Florida Church Opens Campus at Sporting Clays Range, Hoping Shooters Will Stop and Listen

SUMTERVILLE, Fla. —

TruLife Church of Ocala officially launched a new campus Sunday, Oct. 25, at Blackjack Sporting Clays, a shooting facility at 3372 County Road 526 in Sumterville, Fla. Pastor Michael Kirby preached at the launch, which was followed by a picnic lunch, according to a report by David Moore of the Florida Baptist Convention, carried by Kentucky Today.

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The day before the launch, volunteers handed out flyers at a national competitive shooting event at the facility and went door to door. The campus had a soft opening a couple of months earlier, the report said.

“We are hoping to attract unchurched people who are coming to BlackJack to do some shooting,” Kirby said. He said the goal is not to draw believers from nearby congregations: “We're not wanting to take people away from their own churches.”

Sunday services offer seating for about 40 people at the facility, which has four shooting courses. For three weeks of each month, the sermon is prerecorded and shown on an 80-inch television. Once a month, a TruLife pastor preaches in person.

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Those named in the report include Kirby and his wife, Amber; James and Michelle Clifton, the campus hosts, who coordinate the weekly services and greet guests; and Taylor Kirby, the pastor's daughter-in-law, who leads worship.

Kirby said he hopes the music will carry beyond the seats to those on the grounds. “They might not come inside yet, but they'll be out there worshiping in the middle of the grass,” he said. He added that the church will make room if the campus grows. The report did not give a service start time.