Ministry DVD

Greg T. Anderson grew up "chopping cotton" before moving to Odessa and taking a spot on the 1984 championship Permian football team.

Now he’s just released a ministry DVD designed to teach people how to "tap into" the power of God to conquer things in the world that distract people from a spiritual focus.

He said his background has prepared him for hard work and an understanding of connecting with people, starting from that very cotton field in O’Donnell.

"Chopping cotton was a really hard thing. It seemed endless, and the only way we knew the time was from the position of the sun," Anderson said.

His parents were divorced and food was hard to come by when Anderson was young. He had to help the family out himself.

"It’s humbling when you have to help the younger kids and help make ends meet," he said.

He recalled climbing into the back of a pickup around 5 a.m. to head to the cotton fields and huddling under a blanket to fight off the cold. He joked about that memory probably being the reason he’s never owned a pickup of his own.

Once he turned 10, Anderson moved to Odessa and started living with his father and started playing football with the youth league before moving to Permian and playing for the championship team in 1984, his junior year.

Then-coach John Wilkins said Anderson recently stopped by to give him a "Tap into the Power" DVD. He remembers the former player well.

"He is one of the finest young men I ever had the pleasure to coach, and one of the best football players as well," he said.

Wilkins said he’s proud of Anderson for his new effort.

"He has a gift, and he’s putting it to work," he said. "It’s great."

Anderson said playing on the football team taught him a lot.

"Permian’s not a place you get propped up. It’s all about the team, and that stuck with me because if we are cohesive, we can do so much," he said.

After he left Permian, Anderson graduated from Baylor University with a degree in communications. He tried becoming a hip-hop artist, moving to Houston in the process. He said he would rap with his friends during high school and loved that type of music. When the career didn’t take off, he came back to Odessa and became a Christian through a friend.

Anderson said he felt the call to ministry and became a youth minister at Life Challenge United Pentecostal Church. He said he thinks his hip-hop background made a difference.

"It’s the beat, and if you can put a message to the beat, it will get across," he said.

Tap into the Power started roughly two years ago when Anderson felt called to minister to people outside the church environment to reach people where they actually are, while not replacing a church ministry. The ministry has an extensive online presence. He even creates videos to distribute on YouTube and other sites like Facebook.

"It’s just a tool to reach more people," he said.

The Rev. Griffin Jones at CrossRoads Fellowship said his church produces videos and uses technology extensively. He said it can be a good way to reach people as well.

"It’s a huge part of our ministry; it’s a huge outreach," Jones said.

He said while he cautions people that a local church is important, other ministries like Tap into the Power serve an important purpose.

"They can be a great supplement and reach people in more places," Jones said.

FACT FILE

>> Former 1984 state championship Permian football player Greg T. Anderson turned to the ministry after a brief stint as a hip-hop artist. He has now produced and released a DVD called "Tap into the Power" that builds upon a message he gives through traveling speaking engagements, how to tap into God’s power.

>> The five-hour three-DVD set focuses on five points: Belief, the new person inside after belief, being spiritual instead of religious, producing fruit in life and blessing others.

>> The DVD set is available for $45. For information, call 617-4680. Orders are accepted through the mail at PO Box 4651, Odessa, TX 79760.