The group has a song that helps them learn all 66 books of the Bible. It's a lot of fun, and it lets you learn how to speak out. You don't feel so small anymore. Thomas, who is a company commander in his high school ROTC unit, said the drill-team performances are a chance to show young people doing positive things. The drill teams have strict rules.
Members are subject to dismissal if they get into serious trouble at school or at home.
The younger team, led by Smith, did not participate in the Houston competition but has won three first-place ratings in other contests. Cornerstone's teams are among many outstanding drill teams in Fort Worth-Dallas, said Oscar Alexis of Houston, director of the national competitions for the National Baptist denomination. We have more than 200 teams in Houston alone, and there are at least 100 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Other nationally ranked teams in the area include Greater Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church and Charity Church in Fort Worth, and St. John's Missionary Baptist in Grand Prairie, Alexis said. Jackie Fountain, director of the Young Crusaders drill team at Beth-Eden Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, said the drill teams teach leadership.