Bow Madness – Archery &

KOZ Monthly Outdoor Training© October: Bow Madness – Archery & Axe

7:30 Leader Meeting and Prayer time. This time is imperative and gives the leadership time to prepare their hearts for the meeting and time with the kids. Do not take this time lightly. Be on time, meet with God first.

8:30 Kids begin to arrive. Meet parents or guardian

BEGINNING YOUR MEETING WITH KOZ STRUCTURE

8:45 Begin Meeting. All together say the American (Your Country) Pledge of Allegiance.

KOZ Prayer: Lord, Thank you for making us strong and fierce warriors for you. We hunt, we fish and we share our faith with others. God Bless America (Your Country)-Amen

Work to get the boys to memorize the KOZ Prayer and use it as a tool for kids who have little experience in praying or are afraid to pray. (Before meals, before an adventure or other times as a reminder of who they are and what they represent).

LEADING INTO YOUR OUTDOORS SKILLS TRAINING

Leader’s first questions/discussion. Outdoor Training

One of the favorite activities in KOZ is always the bow. Any time, any place, insert a bow and arrow and your boys will be all in. A new addition we have found is the throwing axe. Be creative. Archery may have been a staple for you for years, if so, be creative.

Talk about :

• Who has shot a bow? What kind? • Has anyone bow hunted, have a leader share a bow hunting story. • Who has ever used a throwing axe? • Did you know archery in an Olympic sport and you can earn your way into college through archery? • What is the average distance a bow hunter shoots? Have them guess by walking out to where they think an archery hunter would be effective.

LEADING INTO YOUR HEART TRAINING

Scripture for this month:

This Month's Scripture: Ephesians 6:10,11,16 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

Leader’s first questions/discussion, Bible training: This month we study the Apostle Paul. He was the greatest leader in the New Testament second only to Jesus. He was God’s chosen servant to take the Gospel beyond Jerusalem to the world. He was a brave and courageous man of God that faced all kinds of adversity. He was beaten, stoned with rocks, put in prison and eventually had his head cut off all because of his love for Jesus. His greatest enemy was the devil. Paul challenges each of us today to be “strong” and courageous and stand against the devil. He warns us that satan will shoot “fiery arrows” at our hearts. Following Jesus is like warfare. We must put up our shield to stop the fiery arrows of satan. To be Dangerous for Good means I am a warrior for Jesus against satan our enemy.

• Do you believe Jesus is real? • Do you believe the devil is real? • Do you believe we are warriors against satan. • To be Dangerous for Good means I am a warrior for Jesus against satan our enemy.

NOTE: Let them talk – leave time between when you say something and they can speak – let it be silent for a while if you have to – they grow close in times of quiet – allow Him to come

STOP & BEGIN OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING

BEGIN OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING: IDEA TRAIL Things to do this month:

Depending on how long you have been doing KOZ you will want to work your way into a day that does not bore the boys. New KOZ groups should follow the basic teaching principals of the bow. Others will move to more advanced elements.

KOZ PINTREST IDEA PAGE: https://www.pinterest.com/kidsoutdoorzone/pins/ • Follow the archery in the school program guideline for safe shooting skills. You will find all types of printable materials here. http://naspschools.org • Contact local archery shop or school and ask if an instructor can come teach a beginners’ class. Be intentional about your • Utilize Mathews Genesis archery gear – never use aged or time with the boys. Ask over-sized gear for beginners. them how they are, how • Create shooting contests and games. Shoot a watermelon, their family is, how apple, egg. Win a prize. school is going – Then • Shoot long distance. Listen! • Invite an Olympic shooter or local celebrity. • Invite an archery club to come help teach, show their gear, tell stories.

Advanced Class: • Create a 3D target range or visit a local 3D course. Give prizes to the winners. *This is a great trip for all boys especially advanced and most clubs will not charge or minimal. • Build a bow and/or arrows. • Go to a bow shop and watch them rig out bows and make arrows. • Visit an archery manufacturer • Create a shooting event with all types of bows and hunting shooting scenarios. • Use fruits to shoot, watermelon, cantaloupe, apple.

