When the youthful archers of Cudd Memorial Baptist Church in Spartanburg line up and take aim, the real target is more important than the paper bull’s-eye in their sights.
A young bowman lets his arrow fly during a recent competition at “Centershot,” an archery outreach program at Cudd Memorial Baptist Church.The ministry, called “Centershot: Making Christ the Target of Our Lives,” teaches legitimate archery skills, but the overriding purpose is to tell children about Jesus Christ, according to the program’s volunteer coordinator, 37-year-old church member D.J. Neubauer.
The Cudd Memorial ministry is patterned after an interdenominational program geared to teach students of all ages the lifelong skill of archery while sharing the gospel. Neubauer, a safety specialist with Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, said the response from the church “has been great.”
“It is a good ministry because it reaches a broad spectrum of people, from 3rd through 12th grade, and even adults,” he said. “It allows parents and grandparents to participate alongside their children and grandchildren.”
Neubauer said archery is an activity that has the power to attract the interest of kids who might not be interested in participating in team sports but might be drawn to individual sports.
Centershot offers Olympic-style archery training and is modeled after the National Archery in Schools Program. At Cudd Memorial, 12 adults earned Basic Archery Instructor certification in order to work with the program.
The program is offered to boys and girls, men and women.
“Centershot is different,” Neubauer said, “and it is great for young people and those who are young at heart.”
Neubauer said he would be happy to talk with other churches about the program at Cudd Memorial. He can be reached at (864) 529-8377 or djemtusa@yahoo.com.