Hannah Nette could hardly believe the feats of strength performed by Team Impact when the ministry visited Sharon Heights Baptist Church, Birmingham, over three nights in early January — or the inner strength communicated through them.
At the North Jefferson Baptist Association church, amid blaring rock music and cheering youth, two team members charged onto the stage to rip apart phone books, chop cement and wooden blocks with their hands and snap both wooden and aluminum baseball bats in half.
But their ultimate goal was to show that real strength comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
“It was amazing how they used their strength to share the love of God,” said Nette, 15, who attended all three nights.
But the two strongmen were quick to share that their strength was only a means for allowing them to share their faith.
Team member Kevin Dowd told the audience how he came to realize that all the acclaim won because of his strength — numerous trophies and several records — meant nothing.
“[The materialistic things and recognition] never could fill that void, that emptiness in my heart,” Dowd said.
That began to change when at 19, he met his future wife, Tracie, and she shared the gospel with him. Dowd said it took more than two years of her praying for him before he came to realize what was missing in his life.
“The greatest decision I ever made wasn’t joining Team Impact. It wasn’t being one of the strongest bench pressers in the world,” said Dowd, who can still bench-press more than 600 pounds — down from 800 pounds at one time.
“The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” he said.
Dowd and his 23 fellow team members travel throughout the United States and internationally telling their story of finding true strength in Christ. The Texas-based ministry is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Sharon Heights Baptist Pastor Jason Dunlap said this was Team Impact’s first visit to his church but it will not be the last as the group has already been scheduled for another visit next year.
He said more than 1,200 people attended the three shows and many of them were youth who were there every night.
In addition, Dowd spoke during the Sunday morning service.
Dunlap said the invitation at the conclusion of the shows resulted in 49 professions of faith, mainly from children and youth in third grade or higher. “They were there to put on a performance, but most of all, they were there to proclaim the gospel, and they did a good job,” he said.
“I think it shows … another side of Christianity, in that you don’t have to be a preacher to share the gospel.”
For more information about Team Impact, visit www.team–impact.com.
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