We are just 6-8 weeks away from receiving the Centershot package which, thanks to LOR Foundation's grant, will be enough for a class of 15 or more students to do a once-per-week 8 week instructional course and competition events. We are extremely excited. How about you? Let the countdown begin!

Wow! We cannot express our gratitude enough for all of the prayers. LOR Foundation has fully funded the start-up including the 2024/25 school year expenses! All further funding will go directly towards the memberships of the 2025/26 school year kids. Praise God for His provision and guidance and thank you all for the prayers.

As one pastor pointed out, and we well know, coming up with the cash to equip Centershot Montezuma County will more likely not come out of Montezuma county. Why? A 15% poverty rate. Simple. But, we have to start "somewhere."

Still, I am not one to arbitrarily use funds for Centershot without being completely transparent about it and asking for your opinion.

For your consideration: Do we continue waiting for grants and other funding from outside the county to get this started or do we purchase a single Genesis right-hand bow and another left-hand bow and at least get the ministry portion itself started, demonstrating archery and teaching the Gospel through the parts of the Life Bow?

For reference, this is only two bows with quivers and five arrows plus Centershot membership dues and does not include any repair kits, targets, backstops, overhead, none of that and will still take up most of Whitetail's grant of $750.

This is in comparison to $2600 for the small Centershot kit which would include membership, the repair kits, targets, backstop, everything but the overhead and would also include six bows, an equivalent of around $1500 for the bows and arrows alone. This is also in comparison to the $3900 for the large Centershot kit with ten bows or $2500 equivalent to bows and arrows alone, plus 2 more Genesis-mini bows for those 3rd grade and younger to be able to participate.

I know this is a big decision, which is why I am asking you for help in deciding. Please pray about it and then email me at monte@longhaulchristian.com and let me know what you think.

As usual, keep praying, prayerfully considering donations, and keep passing on news of this new organization through social media so we can keep working towards the goal of being fully funded.

And thank you.

We cannot thank Whitetails Unlimited enough for granting us $750 to get this all moving forward. That took a huge chunk out of the needed funding. Still, we cannot sit on this. It is time to get this moving. Please, keep passing this along, keep praying over it, and keep considering a donation today, tomorrow, and the next days until this is fully funded.

Thank you and God bless.

I just finished the last of the training and there are a few things to mention from it that you might be interested to note:

• The Centershot archery and Lifebow curriculums are meant to be done in 8 week periods. Beyond that, there are other curriculums that could be done depending on the circumstance.
• The $50 membership fee is considered the amount for the curriculum, not the full year. That being said, that amounts to just over $7 per lesson, which isn't bad. It is our hope that most members will be able to afford this and those that can't will be able to participate in fundraisers for scholarships to pay their way.
• One particular fundraising activity through Centershot sells assorted camping/hunting lighting supplies with prizes for those who are able to sell many, including the Lifebow.
• We will be starting off with youth archery but could quickly move up to family archery. As such, families should know that we also cap the membership fee at $100. That means it does not matter if you have 2 kids or 10 kids or if the parents or even grandparents want to join in. That family line's total membership fee will be $100. That does not include uncles and aunts and cousins, however.
• That is to say that we would like to be able to offer this from everyone from 7 to 97, more or less.
• Each lesson would be two hours of a rotation of archery, Bible study, and service or other activity. This does not include the volunteers who would spend and extra half-hour before and after for set up, take down, archery, and study/counseling of their own.
• As a volunteer, you are one of the disciples making disciples: Each leader is required to have at least one co-leader. Each co-leader is in training to be a leader. That includes me. I need to be replaceable so that should anything happen to me, someone else can take over. Every volunteer position, therefore, is always made up of disciples making disciples. No one volunteer is an island. This is a fellowship in every sense of the word.

Questions or comments? You know where to find me. monte@longhaulchristian.com.

