It was five years ago that Westwood Church of God’s Men’s Fellowship Ministry decided that the wooded strip of land separating the Church from the railroad track could be used for something other than a noise buffer.

In the fall of 2002, they decided to put on their first Bow Tournament with the purpose of using it to fund projects within the church, namely the Pioneers for Christ Boy’s Ministry.

“The first year, we only raised a little over $400, but each year it has grown,” said pastor Jonathan Lambert. “Last year, we held two tournaments, raising almost $1,200 and a lot of the shooters bragged about our course. When we saw the heightened interest from those tournaments, we decided it was time to move this to another level so we would be able to do more in our church and community. We have already had two tournaments this year, raising almost $1,500. In each of those tournaments we had 35 to 40 or more shooters come and shoot just for a trophy.

“We used what we raised in those tournaments to build up to the Expo with extensive advertising and improvements on our course and property. The news of this event has reached all over Alabama, west Georgia, east Mississippi, and north Florida.”

Saturday, Westwood Church of God will hold an Outdoor Sports Expo beginning at 8 a.m. and lasting until 5 p.m.

It will be an event for the whole family, with games and a clown show for the kids, guest speakers, on-site vendors and demonstrations by Duff’s Customs Calls of Greenville, as well as others.

The big draw for the bow shooters who participate in the tournament is the chance to win a brand new four-wheeler in a random drawing to be held at 5 p.m.

All shooters who have participated in the previous tournaments held in March and June will also be eligible to win. The more times a shooter has shot the course, the more chances he will have to win.

There will also be door prizes given away throughout the day for all ages. Concessions will be available for purchase, and there will be air-conditioned facilities to use.

Westwood Church of God is located at 2905 Landline Road in Selma.