My friends Troy and Tammy, their four daughters, and twin sons moved to Iowa a year and half ago to continue a ministry Troy’s dad Dave began. An avid outdoorsman and hunter, Dave loved to share the Lord with younger men. Using archery and hunting as connections, Dave’s outreach resulted in beautiful fruit.
I stayed pretty close to Troy the months after his dad died suddenly of a brain aneurism on the way home from a cold January morning of hunting with a friend in 2014. Jesus, the Author of faith, hope, and love, has given comfort and direction to Troy and his family through many answered prayers and through countless acts of kindness from the Body of Christ.
The ministry, Heartshot, has two major goals. The first goal is to use archery as a platform to teach God’s principles for living. A heart for God is our aim is the motto. People of all ages come to the range to enjoy a sport and to hear God’s Word explained in practical ways. The second goal is to invite anyone to join Heartshot team as they serve widows in the area.
Of course Troy’s ‘favorite’ is his own mother who he says helps him more than he helps her. Seeing his mom in the distress of loss, Troy understood clearly the reason for God’s instructions to care for widows and to help those in need.
Each member of the Heartshot leadership team is one of the men mentored by Troy’s dad. These are ten rugged guys who put their Christian faith into action by serving others. In times of need, many in their church and many from the community who visit the Heartshot archery range join to serve their community in the Name of Christ.
Eleven-year-old John and I visited Troy and his family this past weekend. Troy’s mom treated us to dinner the evening we arrived and later we got to meet many of the friends who shine the light of Jesus in this part of our country. Of course we also experienced the subzero temperatures of the Midwest. The day we left, it snowed several inches and Heartshot pulled together four teams to shovel the driveways of widows and to help anyone else they saw in need.
I was reminded once again of the beauty of the Body of Christ. When we let Jesus shine in our lives, people who may not even know God at the moment give thanks and glorify our Father in heaven. “You are the light of the world…”
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27