Praying the good fight in Christ,

Monte Y. Pescador

Founder, Dirt 'N' Nails Farms

dba Longhaul Christian, Cortez, Colorado

We have heard back from one of the grants that we have been disqualified as follows:

Dear MrMonte Pescador,

Thank you for submitting a request to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's. We are writing to inform you the request you submitted on Jul 29, 2024 has been declined. We receive a large number of requests for support and unfortunately, we not able to support initiatives more than 100 miles from a retail location. We appreciate you considering us as a partner and wish you success with your endeavor.

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's are proud to partner with local and national organizations in support of our mission to inspire people to enjoy, love and conserve the great outdoors. In the past five years alone, we have donated more than $100 million to conservation, community and outdoor education programs.

Sincerely,

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Conservation and Community Team

Keep praying. Keep passing this around on social media. And keep prayerfully considering a donation. Thank you.

Thanks to Centershot, we are working on three of four grants they have suggested we go for which includes an NRA grant promoting hunting and safety. Is this a political statement? Of course not, but it is a statement about the state of attempting to achieve crowdfunding in for a project in a county with a 15% poverty rate and under 26,000 population. It isn't going to happen without outside help.

So, when should we expect responses from these grants?

According to two of the three grants, we can expect the response to take three to six months. According to the third, six to nine months.

That means that if we fully intend to open Centershot Montezuma County to students in the 2024/25 school year, it is still up to crowdfunding, not grants, to get it done.

It is as simple as that.

Are you ready to help?

Step 1) Pray

Step 2) Share the campaign with all of your friends, family, and just-online-friends over social media.

Step 3) Prayerfully consider a donation.

Thank you.

Howdy, y'all, and thanks for sticking with this. There are a few things we have learned since Monte got certified as a BAI (Basic Archery Instructor) through NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) as required by Centershot. Some of them we should pass on to you as you decide whether or not to participate as a volunteer or to donate.

• Trainers must be certified. In Colorado, unfortunately, the training comes up at most once every two years depending on the location in Colorado you want to train in. For us here in the SouthWest, that means the combined SouthWest/NorthWest training typically held in Delta, Colorado. And, yes, there is a cost to this and Monte was even in a full class with a waiting list for if anyone dropped out.
• Each Trainer MUST perform no less than 10 hours of class time per school year and register it with NASP to continue to be a BAI, otherwise they would have to go through the training again to recertify. Without the equipment, Monte's only hope to remain certified this school year will be to ask Dolores Elementary School if they would allow him to volunteer with the training that goes on there.
• While there are grants for equipment for NASP certified school instruction, there are no grants for equipment for Centershot. There remains a chance, however, that we could qualify for a NASP grant for equipment maintenance, cutting down on maintenance cost. This is not absolute, but is based only on the fact that the website for the grant does not specify that the grant must be used for a school program, unlike the equipment purchase grant.
• While each participant in a NASP training class is not given a bow to take home, part of the training is a "string bow," a practice instrument made of paracord used to practice the 11 steps of archery.
• Each school is only required to have 10 hours of in-class archery instruction. Outside of this, the archery class can then be continued as an after school program in order for the school itself to be recognized for NASP standing in the state. If this is done with any particular school, grades 4-12, with Centershot Montezuma being both the trainer for the 10 hours in-school and for the after school program training, that means any participant can, then, qualify in the state's virtual tournament, the coach becoming the scorer to send the scores to the state. In the state, the top team AND the top ten individuals can go on to the regional nationals just like Dolores Elementary did. Further, the top archer in the state per grade is given a Genesis bow with kit as a prize.
• Centershot's competition is separate. Looking it up, it appears we would be one of only two Centershot teams in all four Four Corners states with the tournament being in Utah alongside or during the NASP regional national. This last year there was a problem with that in that Centershot comes second in use of the tournament field and had too many participants to be able to accomplish it.

