by Mr. Zanders

May 06, 2008

We (CR-B) were approached in late March, about participating in bringing the Power Team to west central Iowa. Crossroads church in Perry, along with Fuente de Vida church and Perry Bible church were going to jointly sponsor the team for 4 days in late April/early March. Each night, the churches would host an open show of the Power Team while each day, members of the team would visit schools. 

I had seen the Power Team before - they've been around for some time - on a re-run of Walker Texas Ranger. According to Power Team publicity, they visit around 1000 schools annually, spreading their message about making good choices in life, setting goals, being people of character and integrity. The message presented at school focused on choices, relationships, and anti-bullying - being people of character.

The Power Team is based out of Dallas, TX and includes approximately 20 former athletes, body-builders, policemen, military members who are Christians and are called to spread the news of their beliefs. They travel the United States and the world sharing their message and providing some incredible entertainment in the process. While at CR-B, Spencer Conley (former NFL) and Riley Israel (former professional baseball) did some incredible feats:  breaking 8 cinder blocks with one blow, breaking 2 baseball bats over their thighs; bending a 1" steel re-bar into a pretzel, ripping 2 phonebooks (2200 pages each) in half.

During Thursday's assembly, Pastor Rick Gates, offered to send a church bus to CR on Friday evening if any kids, parents, faculty would like to see the evening show - free of charge. So, at 6:00 on Friday, 44 CR-B residents boarded a bus for Perry. The evening message we witnessed was much more spiritually-based; in fact, our experience on Friday was almost revival-like, with members of the team giving personal testimony about their relationship with Jesus Christ and the need to repent of their sins. Additionally, a third Power Team member, Jeremy Baker, was present. Jeremy is a former youth pastor and body-builder. He also performed some amazing feats of strength, including breaking out of 2 pairs of police-issue handcuffs simultaneously - wow!