Axe Class:

Throwing axes are an amazing addition to archery day. A couple things to know. Get good axes. A KOZ favored one is the SOG 15oz. The bigger axe is much better. They can be found on Amazon for about $25 each.

Best targets are the ends of cut logs. Some use plywood and other targets but by far the best is log ends stacked.

Cross Bows:

A whole other class of shooting, this can be fun. Go to a local archery shop and have them walk you through the process of using a crossbow. Materials Copyright © - kidsoudoorzone.com - 9508 Chisholm Trail – Austin, Texas 78748 - 512-292-1113 3

*Note always add an EXTREME element to your KOZ day. Be creative.

FIELD NOTES: Instruct on each tool as a group. Break the boys into teams and make a competition out of the shooting. Not every team will be successful but some will. Be encouraging and know that there are lessons in the things we can’t do as well as others.

Other places for good information and literature. Here are some sites where we have found great content of this lesson plan. The internet always has resources but be careful there are some bad sites with poor information. We do not endorse nor are we associated with any of the sites listed below. The information there may change as well.

• KOZ PINTREST IDEA PAGE: https://www.pinterest.com/kidsoutdoorzone/pins/ • https://www.archery360.com/archery-101/ Basic archery info • https://www.olympic.org/archery - Olympic archery • http://naspschools.org - Archery in the schools program – lots of great info and diagrams

GOING OFF THE TRAIL THIS MONTH?

IMPORTANT: Use the opening/use the close, prayer/ sit spots and prayer cards.

All groups should use the foundational structure of KOZ each month. The starting, the prayer, sit spots etc. as a common element to every meeting. Everything from sledding to swimming, hiking to fly fishing. The key to going off the trail is to keep the structure in place.

Get them outside move their bodies, adventure and exploration. Keep it exciting, keep it real, be intentional about bringing them into a relationship with Christ.

OUTDOOR TRAINING CONCLUSIONS

Ask pointed questions on the outdoor skills they learned today.

Drive home a point…

• What was your favorite part of KOZ today?

• Basic knowledge of archery, the parts of a bow, the parts of an arrow. • How do you throw an axe? Hard, fast, slow? • When is archery season in your region?

SCRIPTURE TRAINING AND HEART TAKEAWAY

EACH MONTH: Reminder to leader: Our theme for 2018 is “Dangerous for Good”. Remind the boys before each month’s Bible story of our theme. Each month we will look a real Bible character that will live out this theme. Challenge our boys each month to also be like these great men of God and be Dangerous for Good.

Trail Map #1

Hey guys, did we sling some arrows today or what? You guys were BOSS with those hatchets and sling shots! I’m super proud of how you guys grew your skills as archers and outdoorsmen. I love the strengthening that occurs when we pull back the bow and sling, or throw the hatchet. Do you remember our theme this year? BE DANGEROUS FOR GOOD. You guys know that these arrows are dangerous when shot out of the bow. That sling shot can put someone’s eye out. The hatchet could cut you badly. When we harness the dangerous energy of a bow, sling or axe for the purpose of harvesting meat for our family, we are using something dangerous for the good of your family. In Ephesians, the Bible uses the example of the bow and arrow to describe Satan’s attack on humans. We NEED our faith in God to shield us from the fiery arrows shot at us by Satan. Sometimes life is hard and it seems like one bad thing after another keeps happening. In those times, you need to believe in God and His love for you to be your shield against those arrows from the evil one. Be strong and courageous, put on the armor to protect yourself! Be Dangerous for Good! RM

Train Map #2

Hunting with a bow is so much different than a gun. You have to be close in. You can’t move. You can’t smell. They are super sensitive to you being close. This is when your hunting skills begin to get really good. The best way to learn how to hunt with a bow is getting in the woods and doing it.