Many of the NASP/Centershot rules for competition are similar to 4H rules with a few exceptions:

• The original Genesis Bow is the only bow allowed. Mini Genesis can be used for earlier training (pre-4th grade) or for people needing assistance due to circumstances, however they cannot be used for competition. Gen-X Genesis is of a weight class that it is legal for archery hunting season in Colorado but it is not allowed for competition. No other brand or model is allowed for competition. 4H has different classes of competition for different bows and allow up to a 60 pound draw weight.
• Similarly, the competition arrows are aluminum and of a specific brand, 30 inches long. No other arrow in any other configuration is allowed in competition. 4H has similar rules except that the arrow can be longer as needed due to draw length.
• On-field whistle blows are similar.
• NASP and Centershot have both 2-D and 3-D competitions just like 4H.
• To Monte's knowledge, not only does NASP/Centershot not require arm guards or finger guards, they might be a disqualifier for competition whereas 4H requires them.

Any questions you have for Monte regarding any of this or other parts of the Centershot program?

Please continue to pray about it, pass it around social media, and consider donating. The 2024-25 school year is quickly approaching.

Thank you and God bless.

One of the first few questions I get from anyone is also the simplest:

1) Couldn't my church just do this itself?

Absolutely! In fact, I invite it if they can. But Montezuma County has a 15% poverty rate and is not as well known for youth ministry as it should be for as many churches are around. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the youth ministries are bad or even that they are not doing enough. I am saying there is another way and a way that can bring about fellowship between congregations instead of keeping fellowship just within congregations. By having an outside source doing this ministry, we bring the Christian fellowship together, making the county stronger in faith and community. Further, it requires a certified Basic Archery Instructor (BAI), and the class and test for this, it appears, only comes around once every two years at best, the next one near the end of July 2024.

2) What denomination would this be?

The Centershot ministry is designed to be non-denominational and I am not about to change that. I have a background of Episcopalian (youth to adult), LDS (briefly), Japanese Buddhist (also briefly), and now non-denominational Christian (Master of Divinity, Grand Canyon University's School of Theology, 2018). My belief is in the total truth that is the Bible, my dedication to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and my personal philosophy is to put God first, family second, and myself last in all things.

3) What would the membership cost be?

Also a great question. The suggested yearly fee per participant is $50. IRS regulations regarding non-profits prohibit sliding scale, so anyone not able to afford the $50 would have to be offset by further donations. It is calculated that a single team of 12 students would also not be enough per year to offset the costs, so we would be looking at no less than 4 such teams throughout each week, likely meeting on Saturdays and Sundays if not Fridays as well. NO BOW WOULD BE REQUIRED! That is part of the start-up costs, bows and arrows to get us started that would remain with the Centershot camp, used only during Centershot practice.

4) Where are you planning to hold the practices?

If you have ever been down the "dump road," County Road 25 past County Road G going south, there is a large metal building off to the right around Road F.75. That is the office building of Rohi Therapy, another Longhaul Christian ministry, as well as Whole Family Legal. We currently have enough outside space to create a shooting range. We would like to think we can find enough donations to construct an enclosure to beat out windy and rainy/snow days as well. We would use the offered possible space of CAYAC, however the locations of windows and doors in their facility make this possibility too much of a liability to consider.

5) What does the budget for this campaign cover?

The $3000 we are looking for covers the initial Centershot investment of the Small Kit: 5 multicolor bows and 1 LifeBow along with five dozen arrows, three targets, a bow holding stand an arrow curtain, and a repair kit. It also covers the first year of liability insurance. Obviously this does not include much. We could use, for example, a vehicle to carry the equipment and team should a team make for national competition in Utah and we could obviously use an indoor facility, neither of which could be obtained in the same budget. There is also a large kit that could, instead, support twice the size of teams at a single practice and includes two mini-bows for the smallest kids, both left and right handed. That would drive the cost of starting up to $4000+. This campaign is only the start. All work would be volunteer work for the 2024/25 season and likely longer.

Those are all of the major frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me at monte@longhaulchristian.com. And thank you for your prayers and donations as well as your consideration. God bless.

Monte Y. Pescador, Founder

Dirt 'N' Nails Farms Inc. (501c3)

dba: Rohi Therapy, Longhaul Christian et al.