T-shirts to the range, or maybe have T-shirts made up with the name of your church on them. Maybe ________ Church Shooting Team. Chances are, people at the range will see a group of Christians having a good time, doing something that they themselves enjoy. Could be a good opportunity to witness and increase the membership of your church.

Oakville Shooter

 

[gvnwst]

^^^^ 1+

A lot of people see us as dull, religous fanatics, if they see us doing something that is out of their perspective, they might ask why. Great oppertunity there.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Wholesome sport and good-fellowship. And safety, of course.

How many times have you heard of money-ball stars getting arrested? Getting embroiled in scandals? Quite often.

Now, how many times have you heard of shooters getting in trouble? Never! The nearest thing to a scandal is Matt Emmons crossfiring - and the outstanding sportsmanship he displayed in that case is certainly a Christian virtue that should be emulated.

Not to mention that shooting is an Olympic sport.

 

[Olympus]

Great idea about the shirts! I hadn't really thought of that. It would be a great way for people to see Christians as more than just Bible-thumping church-goers. It would be a great way to open up conversations and about witnessing. This is kind of the reason I'm wanting to do a program like this. I'm not comfortable approaching people and just start up talking about God. I remember how awkward that made me feel when people did that to me and put me on the spot like that. But I thought maybe by doing this program, I could do my part for God instead of witnessing.

 

[Jamyatunes]

There's some verses and food for thought here:

http://www.gunowners.org/fs9902.htm

 

[NoirFan]

The association of firearms and American Christianity is, in my mind, extremely unfortunate. Martial skill is not a Christian virtue nor some kind of divine mandate. Should we be free to purchase weapons and train in their use? Yes, as it is an necessity of living in a corrupted world. Should we go out of our way to associate firearms with the teachings of Christ? That's another matter.

Christ understood the importance of being armed when necessary (sell your cloak and buy a sword), and he also understood when armed resistance to evil is inappropriate (Gethsemane). The point is, he gave the matter no more attention than was necessary.

I believe Christianity and interest in firearms can peacefully coexist, but they should not be associated. Maybe try for an informal range trip with your friends at the church, and see where it goes from there.

 

[Just One Shot]

I believe that God expects us to protect those who are are unable to protect themselves and to battle evil when ever and where ever we encounter it. For most of us the battle we wage is against spiritual matters but for some the battle is one of a physical nature. (Soldiers and Police as examples.)

The 6th commandment is translated as "Thou shalt not kill" but I have heard that a better translation is "Thou shalt not murder". This translation makes more sense to me, especially when I consider David when he faced and killed Goliath. God's word tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.

David's victory was a great witness to God. He was not punished in this instance but he was judged and recieved punishment when he ordered Uriah to the front so he would be killed so that David could take Uriah's wife Bathsheba as his own.

History is filled with examples where God uses his people to bring judgment against those that work evil. The old testament is full of good reference material. Imagine what our world would look like if good Christian men and women hadn't stood up against the likes of Hitler.

I recomend you watch the old classic Sgt. York. After recieving salvation he struggles with the thought of taking a human life. I don't remember the exact words but one of his training officers gives him some sound advice that helps him to become one of America's greatest war heros. If some of those you train end up in the military they will have a great advantage over someone who has never fired a weapon.

Even if none of them ever see combat, they can benefit from the experience. To have a good knowledge of firearms and how they work might prevent someone else from getting harmed if they ever encounter a situation where an inexperienced person is handling a firearm.

I would also recomend recording some shows like American Riflemen, Shooting Gallery and so on. From time to time they highlight special events that show women and children enjoying the shooting sport.

I remember recently watching a show that highlighted Smith and Wesson's special event that was only for women. In it there were women from all walks of life and backgrounds enjoying themseves as they learn diff. techniques. These could be a valuable tool to get through to the women in your church.

Besides the self defense aspect you need to get the point across that it's just plain fun!

God Bless and good luck brother.

Let us know how things work out!

 

[Olympus]

I can see how self defense shooting can cause some conflict of interested where though we're all Christians, we may have different views on that particular subject. I was planning on not broaching the self defense subject. I just wanted to introduce the sport of shooting to people who wouldn't ordinarily have any exposure, reduce the myths around guns, teach people who to safely operate firearms, and show them that used correctly can be enjoyed by everyone. I thought I would start the program out like that as an intro and see how the turnout and reaction was. If it was positive then I might try later to branch off into other areas. But I wanted this to be a way to test the waters and an intro course sounded like the best way to do that.

 

[zombienerd]

Am I the only one who thinks they should bring their bibles to the range for a "Clinging" photograph? Send that one to our president elect

Personally, I think you should be straight forward about it. I don't think there are too many ways that you can tie firearms to God/Jesus, mainly because they did not exist in those days. You could find the passages regarding swords, slings, etc, and possibly show the relationship, but it would be hard to do.

IMO, you should just approach it smartly, maybe find an NRA certified instructor, or become one yourself (not sure of the cost, but I hear it's not difficult to do), and offer a "Gun Safety in the Home" course for free to church members? That course also satisfies CCW requirements for several states that have them.

 

[tacweapon]

It has been awhile but when my church was going through the book 40 Days of Purpose my church had a Father and Son shooting competition. The main basis for it was fellowship. I find that when went to the public shooting range it was a great way to meet other people and if you are there with a church group espicialy with something identifying you as a church group it might be a great way to bring others to Christ. If I were you I would stress it is a great fellwship oppurnity while teaching people a safety and a worthwhile skill. I am not sure of the ranges near you but when I go the ranges near me I go through the National Forest and if I go to the Public Range I cross a Mountain and the view is amazing I always stop and look at the view and think of the betiful things God has created, it there is an oppurnity like that when you go to the Range it might be a good place to stop and pray as a group. I hope this has helped you.

 

[Eyesac]

Fellowship and fostering personal responsibility. It's just like a church basketball team, or any other church function. Good luck and tell us how it goes over. Maybe you can start a church trap shooting team or something to start...

 

[Gunship69]

Pslam 144:1 Exodus 15:3 Deut. 31:6

 

[JImbothefiveth]

If you didn't feel comfortable making it a "church shooting team", you could try and start a shooting team and invite people from your church.