We had the opportunity over the weekend to see The Power Team. This is a group of really big and really strong men who go out in teams across the country to perform feats of strength, while telling others about what Jesus has done in their lives. Sponsored by a local church, these guys typically go into a town and hold performances on five consecutive days. And, while they cannot talk about God during these times, they also go into local schools to do assemblies, hoping to use those as a platform to attract kids and families to their church-based performances.

A team of four of these guys recently came to a community about a half hour south of us. We saw them on their fourth night. These guys can do pretty incredible things. Break through huge stacks of bricks and blocks of ice. Blow up hot water bottles until they explode. Snap countless baseball bats in quick succession. Roll metal frying pans into cylinders with a handle. Bend pieces of steel rebar into loops threee times over! Break hardened steel files. Wow.

But the most powerful part is seeing these big -- make that huge -- guys share their testimonies -- the stories of what God has done in their lives that despite their physical strength, they could not do on their own.

When they go into a community, they have a well-planned system of marketing which they put in place. They ask for $2 per person, if possible, when you arrive at one of their events and they also take a love offering. They claim that they can dramatically boost church attendance on an ongoing basis and that they bring many people to Christ during each of their tours.

During the night we were there, there were a number of families present but there also appeared to be a number of elementary and middle school kids and a lesser number of high school youth. They end each event with a pretty strong "If you died tonight, would you go to heaven or hell?" altar call and many people respond.

The Power Team is an interesting ministry. I felt that the connection between their physical strength versus strength in Jesus could have been called out a bit more but, then again, I think they are seraching for slightly different angles on each of their five nights and we were only there one night. I respect the way they use their gifts and talents to call people to God in a powerful way. (No pun intended ... or maybe it was.) Needless to say, I could never do what these guys do.

It's worth checking out if you ever have the opportunity. The only thing I would caution is that, overall, it is a pretty intense thing. On several levels, it was too intense for our eight-year-old. I would suggest considering leaving the young ones at home until they are maybe fifth or sixth grade.