Power Team uses strength to evangelize to students, community
Breaking stacks of concrete with bare hands and preaching the word of God was on the agenda last Thursday through Sunday as The Power Team helped over 250 Chadron State College students and community members commit to Christ.
The Power Team, a non-profit organization, is celebrating its 40th year, and is a group of athletes who use power, strength, and inspiration to help spread the gospel and bring people to God. They are currently composed of 15 men. The Power Team travels to all 50 states and 60 different countries. Based out of Dallas, the members of this team come from all across America and each bring their past to encourage
and inspire others to commit to God.
Last Thursday, students and community members filled every seat in the Student Center Ballroom and Scottsbluff rooms for opening night. The Power Team Vice President Jeremy Baker, 22-year-old Kaleb Wright, and Greg Graham took the stage and began by turning stacks of cement blocks to rubble in minutes. Each night the three men used their brute strength to pump up the crowd, and share their personal stories of committing to Christ.
Performing incredible feats of strength such as popping a 10 year guarantee hot water balloon, bending steel rods and steel frying pans, ripping license plates with their teeth, bending a horseshoe into a heart, and running through two two-by-fours taped together, are a few examples of how they grab the audience’s attention.
Baker said the reason for beginning each performance in such a way is to grab an audience of high school student’s attention the “last period on a Friday afternoon.” Instead of stepping on stage and beginning to preach the word of God, The Power Team wants to grab the audience’s attention, and breaking cement blocks with their arms is a great way to accomplish that.
“I love what I do,” Baker said. “The message is a message about being a leader.”
In preparation for each performance they work out five days a week, prepare mentally for the show by walking through it, and spiritually by praying. Different churches from the surrounding area, including Chadron Community Church, Chadron Christian Church, First Baptist church, Ridgeview, and First Congressional Church of Crawford came together to help bring The Power Team to Chadron for four days.
As the display of physical power came to an end, Baker began to preach about the importance of spiritual power. He shared several examples from his life that showed that physical strength cannot last, but nothing can break a strong spirit.
At the end of the show each night The Power Team prayed and invited those who wanted to accept God into their life to join them on stage and sign their cards of commitment. Each night they also gave the audience an opportunity to donate to a love offering.