Alabama church turns a kudzu patch into a popular gun range ministry

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August 14, 2015

(Video Above: WIAT shares the story of Rocky Mount United Methodist Church in Jemison, Ala.’s gun range ministry
JEMISON, Ala. — An Alabama church is making national headlines this week for an innovative new ministry using a gun range behind their building to “reach out in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Originally a kudzu patch that housed vermin and snakes, the church first refurbished the land into a gun range to help teach firearm safety to its congregation. That effort has since turned into a ministry that’s bringing new people into the church every week.

“We had quite a number of church members, some elderly ladies, for example, and some not so elderly women that had purchased guns, but didn’t know how to use them,” Pastor Phillip Guin told WIAT News.

“Really, the whole purpose of this range is to provide recreational and gun safety in a warm, loving, Christian environment,” the pastor explained.

“This is an opportunity for us to reach out to others in the name of Jesus Christ in a setting that is completely unique.”

Guin said the church has even worked with the Jemison police department to develop the program, which has organized as the Rocky Mount Hunt and Gun Club LLC.

“We wanted to come up with some different ideas to help our church grow, and we thought this would be a unique ministry to offer to the community.

Guin said that the program may be odd by some people’s standards, but “who’s to say that church can’t happen right here.”