The sound of motorcycle engines revving, guitars tuning up and the aroma of sweet smelling food will be in the air Thursday in Indianola.

Festival Con Dios is making its way to Iowa with the messages of music, community and worship.

Started three years ago, Festival Con Dios, which means Festival of God in Spanish, is a traveling event hosting keynote motivational speakers, motorcycle stuntmen, extreme games, a community cook off, a local battle of the bands contest and 11 different Christian rock bands.

The festival tours throughout the United States and takes place inside a football field-sized transportable amphitheater that can house as many as 10,000 people.

“Festival Con Dios is a combination of great music, community involvement, a lot of fun and a chance to worship our God,” says Van Hohe, general manager of Festival Con Dios. “It is a safe place to have a blast and acknowledge your faith and even if someone is not a believer in Christ, they can still come out and have a blast.”

The festival, Hohe says, was started by Christian rock band Newsboys after years of traveling and touring.

The members of Newsboys wanted to create an opportunity to make a bigger impact on a local level and share their passion for motorcycles with their fans. Thus, Festival Con Dios was born, complete with extreme games and a full motorcycle jumping ramp.

The festival produces about 25-35 shows annually. The fully mobile amphitheater takes about five hours to construct and two hours to take down and comes complete with 120 staff members to assist in the process. However, the one-day festival also depends on about 80 local volunteers to keep things running smoothly.

“College kids are usually thinkers and want to know the reasoning behind things,” Hohe says. “This festival lets you know the reality of things and what’s behind the motivation of these bands, because the bands hang out with the audience [during] the entire day and are always available for questions.”

It’s not just a concert, says Carrie Pieper, youth minister in Frankland, Tenn. and faithful fan of Festival Con Dios. There is a real sense of ministry and community to everyone, Pieper says.

“My favorite part of Festival Con Dios is the music, because every year there are different main headliner bands and lots of talent can be found listening to the local band talent search as well,” Pieper says.

Festival Con Dios also features “Food for the Hungry; Adopt-A-Community,” a program in which three communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America are adopted to help feed, clothe and educate the people of these communities.

Donations are accepted, or audience members can adopt a person from one of those communities to sponsor. Those adopting a community member will also be given the opportunity to go on a mission trip with Festival Con Dios, Inc. and meet their sponsored individual, Hohe says.

Local bands are also given the opportunity to compete against each other. Sponsored by Christian Music Talent Search, the winner of the local band contest plays on stage during Festival Con Dios and is given the chance to compete nationally. At the end of the year, Christian recording label Providence Records gives the national winner a record deal.

“There are so many different facets,” Hohe says. “You can make it as great of an experience as you want to. And if you don’t have enough money, you can volunteer for four hours, get a T-shirt and go for free.”

The one-day festival makes for a great escape and features lots of different activities, Pieper says.

“Our main goal is a state-of-the-art concert experience that glorifies God, impacts others tangibly and provides opportunity for anyone to know Christ personally,” Hohe says.

“I hope audience members walk away challenged in their faith and are both physically and emotionally fulfilled with a positive Christian experience.”