Throwing an axe seems easy to some. Most guys want to throw it hard and fast, but that is not the best way to do it. Slow and easy. You have to be just the right distance away and throw at just the right speed. Practice is the key. Materials Copyright © - kidsoudoorzone.com - 9508 Chisholm Trail – Austin, Texas 78748 - 512-292-1113 5

Knowing when satan is trying to hurt us or the people we love can take some time to learn. When you get on the internet and start looking at things you know you should not, satan tries to tell you it’s okay. In your heart you know it is not. There are two voices, one is satan, one is God. Which is which?

Sometimes when your friends, brother or sister say or do something and you want to get mad or say something mean to them, but you hear a small voice telling you no, don’t be mean. Which voice do you think is satan and which is God?

Satan does not want you to follow Jesus. He does not want you to be that good guy who people trust and who cares for others. He wants you to break the rules, go against your parents, do things you know you shouldn’t. That is him.

Know that in those times you are confronted with hard things, maybe friends doing things that you know are not okay, and satan is trying to get you to do it anyway. God is there with you. Say a prayer, ask him to help you to be strong, to not click on the internet, not say those mean things, to not go along with the guys making the bad choices. God is your biggest fan. He loves you and He listens to you. Talk to your KOZ leaders if you need to know more. They love you and care about you.

Drive home a point…

• Have you ever been tempted to do something you knew was wrong? • Have you ever not done something that you were tempted by, how did you feel making a good choice? • Teach the boys a simple prayer they can use when things are on the edge and satan is slinging arrows at them. • See reminder below!

REMIND THEM: God has made you as an amazing person. Individual, special and unique. If you have not heard that for a while, I want to tell you that. I care about you, you matter to me. Talk to me if you need to talk.

THE SIT SPOT AND GOD

SIT SPOT Purpose: • Pass out a blank index card and pen. Have them write 2 things. One thing they learned. Then tell them if they want you to pray for them or something going on to please write it on the card and you will pray for them this month. It is a private prayer between your leaders and them, they don't have to put their name on the card. If they don't have a prayer, tell them to just put their name on the card and what Materials Copyright © - kidsoudoorzone.com - 9508 Chisholm Trail – Austin, Texas 78748 - 512-292-1113 6

they learned.

TO PONDER: Give the boys something to ponder, use the questions above, and ask them to go to a sit spot - let them stay while you prepare lunch (quietly without distracting the quiet moment) - (15-30 min.)

• SEND LEADERS TO SIT SPOTS! If a leader is not assigned a task have them also find a sit spot. It is good for the boys to see the adult leaders doing the same as they are asked to do. QUIET TIME IS ESSENTIAL.

LUNCH & KOZ LEADERSHIP TAG GUIDANCE

CALL BACK FOR LUNCH - While they are eating lunch –

WORK ON DOG TAGS Ask boys if they are working toward KOZ Dog Tags. This is a good time to teach this material. Print their cards and have them ready.

IMPORTANT: Ask if any of the boys are new – give them their KOZ Nation dog tag (the first one)

GIVE A BOY HIS NAME IN KOZ We have found that giving boys a nickname is a huge tool for them. Giving a boy a “New Name” has been a game changer for many. A strong, fierce name is important. Jesus and His Father both gave new names. Ask prayerfully what name a boy should have. The leaders decide NOT the boys. It is an honor bestowed, even if funny.

As you wait for the parents to arrive:

• Tell the boys you love them. That they are important. That if they have not prayed to ask Christ into their hearts to come talk to a KOZ HTL (ROMANS 10:9). • If a kid wants to be baptized, have them talk to you about it - you can do it somewhere really cool!

Perform a service project on site. Teach the boys to ALWAYS leave your area BETTER than it was when you got there.

Say KOZ Prayer and pray for having a great day together-

Parents arrive. Greet them and tell them how good their boy did. – Tell the boys to invite a friend! Materials Copyright © - kidsoudoorzone.com - 9508 Chisholm Trail – Austin, Texas 78748 - 512-292-1113 7

Hand out literature or take home materials.... A gallon plastic Zip lock bag with their name on it works great each month to collect their take home materials.

Stay, Read the Sit Spot cards. Pray over the cards. Divide them among the HTL’s for the month.