People who think church is boring are in for a major awakening if they drop by New Community Church in Vista on Nov. 30-Dec. 4.
There will be concrete blocks crashing, baseball bats busted two at a time over a knee, hot water bottles blown up like balloons and much more.
There will be people having fun, loud music and people hearing the Gospel and being saved. The Power Team is coming to town and it’s billed as “five incredible nights of power, strength, speed and inspiration.”
One of the “strong men” athletes also calls Vista his home. Tim Spigner, weighing in at 315 pounds on his 6-3 frame, has been a North County resident for 20 years. He lives here with his wife Nancy and children, attending Life Christian Church in Escondido. He is known for bench pressing or squat lifting 600 pounds.
Some of his feats during the Power Team performances include running through three 2x4s, lifting a 300-pound log, bending steel 1-1/2 inches thick, and breaking double baseball bats.
“None of this is easy,” he said during an interview before leaving on another trip with the team. “You can get hurt if you don’t do it right. It’s really all technique — you have to be explosive on impact.”
Spigner is also known for preaching the Gospel, both in giving his testimony during the Power Team events and around North County movie theaters.
“You don’t need the Power Team to share the Gospel,” he said. “We’re all called to preach the Word. Tim’s ministry, Total Impact Ministry (TIM), is about sharing Jesus. He takes teams – evangelistic teams – on Saturday nights to minister outside movie theaters in Vista and Oceanside. Over the last year, the 6-7 men involved have seen about 300 individuals pray to receive Christ, as well as exhorting countless other believers in their walks of faith.
“I feel called to train men to preach the Gospel in boldness,” he said. “The hardest thing about it is getting started.”
For people that aren’t comfortable with sharing their faith in such a dramatic way, the Power Team event is a great way to help bring people to know about Jesus.
“This is one of those ‘bring a friend’ events,” Spigner said. “The Power Team isn’t shy about sharing the Gospel.”
Each of the team members are ordained and licensed ministers. The Power Team is actually a couple of teams that go to different cities each week for crusades. The ministry is based in Dallas, where the majority of members live, but others come from Alabama, Georgia and Los Angeles.
The ministry teams did 11-12 crusades last month, Spigner said, which calls for more than one team. Tim recently had consecutive trips to Kansas, Florida and Texas.
In addition to the normal 5-night crusade, team members usually go out in pairs to public schools in the area to show their strength and share their values at assemblies.
Each night of the crusade has different feats, he noted, and a salvation message is given each time.
Spigner has attended Life Christian Church in Escondido the last 13 years where he was involved in evangelism, Bible college, the worship team, Sunday school, etc. After a demonstration of his physical strength during a church outreach, Pastor Steven Johnson encouraged him to join the Power Team seven years ago when the Power Team held a crusade at the church.
The Nov. 30-Dec. 4 crusade begins each night at 7 p.m. and admission is $2. For more information contact New Community Church of Vista at (760) 726-3880.
Or for information about Total Impact Ministry, contact Spigner at (760) 724-7533 or (760) 622-4311.
