“Don’t judge a book by its’ cover” is an old adage that certainly applies to three local men who comprise Team Xtreme, a cutting edge evangelistic out-reach ministry of The Harvest Church International. Brad Tuttle, Chad Hodge and Todd Walters are three very large men who love to spend time performing amazing feats of strength like snapping baseball bats in half with their bare hands and bending steel bars in their teeth, yet the trio also love nothing more than sharing their personal testimonies of what God has done in their lives.        

     Tuttle, who has been around the world performing feats of strength and sharing the message of Christ’s love for about 20 years, is the pastor of The Harvest Church International in Frisco, and Walters is a member of his church.  A chance meeting at a Highland Village gym with Hodge, who is a 1990 graduate of Marcus High School, drew the three men together and led to Walters and Hodge becoming not only fellow church members but also members of Team Xtreme. Sunday mornings will find the three in church, with Tuttle in the pulpit teaching the Bible, but weeknights might find the three in a local warehouse tearing up phone books with their bare hands. “The feats are great, but the message itself is the most important thing,” Tuttle says of Team Xtreme’s performances. Each feat has a spiritual illustration to it.”      

     Tuttle, who is 6’3” tall and weighs 290 pounds, is a former Navy Sea Diver and a former All-Natural National Power-lifting Champion. The “natural” designation indicates that only power-lifters who are steroid free may participate. Team Xtreme performs at schools, churches, and just about anywhere they can with the idea of illustrating their message of being both physically and spiritually fit. “People of all ages are drawn to the feats of strength,” Tuttle said, adding that they use that more as a draw to get an audience where they can share their true purpose. “We give a positive message of how they can find hope in their lives,” the pastor added.         

     Hodge says he was struggling with several things in his life when he encountered Tuttle at Snap Fitness in Highland Village about 9 months ago. A stand out athlete in high school, Hodge is now married and has a two year old daughter. The 6’ 1” 250 pound Hodge, who was a top football prospect in the state of Texas and once drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, said that meeting led to a series of events that turned his life around. “Of all the things I could have done in my life and of all the things I could have been, nothing beats leading someone to Christ. It’s a really powerful thing,” Hodge said. Walters also has a very broad athletic background ranging from Golden Gloves boxing to football. He also loves to sing as much as he loves to smash a stack of concrete bricks. The 6’ 240 pound Walters is the former lead singer for a Christian Metal band and now sings at church. Both singing in a metal band and performing feats of strength have allowed Walters to relate to many different people. “It’s going out and reaching people who ordinarily wouldn’t come to church,” he said. “It’s just an honor to be a part of this particular outreach because I know how powerful it can be. It’s all real.”        

     If you’d like to see Team Xtreme in action, plan to visit the Hawaiian Falls water park in The Colony on July 25. They have 3 shows planned at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. For more information, call The Harvest Church International at 972-370-4GOD or visit www.theharvestchurchinternational.com. The group is also available to demonstrate their feats of strengths for schools, churches, and other programs.