Professional Shooter Gebben Miles Shares the Lord at Ministry Village Clay Shoot
PART 2
In last week’s blog, we met Arizona native Gebben Miles, who began making a name for himself in the early 2000’s in the sport of professional shooting thanks to his skills and natural instincts. After winning several competitions, Gebben chose to follow his mentor’s suggestion to focus on shooting and find a way to make that community his mission field. Gebben is our special guest at the 6th Annual Ministry Village Clay Shoot on October 8. In this week’s blog, we’ll see how he’s been forging his own path ever since.
Between 2006 and 2008, Gebben grew in his relationship with God and felt a burning passion to make sure people knew Jesus. He felt a mounting need to put faith first. “Accolades are great, but if I don’t do it with God for His glory, it doesn’t matter,” explained Gebben. During that time, he attended the Ultimate Training Camp by Athletes in Action (AIA), an organization dedicated to training athletes in all sports to become influencers in the world - “building spiritual movements everywhere through the platform of sport, so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus.” Training with AIA inspired Gebben to use his community of amateur and professional shooters as his spiritual mission field. He had never heard anyone talk about God at any of his competitive events, so he decided to change that. In 2008, Gebben began holding Bible studies at his shooting events and tournaments, and those studies quickly grew into something more akin to impromptu church services reaching large numbers of attendees.
After a few years on the circuit, Gebben was led to begin a shooting academy in Texas, a business he believed God wanted him to pursue. But soon after opening the academy, he felt burned out from the business and the toll of continuing on the professional circuit. “I felt like I was getting complacent with my faith. I wasn’t growing with God, and I needed to step away from being focused on shooting and focus on Him.” One of his younger sisters had attended Hillsong College, a Bible college in Australia, and Gebben had been impressed at the passion she developed, the experiences she and her husband had there, and how much their faith had developed. He decided he wanted that experience too, so in 2019, Gebben moved to Sydney, Australia to attend Hillsong College and learn more about the Bible.
After a year at Hillsong, Gebben returned to Arizona, and connected with a friend who was working to plant a church in Tucson. Then the Covid pandemic happened to the world. The friends began an online church community in March 2020 to reach people during the shutdown, and on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, they finally opened Deus Church. “Deus,” which means “God” in Latin, is a nondenominational church in Tucson, AZ, whose mission is “Relentlessly creating spaces of opportunity for people to walk into a relationship with God and live out powerful lives!” Gebben’s friend, Dr. Herman Solorzano, is the lead pastor, and Gebben, along with 2 other men, took on voluntary roles as teaching pastors for the church. Gebben also rejoined the professional shooting circuit, and began coaching and teaching shooting lessons again – bringing his professional platform and his ministry platform together in a very unique way.
Gebben joined us at the 2021 Ministry Village Clay Shoot after local shooting enthusiast and Ministry Village supporter David Miller reached out to him. Gebben was happy to speak and participate at the MVO Clay Shoot, not only because of his passion for shooting and his love for the Lord, but also because of his family’s personal experience with addiction and redemption. One of Gebben’s sisters found the Lord through an AA program in South Florida after her own struggle with addiction. Seeing her change, inspire, and encourage others has also inspired Gebben. He knows the work done through ministries like the Charis House is difficult but vital, and he wants to help encourage those struggling with addiction as well as their families. Supporting the MVO fundraiser was a perfect way to connect his professional expertise with his own personal experiences and passion for sharing Jesus.
We are thankful to welcome Gebben back at this year’s Clay Shoot for him to share his expertise with us. We are even more thankful that he is willing to share his story and his love for Jesus with the world.
Event Details
What: 6th Annual Ministry Village Clay Shoot
When: October 8, 2022 - Saturday, 7:30 AM: Saturday’s tournament event kicks off at 7:30 AM with registration, followed by Gebben’s testimony and the story of how he shares the Lord with those he meets through his professional career. The mandatory safety meeting will follow, and station shooting will begin at 9 AM. Gebben will be on hand to provide coaching tips to shooters, as well as to shoot mulligans for donations to Ministry Village. Lunch will follow the Saturday shoot, and awards, door prizes, auction items and raffle prizes will be announced. Cash prizes will be awarded to the First Place Team ($500) and Second Place Team ($200), and special prizes and recognition will be awarded to the Highest Individual Score, and Best Junior Shooter.
Register Now!: http://www.ministryvillage.org/ClayShoot
Registration is now open and sponsorships are also available. Register online, or simply make a donation to the Charis House and Ministry Village at Olive.
For more information on Ministry Village at Olive, including the Charis House and our other ministries, visit our website at MinistryVillage.org.
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