At Kenny Sutton's whistle, the kids at St. Peter's United Methodist Church draw back their bow strings, and soon the arrows fly toward their targets. They continue, and Sutton walks from kid to kid, correcting their posture and aim and giving gentle reminders about safety.
"Always keep your arrows pointing toward the front," he says. "You don't want the arrows pointing toward the side."
Sutton, a member of the St. Albans church, has directed its chapter of the Centershot program for three years.
The program, a non-denominational church ministry based in Minneapolis, draws around 30 kids to St. Peter's each week during eight-week Spring and Fall seasons, Sutton said. Most of the kids are from families in the neighborhood, he said.
While archery draws them in, Sutton said program's goal is reaching out to kids in the neighborhood. So far, the church estimates that more than 150 kids have been involved with it over the last three years.
"Archery, basically, was a vehicle to get them to come to the program," Sutton said. "We teach them the center shot of life... These kids are ecstatic honestly about shooting archery.
The program is loosely based on the state Division of Natural Resources' Archery in the Schools program. Because it's an outreach, the church doesn't charge kids for the program, Sutton said.
"We will actually let any children any age in the program," Sutton said. "Being an outreach, we don't want to turn anyone away."
Besides learning to shoot a bow and arrow, the students also get a Bible lesson, a meal and games, Sutton said.
"[Archery is] what has drawn them in and then we give them the other things that go along with the program," he said. "We're always teaching them about being respectful, listening, the power of the church and God."
Sutton, 70, has been an archer since he was 12 and helps out with the annual Archery in the Schools tournament.
Church pastor Barry Moll said the program has made an impact on a lot of kids who are no longer in the neighborhood. The church's research into the demographics of the neighborhood showed that the average time a family lives there is two years.
"It's a great thing, it really is," Moll said of the program.
Gabby Williams, 16, and her two younger sisters have taken part in the archery program for two years now. For her, it's about the Bible lesson as much as it is about archery. She said the staff and volunteers are good with the kids, even when though don't always behave well.
"I like that they teach us about God but at the same time, they make it fun," she said.
For more information about the Centershot program, call the church at 304-727-7531. Parents can also sign their children up for the program by showing up at the church. The church offers a meal beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the archery program goes on from 6:30 until 8 p.m. The program has about six more weeks of the fall season, Sutton said.
Reach Lori Kersey at lori.kersey@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1240 or follow @LoriKerseyWV on Twitter.